Governance Analyst

Heriot-Watt University; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 38,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

Heriot‑Watt University in Edinburgh is seeking a PMO Governance Analyst to strengthen the University's governance, assurance and performance reporting. You will embed governance controls, support forums and provide insight to enable informed decision‑making and accountability across the organisation.

Working in the University Governance & Operations team, you will develop frameworks, produce reports and dashboards, and manage artefacts such as risk and action logs, supporting senior stakeholders

Qualifications

• Degree qualification or equivalent professional experience.

Responsibilities

• Support the development and maintenance of governance frameworks, standards, templates and guidance.
• Provide support to governance forums, including agenda management, meeting coordination, action tracking and decision recording.
• Prepare governance reports, dashboards, board papers and briefing materials for senior leaders and governance bodies.
• Produce and analyse management information to support governance oversight, performance monitoring and decision‑making.
• Analyse governance and performance information to identify trends, themes, risks and opportunities, providing insight and recommendations to support decision‑making.
• Maintain governance artefacts including action logs, decision registers, risk registers and issue logs.
• Monitor governance actions, commitments and decisions, escalating issues and overdue actions where appropriate.
• Support prioritisation and governance processes through analysis of proposals, risks, dependencies and impacts.

Skills

PMO governance experience

Governance reporting and insight

Analytical problem-solving

Stakeholder management

Organisational skills

Communication skills

Sound judgement and discretion

Multitasking and prioritisation

Education

Degree qualification or equivalent

Tools

Power BI

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Teams

SharePoint

Job description

Job Description

Job Title: PMO Governance Analyst

Grade and Salary range: Grade 7, £38,448 to £48,337 per annum

FTE and working pattern: Full-time (35 hours per week), Open-Ended

Organisation Name: University Governance & Operations

Purpose of Role

The PMO Governance Analyst plays a key role in establishing and embedding the University's operational governance capability. The role provides governance, assurance, performance reporting and support that enables effective oversight of operational activity, strategic initiatives and organisational performance.

Working across a complex stakeholder environment, the postholder supports governance forums, maintains governance controls and reporting, and provides insight that supports informed decision‑making and organisational accountability.

About our Directorate and Team

Heriot-Watt University is a leading UK university recognised for world‑class teaching and impactful, industry‑relevant research, with a strong reputation for innovation and enterprise. The University operates across five campuses in the UK, Dubai and Malaysia, offering specialist programmes in science, engineering, design, business and languages, and is Scotland's most international university by student cohort.

University Governance & Operations governs and directs both the University's global commercial operations and the governance arrangements that underpin its charitable status and professional services functions.

The Central Operational PMO sits within the Change, Performance & Transformation Directorate, which is responsible for establishing and embedding the University's change, planning, performance and transformation capabilities. The directorate supports Strategy 2035 through a university‑wide approach to governance, operational performance management, prioritisation and change delivery.

Summary of Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the development and maintenance of governance frameworks, standards, templates and guidance to ensure consistent governance practices.
• Provide support to governance forums, including agenda management, meeting coordination, action tracking and decision recording.
• Prepare governance reports, dashboards, board papers and briefing materials for senior leaders and governance bodies.
• Produce and analyse management information to support governance oversight, performance monitoring and decision‑making.
• Analyse governance and performance information to identify trends, themes, risks and opportunities, providing insight and recommendations to support decision‑making.
• Maintain governance artefacts including action logs, decision registers, risk registers and issue logs.
• Monitor governance actions, commitments and decisions, escalating issues and overdue actions where appropriate.
• Support prioritisation and governance processes through analysis of proposals, risks, dependencies and impacts.

Education, Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Degree qualification or equivalent relevant professional experience.
• Experience working within a PMO, governance, programme, portfolio or operational management environment.
• Experience supporting governance forums, committees or boards through reporting, coordination, analysis and governance activities.
• Experience producing reports, dashboards, briefing papers and management information for senior stakeholders.
• Experience maintaining governance artefacts including actions, decisions, risks and issues.
• Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills with the ability to interpret information and provide evidence‑based insights.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to exercise sound judgement and manage sensitive information appropriately.
• Proficiency in Microsoft 365 applications, particularly Excel, Power BI, Word, PowerPoint, Teams and SharePoint.

Desirable

• Experience working within higher education, the public sector or another complex matrix organisation.
• Experience supporting operational governance, organisational performance or strategic change initiatives.
• Experience supporting assurance, audit or compliance activities.
• Knowledge of project, programme or portfolio management methodologies.
• Relevant PMO, project or programme management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, MSP, MoP, P3O or APM).

Equality and Diversity

Heriot‑Watt University is committed to securing equality of opportunity in employment and to the creation of an environment in which individuals are selected, trained, promoted, appraised, and otherwise treated on the sole basis of their relevant merits and abilities. Equality and diversity are all about maximising potential and creating a culture of inclusion for all.

Heriot‑Watt University values diversity across our university community and welcomes applications from all sectors of society, particularly from underrepresented groups. For more information, please see our website https://www.hw.ac.uk/uk/services/equality-diversity.htm and also our award‑winning work in Disability Inclusive Science Careers https://disc.hw.ac.uk/.

Use our total rewards calculator: https://www.hw.ac.uk/about/work/total-rewards-calculator.htm to see the value of benefits provided by Heriot‑Watt University.