A grants management team is responsible for the full grant lifecycle — from programme design and applicant engagement through assessment, decision-making, agreement management, and outcome accountability. How that team is structured depends on programme volume, complexity, and the nature of the funder's work.
This guide covers the key roles in grants management and how to structure a team that can deliver programmes effectively.
The programme officer is the central role in most grants management teams — responsible for managing the day-to-day administration of one or more grant programmes. Core responsibilities:
Programme officers need: strong organisational skills, understanding of the programme's purpose and sector, ability to manage multiple priorities, attention to detail in compliance and documentation, and interpersonal skills for grantee relationships.
In larger teams, a grants administrator handles administrative tasks that support programme officers — data entry, filing, correspondence processing, calendar management. This role allows programme officers to focus on higher-value work while routine administration is handled efficiently.
Funders with significant programme portfolios increasingly have dedicated data and reporting roles — responsible for maintaining the grants database, producing management reporting, and supporting programme evaluation. Key responsibilities include:
For funders with complex peer assessment processes — large grant programmes, research funders, arts funders — a dedicated assessment coordinator manages the assessment operation:
A senior role with oversight of multiple programmes or a significant programme portfolio. Key responsibilities:
In large foundations, a chief grants or grantmaking role sits at the executive level — responsible for the overall grantmaking strategy, major grantee relationships, and leadership of the grants team.
Solo grants administrator (very small programmes). A single person managing one or two small grant programmes — typically 20-50 grants per year — doing all administration, assessment coordination, and reporting. This is most of the community trust and small foundation sector.
Small team (2-4 people). A grants manager and one or two programme officers, potentially with a part-time administrator. Managing 100-500 grants per year across 3-5 programmes.
Medium team (5-12 people). A head of grantmaking, several programme officers specialised by sector or programme type, a data/reporting role, and administrative support. Managing 500-2,000 grants per year across multiple programmes.
Large team (12+ people). Found in major foundations, national lottery distributors, and large government grant agencies. Multiple sub-teams by programme area, specialised roles (assessment coordination, grantee capacity building, evaluation), and management layers.
How much capacity does a grant programme require? Rough benchmarks:
These benchmarks depend heavily on technology — well-configured grants management software can significantly increase the number of grants a programme officer can manage without sacrificing quality.
Grants management software should amplify team capacity — automating routine tasks (acknowledgement emails, reminder notices, report generation) so programme staff can focus on the work that requires human judgment (applicant relationships, assessment facilitation, grantee support).
Signs that technology is underperforming for your team:
- Programme officers spending significant time on data entry that applicants could do directly
- Manual compilation of board reports from spreadsheets
- Chasing overdue reports by email because there's no automated reminder system
- Assessment scores tracked in separate spreadsheets outside the system
Tahua is designed to amplify the capacity of grants management teams — with workflow automation, self-service applicant portals, and reporting tools that reduce administrative overhead and let programme staff focus on mission-critical work.