Governance Assistant

Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust; York and North Yorkshire; On-site; GBP 13,000 - 19,000; Part time

Job summary

Joseph Rowntree Foundation is seeking a Governance Assistant to join the Chief Executive’s Office. This part-time role (21 hours per week) supports governance cycles, coordinates meetings, manages calendars, travel, and confidential support to Trustees and senior staff.

You will have advanced MS Office, including Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, and experience with SharePoint. The role offers flexible working with two days per week in the home office and opportunities to contribute to

Qualifications

• Highly organised and proactive individual with strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to manage confidential information with integrity and discretion.
• Experience supporting governance or executive office functions is desirable.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate Trustee, Board and committee meetings and governance calendar.
• Manage meeting logistics, travel and accommodation, workshops and events.
• Provide confidential support to Trustees and senior colleagues; monitor governance inbox and manage actions.
• Support the Executive Assistant with diary management and day-to-day admin tasks.
• Help improve governance systems, intranet and SharePoint pages.

Skills

Organisational skills

Diary management

Microsoft Office

SharePoint

Communication

Discretion

Tools

MS Office Suite

Teams

Outlook

Excel

PowerPoint

SharePoint

Job description

Permanent, Part Time (21 hours per week)

About the role

Here at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, we are looking for a Governance Assistant to join our Chief Executive’s Office. This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in supporting the smooth running and continuous improvement of the organisation’s governance.

Working as part of the Governance team, you will provide high-quality administrative support across the Group’s governance cycle, helping to enable effective decision-making and strong governance practice. You will coordinate Trustee, Board and committee meetings, maintain the annual governance calendar, manage meeting logistics, arrange travel and accommodation, support workshops and events, and provide confidential support to Trustees and senior colleagues. You will also monitor the Governance inbox, maintain the governance decisions database and ensure actions and key issues are followed up promptly.

Alongside governance responsibilities, you will contribute to the effective running of the Chief Executive’s Office by supporting the Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive with meetings and events, providing diary management for the Associate Director, and carrying out a range of day-to-day administrative tasks.

The role offers the opportunity to improve administrative systems and processes, including maintaining relevant intranet and SharePoint pages, while contributing to new projects and continuous improvements across the Chief Executive’s Office.

About you

We are seeking an organised, proactive and highly professional individual with excellent verbal and written communication skills. The successful candidate will demonstrate the highest standards of honesty, integrity and discretion, with the ability to manage sensitive and confidential information appropriately.

You will be a collaborative team player who builds and maintains positive, productive working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders at all levels, and you will bring a proactive approach, a strong commitment to teamwork, and the ability to remain calm under pressure while maintaining a positive, can-do attitude. Confident working independently, you will use your initiative to make sound decisions and provide high-quality administrative support within a busy, high-profile environment.

You will be proficient in the use of IT systems, with advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office applications, including Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint, together with experience of using SharePoint. You will also have proven experience of managing complex electronic diaries and leading improvements of organisational systems and process.

The closing date for applications is 24th August 2026

Interviews will take place on tbc

We reserve the right to bring the closing date forward should enough quality applications be received prior to the current closing date.

Additional Information

Applications are welcome from all, regardless of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, trans status or socioeconomic background.

We positively encourage applications from people from marginalised backgrounds, including but not limited to those with experience of living in poverty.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and operate an anonymised recruitment process so that bias is eliminated from the shortlisting process.

In support of our approach to flexible working, we are happy to receive applications from those seeking full-time employment, as well as those who may want to share the role on a part-time basis. When making your application, please state whether you want to be considered for either full or part-time work and, if part-time, the number of hours per week you would be looking for.

At JRF we’re at our best when we’re continually building on trust, showing we care and making a difference – and hope others will do the same. So, for those roles which allow it, we’re developing a more blended approach to how and where you work. This means you can expect to work flexibly between the office and home (with an expectation of two days a week in your home office).

We offer a supportive and flexible workplace. For details about our benefits click here: JRF Benefits

We encourage you to read our EVP, which is located here: https://jrf-jrht-brand.frontify.com/share/7C1kD2FusMtEVnje2ijA

We are a Disability Confident Employer

This means that we are committed to the recruitment, progression and retention of disabled individuals. We shall also offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for the job. If you have a disability, please tell us if you would like to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you have any additional needs and need reasonable adjustments to be made to the interview process, please let us know.