Grants & Public Funding Manager

Location: Seville -- Hybrid

Reports to: CFO

Team: 2--3 professionals

Scope: Catalyxx Group -- Spain, Portugal, USA and future international projects

About Catalyxx

Catalyxx is an innovative industrial technology company transforming the chemical industry through proprietary technology that converts bioethanol into renewable chemicals.

Following several years of successful technology development and the support of leading international investors and public support, Catalyxx is entering a pivotal stage of growth. The company is currently financing and developing its first commercial-scale industrial plant in Portugal, while expanding its technology portfolio and preparing further industrial projects internationally.

Public funding is an important component of Catalyxx's growth strategy. Catalyxx has successfully secured support through some of Europe's most competitive funding programmes, including the EIC Accelerator , a €20 million grant from the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) and national grants awarded through Spain's CDTI and ICEX .

We are now establishing a dedicated Grants & Public Funding function to manage these awarded projects and secure additional European, Portuguese and Spanish funding for our industrial and R&D programmes.

The Opportunity

We are looking for an experienced Grants & Public Funding Manager to take end-to-end ownership of Catalyxx's public funding portfolio.

The role covers the complete grant lifecycle: identifying funding opportunities, preparing proposals, building consortia, negotiating Grant Agreements and, critically, managing awarded projects through implementation, reporting, audit and final payment.

An immediate priority will be the management and reporting of Catalyxx's recently awarded CBE JU project. You will coordinate contributions from Technology, Engineering, Construction, Finance, Procurement, Legal and Business Development, while remaining accountable for ensuring that all deliverables, reports and supporting documentation are complete, consistent and submitted on time.

Functional teams will remain responsible for the accuracy of their respective technical, financial and legal inputs. You will own the planning, coordination, review, consolidation and timely submission of all grant-related deliverables.

This is a hands-on management position, not a consultancy role. We are looking for someone who will personally drive the work, create order, follow up rigorously and take responsibility for delivering the final result.

You will also have the opportunity to build Catalyxx's Grants & Public Funding function, establish its processes and controls and develop a dedicated team as the portfolio grows.

Key Responsibilities

Awarded Grants Management and Compliance

• Take operational ownership of Catalyxx's portfolio of European and national grants, initially focusing on the €20 million CBE JU project.
• Translate Grant Agreements, Consortium Agreements and funding conditions into clear internal implementation and compliance plans.
• Manage project calendars covering work packages, milestones, deliverables, reporting periods, reviews, payments, amendments and audits.
• Coordinate and personally drive the preparation and submission of technical and financial reports, deliverables and supporting documentation.
• Act as Catalyxx's principal operational contact with European Commission Project Officers, granting authorities and consortium partners.
• Coordinate inputs from Technology, Engineering, Construction, Finance, Procurement, Legal, Business Development and external advisors.
• Monitor project implementation against approved scope, timetable, milestones and budget.
• Work closely with Finance to monitor eligible costs, personnel allocations, timesheets, procurement, subcontracting, supporting evidence and expected grant payments.
• Identify delays, deviations and compliance risks, establish corrective actions and escalation material issues promptly.
• Prepare and coordinate project reviews, amendments, checks and audits.
• Maintain complete, organised and audit-ready records for every funded project.

New Funding Opportunities

• Develop and maintain Catalyxx's public funding roadmap in line with its industrial, technology and R&D strategy.
• Identify and assess relevant European, Portuguese and Spanish funding opportunities.
• Lead or coordinate grant applications, including project concepts, work packages, budgets, milestones, deliverables, impact cases and implementation plans.
• Lead or support the negotiation of Grant Agreements, Consortium Agreements and associated budgets and obligations.
• Identify potential consortium partners and build relationships with industrial companies, research organisations, specialist advisors and institutional stakeholders.
• Represent Catalyxx in relevant European funding networks and consortium-building activities, including the CBE JU ecosystem.

Function and Team Development

• Design and implement Catalyxx's internal grant-management processes, controls, templates and reporting systems.
• Establish clear responsibilities, deliverables and deadlines across all grant-related workstreams.
• Create reliable systems for tracking expenditure, timesheets, deliverables, risks, actions and expected grant receipts.
• Manage the contribution and performance of external funding advisors.
• Lead and develop the Grants & Public Funding team as the company's portfolio grows.
• Provide management with clear reporting on project status, compliance, budget utilisation, upcoming obligations, risks and expected payments.

Experience

• Significant experience managing European and national public funding programmes.
• Demonstrable experience managing awarded grants after signature, including technical and financial reporting, deliverables, eligible costs, amendments, project reviews and audits.
• Experience with programmes such as Horizon Europe, Horizon 2020, CBE JU, EIC Accelerator, Innovation Fund, LIFE or other comparable European funding programmes.
• Experience acting as a direct point of contact with European Commission Project Officers or other public funding authorities.
• Experience preparing competitive grant applications and coordinating contributions from multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience managing multi‑partner projects or consortia will be highly valued.
• Experience gained within a specialist public‑funding consultancy, industrial technology company, engineering company or another organisation managing complex European‑funded projects will be particularly relevant.

Knowledge and Qualifications

• University degree in Engineering, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Economics, Business Administration, Public Administration, Project Management or another relevant discipline.
• Strong understanding of the full grant lifecycle, from opportunity identification and proposal preparation to implementation, reporting, audit and payment.
• Practical knowledge of eligible‑cost rules, personnel‑cost reporting, timesheets, procurement, subcontracting and audit requirements.
• Familiarity with the European Commission Funding & Tenders Portal.
• Ability to understand and monitor project budgets, forecasts, schedules and technical deliverables.
• Advanced competence in Excel and PowerPoint.
• Knowledge of industrial scale‑up, chemical‑process technology or first‑of‑a‑kind industrial projects will be highly valued.
• Knowledge of Portuguese and Spanish public funding programmes will be considered an advantage.

Languages

• Full professional proficiency in English.
• Professional proficiency in Spanish.
• Portuguese will be highly valued.

Who We Are Looking For

Beyond technical expertise, we are looking for someone who takes genuine ownership of outcomes and combines strategic judgement with disciplined execution.

The successful candidate will be:

• Hands‑on and willing to personally prepare, review and finalise reports, deliverables and submissions.
• Highly organised, rigorous and capable of managing several complex workstreams simultaneously.
• Comfortable creating structure and reliable processes in a fast‑growing organisation.
• Persistent in following up, resolving gaps and ensuring that contributors meet agreed deadlines.
• Confident coordinating multidisciplinary teams, including colleagues who do not report directly to the position.
• Able to understand and challenge technical and financial information without needing to generate all the underlying content.
• A clear and credible communicator with management, technical teams, consortium partners and public authorities.
• Pragmatic, collaborative and solution‑oriented, with high standards of quality and compliance.

What We Offer

• The opportunity to join one of the most innovative companies in the renewable chemicals industry.
• A high‑impact role supporting the financing of major industrial and R&D projects.
• Direct responsibility for a significant portfolio of European and national public funding.
• A high degree of autonomy, visibility and interaction with senior management.
• The opportunity to build and develop Catalyxx's Grants & Public Funding function.
• A long‑term professional project within an international industrial company with significant growth potential.
• Permanent employment contract.
• Competitive compensation package, including fixed salary, performance‑based bonus and employee benefits.
• Hybrid working model.