Governance Officer, Central Trust Team

About the role This is a critical role for the Trust as it will support Trustees in delivering on their statutory responsibilities through local Governance. The Governance Officer role sits within the Governance and Compliance Team, providing professional guidance and advice across the nine Local Governing Bodies (LGBs). You will support and clerk LGB meetings, panels and hearings, ensuring they are run efficiently and in line with Trust and statutory requirements. Working with the LGB Chairs, the Principal, Executives in the Trust and local governors, the Governance Officer(s) will ensure that each LGB works within its Terms of Reference and the Trust’s Scheme of Delegation, to deliver on its’ local responsibilities. The role will involve supporting meetings and ensuring that comprehensive and effective administrative support is provided. In addition, the Governance Officer(s) will support across the Trust to ensure compliance and effective operations. The role provides an opportunity to deliver real impact to the schools and LGBs, working alongside the Director for Governance & Compliance and the Head of Governance to implement improvements and drive forward excellence. While the role offers hybrid flexibility, successful candidates must be fully committed to in-person team collaboration, proactive engagement with stakeholders, and upholding high standards of delivery and accountability. All LGB meetings and exclusion panels are held in person (with the exception of parental request for a remote exclusion panel). There may be occasions where some meetings will be held remotely on MS Teams, other elements of the role can be hybrid. There are 4 LGB meetings per school (9 schools) across the year, plus additional panels such as exclusions and hearings. Building relationships with stakeholders across the Trust is a key element of the role. Due to the nature of the role, working hours may vary and evening work may be required as the LGB meetings often take place in the early evenings. Meeting dates for the academic year are set well in advance. The successful candidate(s) will be required to work flexibly, and to be familiar with the peaks of busy periods during the term. Reporting This role will report into the Head of Governance for the Trust, who reports to the Director of Governance & Compliance. Support and staff development Our staff are important to us. We know that without great staff our children will not be as successful. Therefore, Professional Learning is key to our success. As a new employee within the Trust, you will be supported by our Senior Directors of People and Professional Learning, alongside your line manager to realise your full potential. Key responsibilities of the role LGB meeting management •Ensure that the LGBs are fully supported to function efficiently, effectively and compliantly. •Collate and circulate the draft agenda, in line with the Trust's LGB Annual Agenda Planner, and liaise with the Chair and Principal regarding any additional items to include; •On approval of the final agenda, liaise with others, including governors and the Executive, to collate all supporting papers and documents in good time; •Distribute the agenda and supporting papers at least five school days before the meeting via GovernorHub; •Maintain contact with the Chair, governors and Executive to ensure that attendance is as required, and any questions are addressed. •To clerk and be responsible for taking notes and minutes, recording the attendance and non-attendance of governors as well as any declared conflict of interests. Record attendance on GovernorHub after the meeting; •Advise the Chair during the meeting to ensure that any legal requirements are fulfilled and that the agenda is followed appropriately. Provide guidance on the procedural and constitutional matters and ensure they are conducted in accordance with statutory requirements and the remit of the LGB; •Respond to any questions from members who seek clarification; •Using the format agreed, produce high quality minutes to record the areas of discussion, challenge, details of any decisions taken and responsibility for agreed actions; •Send draft minutes to the Chair and Principal for comment and approval within five school days of the meetings; •When the Chair’s approval is received, distribute draft minutes to all governors and publish as required within 10 days of the meeting; •Ensure a signed copy of the approved minutes is kept on GovernorHub and is available for public inspection if formal requests are received; •Deal with confidential minutes in the approved manner; •Track and review the status of any previous actions which need to be reported back to governors, including any follow up work. •Support the Head of Governance with the coordination of the annual meeting cycles, liaising with Chairs and Principals to confirm and publish agreed dates. Statutory panels and appeal/review meetings •To support the establishment of panels for exclusion, staffing and other panel hearings such as complaints, grievance etc including preparation of panel packs and completion of high-quality decision letters and minutes; •Organise panel members and distribution of papers within statutory timescales and handle confidential minutes accordingly; •Provide professional guidance to the governors and senior leaders of such panels as required; •Clerk and be responsible for taking high-quality minutes at these panels, as required to support the schools in the Trust to meet their statutory duties. Governance and compliance responsibilities •Be familiar with the Trust’s Articles of Association, Funding Agreements, Terms of Reference, Scheme of Delegation and the Academies Handbook to ensure that the conduct of all meetings are compliant. •Work with the Head of Governance to ensure that guidance on new legislation provided by the Department for Education, Local Authority and other bodies is disseminated and used to inform LGB meetings. •Work with the Head of Governance to ensure that the register of policies relating to each LGB is updated and that policies are reviewed and approved as required. Guide the Principal and LGB Chair through this process for their school. Provide assistance centrally on the policy review cycle. •Maintain an accurate record of membership of the LGB, including dates of appointment, categories of governor and terms of office. Ensure that all governors are aware of the expiry date of their term of office. •Ensure a register of LGB pecuniary interests is maintained and reviewed at least annually as part of the Trust’s cycle, and is on every agenda and drawn to governors’ attention at all LGB meetings. •Liaise with the Head of Governance and LGB Chair on upcoming vacancies and on actions that might be taken to fill the vacancies and working with the Principal to conduct elections to fill parent governor vacancies. •Support the recruitment and induction of governors, ensuring that the onboarding processes are adhered to. Ensure prompt access to GovernorHub and relevant training sources and that GIAS is updated and accurate. •In liaison with the Head of Governance, administer the re-appointment / offboarding of governors. •Ensure GDPR compliance with all governor information, including that all new governors complete the necessary forms to enable an enhanced DBS check. Work with the school HR teams and reporting back to the Head of Governance, to ensure that all information for the Governor SCR is completed. •Understand how and when to escalate concerns where there is non-compliance or suspected misconduct. •Maintain records of any training (face to face or online) undertaken by LGB governors and report non-compliance to LGB Chair. Ensure all governors on the LGBs are registered for training and membership organisations that the Trust is part of. •Ensure the Governance areas of the school websites are up to date and compliant, proactively ensuring that information is maintained. Publish governor biographies to the Trust website. •Support the Head of Governance with delivering governor training and forums. This includes local induction sessions with new governors. •Support with the co-ordination of skills audits and self evaluations with the LGBs. •Support with other projects /tasks as required within the Governance and Compliance team to ensure compliance and effective operations. This may include website audits, publishing Trust policies as part of the annual cycle of review, and supporting with Subject Access or Freedom of Information Requests. •Work alongside the Director for Governance and Compliance and the Head of Governance to implement improvements and drive forward excellence. •Attend appropriate training and development opportunities and keep up to date with current educational developments and legislation affecting school governance, in order to provide proactive support to the LGBs and Trust. •Adhere to the Trust's Clerk's Handbook, and to follow all procedures and processes as outlined in the Handbook. No job description can be exhaustive and duties may alter over time. The post holder(s) is expected to use their professional judgement to ensure that the role continues to evolve and develop in line with the Trust’s changing requirements. Additional information for applicants: Please review the candidate information pack for more information. 'We expect all applicants to address their suitability for the role within their supporting statement'

Location: Kent,, GB

Posted Date: 7/15/2025