Chair of Audit and Risk Committee. Job in Oxford Education & Training Jobs

Balliol College, University of Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job description

Balliol College, Oxford, is looking for an independent Chair for its Audit and Risk Committee. The Committee has been established to oversee and advise Trustees of the College (a registered charity) on their processes for financial management and reporting, the identification and management of risk, and governance arrangements and practice. The College is seeking someone who has financial, legal or regulatory experience at an appropriately senior level and ideally some understanding of the higher education context in which the College operates.

The Committee is expected to hold three meetings a year (one in each academic Term) with an annual time commitment of around 6 days. The role is a voluntary one with reasonable expenses paid.

Job description

The role

To chair a newly-established Audit and Risk Committee which will oversee and advise Trustees of the College on their processes for financial management and reporting, the identification and management of risk, and Charity governance arrangements and practice. The Committee will consist of the Chair, two other external members, and two Trustees of the College.

College Officers, including the Master, the Vice-Masters, the Finance Bursar, Domestic Bursar and Development Director, will attend meetings at the invitation of the Committee for relevant business. The Committee will be supported by a Secretariat provided by College staff.

The College

Balliol College is one of the oldest and largest constituent colleges of Oxford University. Founded in 1263, it has around 800 students of which half are studying for undergraduate degrees and half for postgraduate degrees. It is an independent charity, regulated by the Charity Commission. Its Trustee Board - known as its Governing Body - consists of the Master and Fellows of the College, including executive College Officers. The Governing Body has a number of sub-Committees of which the most significant are the Executive and Academic Committees. The College's Remuneration and Investment Committees are both chaired by independents and have a majority of external members. The Audit and Risk Committee is being established following a Governance Review carried out in 2024.

More information about the College and its governance can be found on the College website.

The main roles of the Committee

The role of the Committee is to oversee and advise the Trustees of the College on their finance and audit, risk management and governance arrangements. Legal responsibility for decision making on these matters continues to rest with the Trustees. Within that framework, the main responsibilities of the Audit and Risk Committee are:

Finance and Audit

• To review the appointment and performance of the College external auditor to verify that the annual accounts are audited effectively and efficiently and independently by an external auditor, and to review their fee, including any non-audit fees;
• To scrutinise the College's response to issues raised in the annual audit findings report, the College's annual report on the effectiveness of the financial and other internal control systems of the College, and to review the implementation of any recommendations made;
• To examine the College's annual statement and that made by the external auditor, on its proper use of public and publicly accountable funds, regarding efficiency and effectiveness;
• To review the College's budget and to make any observations on that, or on the Governing Body's overall Financial Strategy, as it sees fit;
• To assess on a regular basis, the accounting and financial policies of the College to ensure compliance with FRS102, the Charities SORP and any relevant Charity Commission guidance;
• To propose internal reviews of College operations or projects, or to consider the outcome of reviews commissioned by the Governing Body, should they choose to do so.

Risk

• To review the Risk Register and Business Continuity Plans and raise any points of concern;
• To assure itself that there has been an annual review of the College's policies concerning health and safety, anti-fraud and bribery, HR processes, disciplinary and grievance processes, data security, money laundering and accounting policies, in the light of current legal and regulatory requirements, and to raise any points of concern.
• To note the circumstances of all serious incident reports made to the Charity Commission and make any report they think appropriate to College Meeting;

Governance

• To advise Trustees on whether any changes to the College's policies required by statute or regulation comply with the relevant requirements, including those set by the Office for Students and the Office of Independent Adjudication; the Charity Commission Code of Guidance; the University of Oxford Statutes; and the College's own statutes;
• To review annually the terms of reference for the committees of the College;
• To review any proposed new statutes or by-laws to confirm compliance with Charity Commission and other regulatory requirements;
• To scrutinise annually the College's management of conflicts of interest, including Trustees' maintenance of an up-to-date register of their interests, and to adjudicate on any particular conflict of interest referred to it;
• To examine annually the engaged participation of Trustees in the management of the charity, including appropriate induction and training;
• To review the College's annual return to the Charity Commission, and any non-regular correspondence;
• To offer advice on governance matters at the request of the College.

Relevant Experience

• The College will be seeking a Chair with senior experience in any of the areas covered by the Committee - audit, risk and charity governance - and with some understanding of the others. Ideally, they would have some experience or understanding of the financial, regulatory and political context of Higher Education.
• The Chair will be involved in the appointment of the other two external members of the Committee, of whom we would be seeking complementary skills and experience.
• In order to ensure independence of the Chair, the College will not wish to appoint an alumnus or anyone with a close connection to the College to the role. The other independents may be alumni or have a connection.

Time commitment

It is anticipated that the Committee will have three formal meetings a year, one in each of the three University terms. The Chair may also be invited on occasion to attend meetings of the Governing Body/Trustees to report on any particular aspect of the Committee's work.

The term of office is four years, with the possibility of reappointment for a further four years.

Remuneration and Expenses

The role is a voluntary one. All reasonable travel and associated expenses will be met by the College.

Application

To apply for this role, please send your CV and a covering letter to [e-mail] by Monday 21 April at 5pm. Interviews will be held on 9 May 2025.

To arrange an informal conversation or in case of any other queries, please contact Nathalie Perret.