Board Secretary and Head of Governance

Government Internal Audit Agency; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

A public sector organization in the UK seeks a Board Secretary to lead and improve governance, risk, and assurance frameworks. The ideal candidate will have substantial experience in corporate governance, strong leadership skills, and the ability to advise senior stakeholders effectively. This role offers career progression and the chance to engage with diverse governance issues across the public sector.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience leading corporate governance in the public sector.
• Experience managing sensitive and confidential information.
• Strong leadership skills in employee relations and diversity.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of governance frameworks.
• Advise Board on governance issues and statutory obligations.
• Ensure Board operates within corporate governance codes.
• Manage risk and assurance activities effectively.
• Oversee the production of the Annual Report and Accounts.

Skills

Leadership in corporate governance

Interpersonal skills

Diplomacy skills

Communication skills

Ability to manage competing priorities

Job description

The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) is driven by its unparalleled access across government to build better insights, better outcomes for our clients. This role offers a strong platform for career progression within the Agency and the wider civil service, providing opportunities to develop leadership, partner engagement and strategic relationship management skills across government. The Agency's unique access across the public sector exposes you to different risk and control environments, allowing you to gain insights, apply experience, contribute meaningfully, and continue developing professionally. The Board Secretary and Head of Governance is responsible for leading the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the Agency's governance, risk and assurance frameworks and practices. In this role, you will ensure that robust systems are in place to support effective decision‑making, management of risk, transparency and accountability. You will be required to manage a small team of subject matter experts and collaborate widely across the organisation and wider government to embed a strong governance, risk and assurance culture. You will play a critical role in maintaining the integrity and effectiveness of the Agency's decision‑making and risk‑management processes, ensuring that the Board, its Committees and the Chief Executive are supported to meet their responsibilities. You will be required to use your depth of governance knowledge to provide expert advice to senior leaders and non‑executive members on governance matters, oversee the management of governance forums, act as the functional lead for counter‑fraud, manage the production of the Annual Report and Accounts and drive the Agency's approach to transparency and assurance through the management of the official correspondence system.

Role Responsibilities

• Leading the development, implementation and continuous improvement of the Agency's governance, risk and assurance frameworks.
• Advising the Board and Executive team on complex governance issues, providing authoritative guidance on statutory obligations, government requirements and best practice.
• Serving as Board Secretary, overseeing the cyclical programme of Board and Committee meetings ensuring effective agendas, decision recording and forward planning. Identifying opportunities to improve Board effectiveness and embedding high‑quality governance practices.
• Ensuring the Board operates within the principles of the Corporate governance code for central government departments.
• Leading on recruitment, training, and ongoing support for non‑executive directors.
• Developing, implementing and continuously improving the Agency's risk management framework and policies. Assessing and prioritising current and emerging risks, providing reports on risk exposures, trends and mitigation across the organisation.
• Planning and overseeing assurance activities to provide evidence of effective management of risk. This includes the annual self‑assessment of compliance with functional standards expectations as well as assurance to the Chief Executive on the effectiveness of the internal control environment.
• Being the functional lead for counter‑fraud for the Agency with responsibility for developing and implementing the Counter Fraud, Bribery and Corruption Strategy and maintaining the corporate policy and response plan.
• Leading the annual production of the Annual Report and Accounts to ensure it is laid before Parliament in a timely manner and compliant with the Financial Reporting Manual.
• Building and maintaining influential relationships with senior stakeholders in the Agency, particularly with the Executive team and the Board.
• Developing a culture of continuous improvement and initiatives within governance processes, and leading by example in adopting new, innovative and technological practices.

Qualifications

• Substantial experience leading corporate governance functions in a government or public sector setting, including working with Boards, and senior executives on complex governance matters.
• Sound judgement and highly developed diplomacy skills with experience of working with sensitive and confidential information.
• Strong people leadership experience, able to foster a culture with a well‑rounded knowledge of employee relations, resourcing, learning and development, policies and procedures and diversity and inclusion.
• An excellent communicator both in writing and in person who can calibrate style depending on the audience.
• Able to deliver at pace and manage several competing priorities.
• Highly collaborative with strong interpersonal skills and the ability to influence, persuade and communicate with senior stakeholders.

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