Ventures Manager

The Resolution Foundation is looking for an individual to join the Resolution Ventures team to play a key role in the social investment activities of the Foundation focused on WorkerTech: technology and data-enabled start-ups seeking to improve the world of work for those in low-paid or precarious jobs.

What does the role involve?
The Ventures team invests equity into early-stage tech-enabled impact ventures, and is developing a new Workertech Investment Fund in 2024. In addition, our Ventures activity supports increased diversity of founders, including those with lived experience of low-paid work, and building a community of ventures and partners to increase the impact of our investments. Operating within the Foundation since 2020, we have built a portfolio of 14 early-stage ventures and an ecosystem of co-investors, partners, researchers and advisers to support their growth.

Reporting to the Director of Ventures, and working directly with the Chair, the post-holder will deliver a programme of grant funding and support, helping to ensure that the programme benefits workers on low pay and in precarious employment, and is informed by their lived experiences. In addition, they will hold initial screening calls with investment prospects, and run events and communications activities to engage the ecosystem.

What kind of person are we looking for?
We are seeking a diligent and organised person to support Resolution Ventures in our social investment in Workertech. The Ventures Manager will be responsible for:
• Delivering a dedicated programme of pre-investment support, targeted at entrepreneurs with lived
experience of low-paid work, including small grants and mentoring.
• Screening and holding initial calls with prospective ventures seeking investment
• Building, communicating with, and supporting the network of impact entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, employers and other partners that are critical to the success of this work. This will include organising events and writing a monthly newsletter.

We are interested in hearing from candidates with experience in social or impact investment and those with experience of delivering grants programmes to early-stage organisations. You should be able to demonstrate an understanding of social impact, tech for good and venture investment. An entrepreneurial mindset, clear writing and communication skills, attention to detail and experience managing a project or a programme of stakeholder communication are also required.

The post holder will need to be capable of working both at pace on several different projects concurrently and collaboratively within an organisation committed to high standards. The Ventures team is small and works flexibly, delivering to tight deadlines in liaison with internal and external partners. A strong desire to progress and advance the project is essential.

What is the organisational culture?
The Resolution Foundation prides itself on analytical rigor and we strive to achieve standards of excellence in all our work. This commitment is matched by dedication to our core purpose, working to improve the living standards of those on low to middle incomes. These twin pillars of rigour and purpose underpin everything we do.

The Foundation is a small team and staff members support each other and share cross-organisational work in addition to fulfilling individual responsibilities. We offer a competitive benefits package and the opportunity to join our team at an exciting time in our development as the Foundation builds on a period of significant impact and seeks to step up to major challenges in the years ahead. We actively develop and grow the skills and reputations of all our team, and provide training and development opportunities, including support for formal qualifications when applicable. The Foundation’s office is based in Westminster with home working available two days per week. We also have a range of equality, diversity, inclusivity and family-friendly policies and practices.

Diversity at the Resolution Foundation
We value and are committed to increasing diversity within both our own organisation and the economic policy making sector more widely and we are particularly keen to attract applications from underrepresented communities and groups. For more information about our ongoing work in this area, please see our recruitment brochure. If you are interested in applying and would like to speak to someone informally to assess whether we are the right organisation for you, please contact Sharmina.Khanam@resolutionfoundation.org.

As part of our commitment in this area, we offer job specific pre-application discussions to Black, Asian and other Minority Ethnic candidates and all candidates with disabilities who would like to speak to someone about the role. Please contact Sharmina.Khanam@resolutionfoundation.org for more details. In line with our determination to attract a diverse team, we regularly analyse a variety of statistics to inform the focus of our work in this area. To help with this, we would be grateful if you would complete the equal opportunities monitoring form provided on the application platform. Any information you provide is collated anonymously and used solely to track the effectiveness of our recruitment campaign.

Closing date: 08:59am on 22 April 2024
First interviews: 29 April 2024
Second interviews: 9 May 2024

For more information on the role and how to apply, please download our application pack.