Director of Governance and Policy

The Beckmead Trust is an expanding learning and nurturing community for young people with Educational Health Care Plans and various types of additional needs across various sites. We are seeking an experienced candidate to ensure that all layers of The Beckmead Trust’s governance arrangements operate as a coherent whole. This is a strategic leadership position responsible for keeping the ‘conscience’ of The Beckmead Trust active and well informed.

The post holder will ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, communicate risk and consolidate local governance arrangements to provide robust challenge and support for the Trust and its constituent parts.

The postholder will be the lead in the Trust for ensuring high standards of governance including the smooth and efficient administration of the Trust Board and its Committees, as well as advising the Chair of the Board and Executive colleagues on governance process and practice. The post holder will also act as The Company Secretary.

They will oversee compliance with regulatory and legislative governance requirements, ensure the Board’s decisions are acted upon, are in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and continue to provide public benefit. At academy and school level the postholder will be proactive and creative in identifying where governance is working well but also where interventions may be required.

They will build strong relationships with Headteachers, Chairs, Trustees, Governors and Members, ensuring governance at each academy and school is fully ‘Ofsted-ready’. As the Trust’s Governance and Policy expert the postholder will design and roll-out a professional governor training programme, and also lead on governor recruitment and retention, with a licence to be innovative in attracting high calibre volunteers.

This is a role with several elements: the need to provide strategic leadership as well as operational management; to be innovative and creative in developing system-leading governance for The Beckmead Trust, whilst also ensuring statutory and regulatory requirements continue to be met; to be an expert on the theory and approach to governance with the ability to implement and safeguard high standards of challenge and support; and to be equally comfortable operating at central as well as local level whilst ensuring all elements of governance combine to support driving improvements in standards across The Beckmead Trust.

Please see the job description for further information.