Public Sector Grant Assessment Associate Opportunities

Job Overview:

DADA is building a pre-qualified associate bench to support public sector grant assessment, scoring, moderation, quality assurance and assessment operations.

These are associate / subcontractor call-off opportunities. They are not guaranteed full-time roles. Work is expected to be primarily remote for UK-based candidates, with occasional London meetings possible where required by assignment.

We are particularly interested in candidates with experience in public funding, grant assessment, bid evaluation, skills and employment, adult education, further education, capital programmes, technical assessment, moderation, feedback quality assurance, audit, assurance, risk review or programme management.

Role area	Indicative day rate
Public Sector Grant Assessor — Skills and Employment	£300–£350 per day
Senior Grant Moderation and QA Lead	£400–£475 per day
Capital and Technical Grant Assessor	£350–£450 per day

Rates depend on experience, role fit, availability, assignment complexity and final engagement route.

IR35 / engagement status

Assignments are anticipated to be outside IR35 for defined call-off work, subject to final assignment scope, status assessment and engagement route. PAYE / umbrella options may also be considered where appropriate.

Expected hours

Role area	Indicative weekly hours
Public Sector Grant Assessor — Skills and Employment	4–25 hours per week
Senior Grant Moderation and QA Lead	5–20 hours per week
Capital and Technical Grant Assessor	4–20 hours per week

Hours will vary by call-off assignment, application volume and mobilisation timing. These are not guaranteed weekly-hours roles.

Current Role Areas

Public Sector Grant Assessor — Skills & Employment

This role is suited to candidates with experience in adult skills, employability, further education, learner support, outreach, inclusion, employer engagement, social value or public funding.

Assignments may include reviewing grant applications against defined criteria, assessing delivery credibility, inclusion, learner support, employer engagement, outcomes and value for money, and producing clear evidence-based scoring rationales.

Typical rate range: £300–£350 per day, depending on experience and assignment requirements.

Senior Grant Moderation & QA Lead

This role is suited to experienced moderation, quality assurance, evaluation, audit, assurance or public funding professionals.

Assignments may include supporting calibration, reviewing scoring variance, challenging unsupported judgement, supporting consensus scoring, reviewing feedback quality and maintaining clear moderation, QA and decision records.

Typical rate range: £400–£475 per day, depending on experience and assignment requirements.

Capital & Technical Grant Assessor

This role is suited to candidates with experience in capital programmes, estates, construction, technical assurance, cost, programme, sustainability, BREEAM, net zero, procurement route assessment, value for money or risk review.

Assignments may include assessing capital or technical funding applications, reviewing cost and programme credibility, testing deliverability, identifying evidence gaps and producing clear evidence-based scoring rationales.

Typical rate range: £350–£450 per day, depending on experience and assignment requirements.

What We Look For

Candidates should be able to demonstrate strong written judgement, objective assessment, confidentiality, secure data-handling discipline and the ability to apply published criteria consistently.

Before any assignment, selected associates will need to complete conflict-of-interest, confidentiality, data-handling and calibration checks.

Formal grant assessor qualifications are not always essential. Relevant professional experience, good judgement and the ability to write clear, neutral and defensible rationales are more important.

Working Arrangements

These opportunities are expected to be primarily remote and UK-based.

Work will be call-off based and linked to specific public sector assessment rounds. Individual assignments may range from several days to several weeks, depending on application volume, mobilisation timing and role requirements.

An initial 6-month associate bench period is expected, with potential extension subject to future requirements and candidate availability.

How To Apply

Please apply via jobs@big-dada.co.uk. Alternatively through the LinkedIn or Indeed advert where individual opportunities are also listed.

Please include your CV, expected day rate or hourly rate, availability over the next 3–6 months, and a short summary of your relevant grant assessment, moderation, public-sector, skills, employment, education, capital, QA, assurance or PMO experience.

DADA welcomes applications from candidates from underrepresented groups and candidates with lived or professional experience of supporting disadvantaged communities.

Reasonable adjustments are available during the recruitment process.