Impact/Grantmaking Manager

We believe everyone should have a safe, secure and affordable home.

We’re a small but mighty not-for-profit with a national reach, raising funds through campaigns like CafeSmart, DineSmart, and SleepSafe, and our ongoing work with philanthropy, the corporate sector and wider community.

We have distributed grants and material to over 1,000 local organisations since 2003 and have a strong focus on also raising awareness, building capacity and widening understanding and education of homelessness in Australia. We know local leaders, volunteers and community groups are best placed to identify what support their communities need, and have solutions and mechanisms in place that work for them and their community.

They are the lifeblood of so many suburbs, towns and regions and play a critical role in creating caring and resilient communities and that’s why we believe in keeping our impact local and grassroots.

We see the role of StreetSmart as a supportive and responsive ally for those on the frontline of service delivery to the most vulnerable in our community. These front-line services are often under-resourced, have limited fundraising capacity and find making formal applications for funding challenging. Our evidence-based, data-driven approach to impact ensures that our grant making addresses emerging trends, vulnerable cohorts and regions with high rates of homelessness.

About The role

This role is responsible for bringing StreetSmart’s impact strategy to life through the design, delivery and continuous improvement of our grant making and material aid programs.

It leads the development and implementation of a national grant making program that is flexible, accessible and aligned to community need, ensuring funding reaches grassroots organisations delivering practical responses to homelessness. Alongside this, the role oversees the ongoing delivery and evolution of the material aid program SleepSafe, ensuring it continues to provide meaningful, high-quality support to community partners and the people they serve.

A core focus of the role is ensuring that StreetSmart’s work is informed by lived experience, community insight and sector knowledge. This includes engaging closely with partners, identifying emerging needs and translating these into clear grant priorities and program responses. The role also leads impact measurement and reporting across grants and material aid, ensuring that insights are captured, translated into meaningful narratives and used to strengthen both program delivery and broader engagement.

Working across the organisation, the role connects impact with fundraising, partnerships and communications, ensuring that strong program delivery is clearly understood and contributes to the growth of funding and support for the sector. The role is supported by organisation-wide operational and tech/data support, alongside fundraising and communications staff.

As part of StreetSmart’s transition into its 2026–2030 strategy, this role plays a key part in shaping how the organisation evolves its impact model. It will be supported and mentored by the organisation’s founder over the coming months as part of a broader succession and transition process.

About you

This role suits someone who combines strategic thinking with a strong focus on action, and who is motivated by supporting practical, community-led responses to homelessness.

A background in grant making and social impact is critical, along with a solid understanding of the community services landscape and contemporary Australian philanthropic practice. There is an ability to take insight and translate it into programs that are both effective and accessible, particularly for smaller, grassroots organisations.

A strong orientation toward listening and learning from lived experience and community partners is essential, with the ability to reflect this in funding approaches, program design and decision making.  You’ll have confidence working with data and impact reporting is important, alongside the ability to communicate outcomes in a clear and compelling way to a range of audiences. Collaboration comes naturally, with an ability to work across teams and with external partners to deliver shared outcomes.

Strong organisational capability, adaptability and comfort working in a small, dynamic team environment are key. The role also operates as a thought partner to the CEO, contributing to the delivery and ongoing evolution of StreetSmart’s strategy.

Above all, this role will appeal to someone motivated by purpose and interested in shaping how funding, programs and partnerships can better support people experiencing homelessness across Australia.

Additional benefits

• We are fortunate to work out of Gate 8, in East Melbourne, an NGO shared work space, which includes an onsite cafe, restaurant, 24-hour gym, end of trip facilities and bike storage
• Flexible work arrangements, with work from home opportunities
• Salary packaging available

Next steps

Follow the prompts to submit your application by 11.59PM AEST on the closing date.

StreetSmart Australia is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ people, people with lived experience of homelessness and intersectional challenges, and culturally and linguistically diverse people are strongly encouraged to apply. We are happy to adjust our recruitment process to support accessibility needs.

For questions, contact Alan White (CEO) at [email protected] using the subject line: Impact / Grantmaking Manager enquiry.