The roles a grant project needs, and what each one is accountable for

A small business does not need eight separate employees to run a grant. It does need every responsibility below assigned to a named person, with conflicts and incompatible approvals separated where practical. One person may hold several roles, but one task should not disappear between them.

What to take away

• Assign every grant responsibility to a named person, even if one person holds several roles.
• Separate conflicting approvals where practical so no task disappears between roles.
• Give the finance lead access to supplier and delivery records, not just invoices.
• Turn the award's actual clauses into the procurement owner's checklist.
• Keep the role map with the controlled project record and update it after staff changes.

1. Accountable project owner

This person owns delivery of the approved purpose, scope, milestones and outcomes. They chair project reviews, resolve priorities and escalate material change. They should understand the agreement rather than relying entirely on an adviser.

2. Authorised signatory

The signatory accepts formal commitments and signs claims or declarations within their authority. They must receive enough evidence to make an honest statement. A signature is not a ceremonial final step.

The Cabinet Office Model Grant Funding Agreement includes provisions for bank details, grant claims, evidence and reporting. Actual authority and signing rules come from the business and live award.

3. Finance lead

The finance lead maintains the project ledger, reconciles accounts and bank evidence, checks VAT treatment, forecasts cash and prepares financial parts of claims. They report committed as well as paid costs.

Give this role access to supplier and delivery records. An invoice alone cannot show that work met the funded purpose.

4. Delivery lead

The delivery lead plans tasks, manages dependencies and confirms that work passes its acceptance test. They collect delivery evidence as activity occurs and flag delay before a reporting date is missed.

For several work packages, appoint a lead for each and retain one accountable project owner above them.

5. Procurement and supplier owner

This person applies the award's quotation, competition, conflict and approval rules. They keep the requirement, bids, evaluation, decision and contract together. They also monitor supplier changes and connected-party risks.

Government grant-agreement guidance expects central government agreements to address eligible expenditure, counter-fraud, audit and assurance. Turn the recipient's actual clauses into this role's checklist.

6. Evidence and reporting owner

The evidence owner defines measures, maintains the evidence register and assembles narrative reports. They distinguish completed activity, output and outcome and document limitations.

They should work with finance so the performance story and cost record cover the same scope and period.

7. Data and security owner

Where the project handles personal or sensitive information, this role sets access, sharing, retention and incident procedures. It confirms that suppliers use approved systems and that access ends when work finishes.

The ICO guidance hub provides UK data-protection guidance. The NCSC small organisations guide covers practical security measures.

8. Independent reviewer

Before submission, award acceptance and each claim, a reviewer tests the record against the source documents. They sample evidence in both directions and challenge inconsistent figures or vague statements.

Independence is proportionate. In a very small company, use a director who did not prepare the claim or an external accountant where risk justifies it. Record the review and unresolved exceptions.

Make the role map work

Add a deputy, approval limit, due dates and expected evidence to each role. State who contacts the funder and who may approve a change. Review assignments after staff movement or project expansion.

Keep the current map with the controlled project record and notify partners when a contact changes.

This is an editorial role model, not a list of statutory job titles. It was derived from the operational duties visible in current UK government grant guidance, not from a survey of English grant recipients. This draft contains no live internal links and needs agreement-specific review before publication.

Before you act

• Name a person for each of the eight roles.
• Give the finance lead supplier and delivery records.
• Turn the award's clauses into a procurement checklist.
• Add a deputy, approval limit and due dates to each role.
• State who contacts the funder and who approves changes.
• Review assignments after staff movement or project expansion.

Common questions

Who owns delivery of the approved purpose and outcomes?

The accountable project owner owns delivery of the approved purpose, scope, milestones and outcomes. They chair project reviews, resolve priorities and escalate material change. They should understand the agreement rather than relying entirely on an adviser, and one person may hold several roles.

What does the finance lead actually do?

The finance lead maintains the project ledger, reconciles accounts and bank evidence, checks VAT treatment, forecasts cash and prepares financial parts of claims. They report committed as well as paid costs. They need access to supplier and delivery records because an invoice alone cannot show that work met the funded purpose.

How does independence work for the reviewer in a very small company?

Independence is proportionate. In a very small company, use a director who did not prepare the claim or an external accountant where risk justifies it. The reviewer tests the record against source documents before submission, award acceptance and each claim, then records the review and unresolved exceptions.