I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at The National Lottery Community Fund (London, England)
Interview
Presented with six questions prior to interview date (I believe it's at least 48 hours before), and you answer those specific questions only. There was also a task, to read an application that's provided to you, a fake one, and come prepared to talk through what questions you'd ask this hypothetical applicant wanting to progress their application. It was very straight forward and I felt confident and had plenty of time to prepare.
Average interview
Application
I applied online. I interviewed at The National Lottery Community Fund in Feb 2026
Interview
Interview process quite generous as they give you the questions beforehand. People usually very nice, would recommend using as many charity-based answers as possible and address lots of key skills - customer service skills seem quite important to them
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Tell us about a time you had to tell someone no, and how did you approach the situation?
I applied online. The process took 3 weeks. I interviewed at The National Lottery Community Fund (London, England) in Jun 2025
Interview
Straightforward and friendly. Provided all but one question in advance of the interview with ample time to prepare. It really felt like they wanted to get the most out of me.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
1. What barriers do you think may be in place for diverse, more marginalised communities in London in accessing our funding?
2. What steps would you take to ensure all communities have the best opportunity to access our funding?
3. You should aim to provide specific examples and if possible focus on a borough in London that you know.
4. Your ability to build relationships with a variety of people at different levels will be essential in this role. Can you provide an example of where you have successfully done this in the past?
5. As a funding officer you will often need to say no to applicants. Please give us an example of a time you’ve had to say no or give difficult feedback to someone, and the skills or techniques you used to ensure the situation was dealt with successfully.
6. Team working is essential in the role of funding officer. Could you provide an example of where you worked in a team, explaining your role, what you improved within the team and what was achieved?
7. As a funding officer you will need to know how to prioritise well. Could you give an example of when you’ve had to manage competing priorities and how you went about doing this?
8. Whether you are assessing a new idea or reviewing an end of grant report, considering and critiquing information, making judgements and writing skills are key to this role. What experience do you have of distilling information down, making good judgements and presenting your findings and recommendations?