Grant Development Officer

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We're an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We've set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution:
Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won't become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That's where you come in. Because we can't do this without you.

Salary: £34,882 per annum
Contract type:
Permanent
Band: E / Higher Executive Officer
Closing date:
Monday 12th October 2026 at midnight

The Grant Development Officer will sit within The National Archives' Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department, the central locus for our:

• 1. Research strategy and delivery
• 2. Research impact, culture and engagement
• 3. Grant fundraising and philanthropy
• 4. Management and assurance of external funding
• 5. Grant‑making to the archives and GLAM sectors.

The National Archives has a strong track record of securing external funding and holds a grant portfolio of over £16m. Our per-annum grant income has grown by nearly 500% since 2022‑23, and in April 2026, we consolidated our fundraising operations with The National Archives Trust. The National Archives has a strategic priority to secure new charitable and philanthropic funding, and this post is one of three new roles being advertised in Autumn 2026 to deliver on that goal.

We want to grow our research income, including particularly beyond the arts and humanities; reach a wider breadth of funders both nationally and internationally; and raise our profile, through more creative and targeted public engagement and learning programmes with national reach.

The National Archives (TNA) is looking for an enthusiastic and creative Grant Development Officer to support the development of grant‑funded projects, partnerships and fellowships. Working with the Grant Development Manager, Head of Grant Development and colleagues across TNA, the Grant Development Officer will play a critical role in supporting grant fundraising, consolidating and expanding our grant‑winning capability.

The Grant Development Officer will be responsible for a varied range of tasks across TNA's grants development portfolio, including supporting multiple applications at one time. Working with specialists from across our institution, you will develop a wide range of skills in grants administration, bid development, finance and communication. We are a UKRI‑accredited Independent Research Organisation, and the majority of our grant proposals are for our research, however we also have a strong and growing portfolio of applications and projects in progress for digitisation, capital infrastructure, public engagement and learning.

The postholder will work closely with our new Philanthropy team and with The National Archives Trust, a registered charity that supports The National Archives to engage and educate the public, and conserve and preserve the collection.

As well as providing support to the Grant Development Team's pre‑award processes, the postholder will have the opportunity to refresh our grant development communication for internal and external audiences, working with colleagues across the department and wider organisation to ensure that our staff and external partners have all the information they need to develop winning grants at TNA.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part‑time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department.

A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.