Governance and Compliance Manager

The General Optical Council; City Of London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A regulatory body for eye care professionals seeks a Governance and Compliance Manager to lead governance activities. You will advise at Board-level and ensure compliance with statutory obligations, managing a high-performing team while providing crucial training and support. The ideal candidate will have strong communication and line management experience, with a proven ability to handle sensitive governance issues effectively.

Qualifications

• Experience advising at Board-level in governance functions.
• Strong drafting skills, with attention to detail.
• Experience in supervising and supporting team members.
• Proven ability to manage complex compliance processes.
• Experience in stakeholder issue resolution.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team in governance and compliance activities.
• Provide strategic advice to trustees and senior leaders.
• Develop professional networks for effective governance.
• Train staff on statutory responsibilities and governance.
• Support the Chief of Staff in governance business planning.

Skills

Knowledge of governance functions

Excellent communication skills

Line management experience

Managing compliance processes

Resolving sensitive issues

Job description

Please see job description for more information

Role Purpose

You will be responsible for managing governance and compliance activities to ensure that the GOC meets its statutory obligations and makes effective decisions in line with its policies and procedures. The Governance and Compliance Manager is required to provide advice and support to employees, members and workers to ensure the governance of the organisation is well-coordinated and consistent with the GOC values, its charitable objectives and statutory purpose.

You will be responsible for maintaining the policies and procedures that ensure good governance and compliance practice across the organisation, as well as coordinating a high‑performing governance and compliance team in line with GOC values and our performance and behaviours framework.

Key Accountabilities

• Lead a team of governance professionals to ensure committee management, member recruitment and core governance and compliance processes are managed effectively and well‑coordinated.
• Provide advice to trustees, senior leaders and other key individuals on forward planning, decision‑making, governance practice, compliance policies, conflicts management, agenda preparation and paper development.
• Develop and maintain professional networks internally and externally to ensure processes are well‑managed, and that there is confidence and trust in the governance and compliance functions.
• Provide up‑to‑date advice, guidance, induction and training to employees, members and workers on the GOC's statutory responsibilities and governance to ensure consistency across the organisation with agreed frameworks.
• Provide project management support on departmental and organisation‑wide projects, including governance reviews and wider change and transformation work.
• Support the Chief of Staff with other relevant responsibilities that are conducive to the effective governance of the GOC and delivery of the Governance business plan.

1. Work with the Governance and Compliance team to manage: overseeing the corporate complaints process;
2. undertaking and administering investigations;
3. producing statistics and drafting reports;
4. maintaining corporate and Council policies and ensuring policy authors are supported to review and update policies regularly;
5. providing support for the serious and significant incident management policy; and
6. training and providing guidance to staff on a range of compliance policies, procedures and responsibilities.

Essential Skills/Experience/Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience of governance functions, including advising at Board‑level.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the drafting of minutes, delivering presentations, and drafting and presenting reports with a focus on attention to detail.
• Line management or equivalent experience in supervising and supporting others.
• Experience of managing complex compliance processes and ensuring organisations are compliant with legal, regulatory and policy obligations.
• Experience of supporting customers and stakeholders in resolving difficult, sensitive issues with clarity and in compliance with policies, regulations and statutory requirements.

We reserve the right to close this role early dependent on number of applications.

Please note that your application will only be considered if it includes both CV and a cover letter. The cover letter should be no longer than 2 A4 pages and must demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria of this role.