The Woodsmith Foundation has welcomed Mabel Mundy as its new Grants and Programmes Officer through The Rank Foundation’s Time to Shine programme, bringing fresh talent into a role that supports community-focused grant making across the region.

The position is funded in full by the Rank Foundation’s Time to Shine programme, which helps charities and social enterprises create paid opportunities for people who are unemployed or underemployed to build skills, confidence and leadership potential.

Mabel joins the Woodsmith Foundation with a background in volunteering and education, having recently completed a PhD in English Literature and built-up years of experience supporting community organisations, sports clubs and committees.

In her role, Mabel supports the Grants and Programmes Manager to help with day-to-day administration of both grants and operations, and communications and social media. Alongside this, she is leading an independent research project on approaches to support leadership in the VCSE sector.

Speaking about the opportunity, Mabel said:

“I wanted to work in a role where I could see the impact of what I was doing. The charity sector can be difficult to enter without professional experience, so the Time to Shine programme felt like a real opportunity to bridge that gap.”

“What excites me most is learning more about the sector and how grant-making organisations work while supporting projects that make a real difference to communities. I want to finish each day feeling like I’ve made a real difference.”

Time to Shine is a leadership programme for people who are just starting their career in the social sector to develop skills and confidence. Mabel will learn and develop alongside peers across the sector. Throughout the year, Mabel and her manager, Rebecca, will receive guidance and support from an experienced facilitator and attend a series of leadership development days as part of the programme.