Risk and Governance Officer

Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust; Greater London; On-site; GBP 46,000 - 56,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading healthcare organization in Greater London seeks a proactive Board Secretariat to provide high-level administrative support, manage meetings, and ensure effective governance. The successful candidate will have significant board-level experience, excellent communication, and advanced Microsoft Office skills. This role offers a salary between £46,419 and £55,046 per year, emphasizing the need for accuracy, attention to detail, and the ability to handle confidential matters with integrity.

Qualifications

• Significant experience working at Board or Executive level.
• Experience in senior administration in large organizations.
• Ability to minute high-level meetings to a high standard.

Responsibilities

• Provide high-level administrative support to the Head of Board Governance.
• Serve meetings; take and transcribe minutes accurately.
• Monitor progress against Committee action logs.

Skills

Effective communication

Corporate governance knowledge

Attention to detail

Advanced keyboard skills

Ability to manage competing demands

Education

Degree level education or equivalent experience

Postgraduate diploma level training

Tools

Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

Job description

Main duties of the job

To ensure that a high quality and timely service is provided (utilising all Microsoft Office packages) when producing minutes, agendas, correspondence, reports, emails, presentations, project plans and spreadsheets. This requires a high degree of keyboard skills, speed and accuracy and substantial VDU use most days.

The role also requires long periods of sitting in a restricted position while taking minutes at meetings.

There is a regular requirement for prolonged concentration while taking and transcribing minutes where a high degree of accuracy is required.

There may be interruptions to deal with conflicting priorities and these will need to be managed whilst still meeting the required deadlines for agenda, minutes etc.

Occasional exposure to distressing or emotional circumstances such as staff performance issues, dissatisfied patients/clients, dealing with complaints

Monitor key information sources (web sites, journals) to keep abreast of wider NHS developments relevant to the post.Keep up-to-date with developments relevant to the post by attending relevant conferences and local network meetings, in agreement with the Trust Board Governance Manager.

About us

Our people are our greatest asset. When we feel supported and happy at work, this positivity reaches those very people we are here for, the patients. Engaged employees perform at their best and our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI) initiatives contribute to cultivate a culture of engagement. We have four staff networks, a corporate EDI Team and a suite of programmes and events which aim to insert the 5 aspirations:

• Improving representation at senior levels of staff with disabilities, from black, Asian, and ethnic minorities background, identify as LGBTQ+ and women, through improved recruitment and leadership development
• Widening access (anchor institution) and employability
• Improving the experience of staff with disability
• Improving the EDI literacy and confidence of trust staff through training and development
• Making equalities mainstream

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Board Secretariat

Responsible for providing high level administrative support to the Head of Board Governance and Trust Board and Committees;

Responsible for servicing meetings; taking and transcribing minutes to a high standard, planning and preparation of agendas and papers;

Responsible for proactively monitoring progress against Committee action logs through liaison with Executive Directors, advising the Committee Chair of any outstanding issues;

To resolve agenda issues using independent judgement to make necessary revisions.

Support the Head of Board Governance in:

o Ensuring that the Board and its Committees run efficiently and effectively, that they are accurately minuted and that Directors and Non-Executive Directors receive appropriate support; and

o Planning Committee Agendas in negotiation with the Non-Executive Chairs and Executive Leads; and

o Delivering corporate governance arrangements of statutory committees, maintenance and disclosure of statutory registers and documents

Work with the Head of Board Governance to co-ordinate and minute, when required, the Trusts fortnightly Trust Management Executive meetings chaired by the Chief Executive, regularly liaising on agenda items with senior staff across the Trust.

Work with the Head of Board Governance to arrange the annual schedule of Board and Committee meetings.

To type and draft where appropriate, correspondence and other documents as required, checking all typing for accuracy, spelling and grammar before it is sent;

To work with a high level of autonomy, prioritising own workload, deciding when necessary to refer to the Head of Board Governance;

To regularly review Board Members mandatory training records and liaise with members who training is due to expire to ensure all Board Members are compliant.

To support the Head of Board Governance with ordering items necessary to ensure the smooth running of the Trust Board and governance processes. Such items are likely to be on an adhoc basis.

The Risk and Governance Officer will work alongside the Head of Risk Management ensuring there is a comprehensive, effective and regularly maintained risk management function in place across the organisation, and that risks are identified, escalated and reported through appropriate governance structures.

The post holder will proactively promote the benefits of strong governance and implement strategies to enhance staff knowledge of governance, risk processes, and regulatory requirements.

Person Specification

Qualifications and Training

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
• Further training and experience to post graduate diploma level or equivalent

Personal Qualities

• Capable of working under pressure and using own initiative. Flexible and self-motivated. Team worker. Excellent interpersonal skills. Outgoing and resourceful. Self-confident, tactful and diplomatic. Calm under pressure but assertive when required. High degree of personal integrity and probity. Good political awareness.

Knowledge and Skills

• Ability to communicate effectively at all levels using e‑mail, telephone or face to face
• Knowledge of corporate governance legislation and best practice
• Understand of effective systems and processes for organisational risk management
• Ability to deal with confidential and sensitive issues with tact
• Attention to detail and able to see tasks through to completion
• Advanced and accurate keyboard and formatting skills for producing reports, spreadsheets and correspondence etc
• Ability to work flexibly to meet the needs of the department, including some early and late finishes
• Ability to deal effectively with competing demands
• Ability to manage non‑routine enquiries without immediate supervision
• High standard of presentation of written work.
• Excellent communication, negotiation and persuasive skills.
• Ability to present well‑reasoned and structured argument in order to influence and persuade others over whom the post holder may have no formal authority.

Experience

• Significant experience working at Board/Executive level
• Significant experience in administration at a senior level in a large organisation
• Ability to minute high level meetings and transcribe minutes to a high standard
• Previous experience of working in a fast moving, confidential, sensitive, pressurised deadline driven environment
• Thorough knowledge and practical experience of Microsoft Outlook, E‑mail, Word, PowerPoint and Excel
• Experience of working in an organisation under public and political scrutiny
• Experience of working to support a large and complex organisation

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

£46,419 to £55,046 a yearper annum plus HCAS