Senior Governance Manager

Job description

Job Description

Base salary: £40750 pa to c.£50950 pa depending on skills and experience. In addition, we offer flexible benefits fund of 20% which is paid on top base salary and is fully pensionable, as well as a range of competitive benefits - check them out in the Benefits section on our website.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential. In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

As a Senior Governance Manager will be responsible for the provision and delivery of the full range of company secretarial and related services for HS2 Ltd, its Board, and its Board sub-committees, the Executive Committee, and its sub-panels in order to minimise exposure and risk. You will report directly to the Company Secretary and whilst they will be expected to carry out duties as directed, they will also be empowered to take ownership and work autonomously, using their own judgement to make decisions on behalf of the team.

About the role:

• Supervise the review of the Company Secretariat information on Interchange/IMS and HS2 Website to maintain accurate version control
• Lead on monitoring the participation of mandatory eGovernance training modules and ensure regularly refreshed to align with any internal governance changes.
• Lead on continuous reviews (a minimum of bi-annually) of the governance arrangements so efficacy remains
• Take the lead and oversee the scheduling of the intricate annual corporate meeting schedule (circa 200+ meetings)
• Lead the coordination of the Company Secretariat contribution to the Annual Report and Accounts
• Lead and oversight of Effectiveness reviews for each governance forum within own and Governance Manager's meeting portfolios
• Review overall team effectiveness regularly and report to Company Secretary
• Identify process improvements and implement as agreed
• Conduct a regular audit of programme level forums and appraise Company Secretary to confirm flow of governance decisions remains efficient
• Lead on annual review and purchase of the Board Portal Software
• Lead on review of governance documentation
• Define Board training requirements and provide updates as required
• Oversee the maintenance of Board contact details and register of HS2 property issued to Non-Executive Directors
• Provide reliable advice across the business on matters of governance to ensure timely decisions are made in the correct forum and within the necessary time limits
• Contribute to ensuring the appropriate support structures and processes are in place to enable HS2 Ltd's Board and its sub-Committees and Executive Committee and its sub-panels to meet their responsibilities and obligations
• Responsible for planning on-time delivery of company secretariat services at all times, ensuring adequate cover at times of team absence whether planned or ad hoc
• Support the Company Secretary to maintain a robust Conflicts of Interest/business interest management of the Board and Executive members
• Support the Company Secretary to deliver a detailed onboarding process for any additional Non-Executive Directors, Executive Directors and Senior Leadership Team colleagues
• Oversee performance management of direct reports to promote excellent performance, and contribute to maintaining team morale at all times, providing pastoral support should that be required
• Supervising and acting as an escalation point for colleagues within the Company Secretariat team
• Undertake any other duties as requested by the Company Secretary, CEO, CFO and HS2 Chair in order to support the function
• Actively promote and embed Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work, and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI

About you:

Skills:

• The ability to draft papers and other documentation clearly and concisely to agreed deadlines
• Expertise in reviewing, drafting and presenting reports and briefings to a Board and senior executive level audience, dealing with complex and multi-faceted issues
• Ability to provide advice and direction, creative thinking, independent judgement and discretion in handling and/or communicating major issues
• Ability to establish and maintain a high degree of confidentiality, respect, trust and credibility at all levels
• Competency in minute taking with an aptitude for capturing complex discussions and pursuing actions to a satisfactory conclusion
• Experience of managing a robust forward pipeline of work and ensuring decisions required are delivered within agreed timescales
• Ability to act as a team player who is both committed and flexible
• Proficient IT skills e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint
• Proficiency in supporting the governance of complex organisations and experience of providing governance advice to colleagues at all levels, including Executive and Non-Executive Directors
• Ability to develop relationships and build rapport with a wide range of contacts and be able to work constructively with others
• Influencing, relationship management and people skills including interaction with senior internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to manage and present complex information so that it is clear and concise and appropriate for the intended audience
• Understanding of best practice and control frameworks of corporate governance in a public sector environment
• Understanding of business processes and how to effectively operate across organisational functions
• Comprehension of the Framework Document and Development Agreement (Operational Annex) between HS2 Ltd and DfT to understand its relevance to the Company Secretariat function
• Knowledge of the following, would be an advantage:
  • The role of the National Audit Office (NAO) and its powers.
  • Managing Public Money and other governance controls arising from HS2 Ltd's Non-Departmental public sector status.
  • Freedom of Information (FOI) and Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) regimes.

Type of Experience:

• Experience working as Governance Manager/Deputy Company Secretary (or Chartered Company Secretary) within a Company Secretariat function in private or public sector organisations
• Experience of using Board Portal Software (AdminControl, Diligent etc)
• Experience of contributing to, facilitating internal governance reviews, and overseeing implementation of changes to the governance structure as and when required
• Experience of maintaining accurate records of decisions for auditable purposes
• Experience of identifying and implementing improvement opportunities within a Company Secretariat function
• Experience of delivering high level company secretarial service, including agenda management, writing accurate and succinct minutes and papers, drafting Board level reports, and providing advice and critique to paper authors to ensure quality documents are presented
• Experience of delivering a company secretariat service within a Major Programme/Project would be an advantage

The post-holder is expected to behave at all times in a manner consistent with the HS2 values of Safety, Leadership, Integrity and Respect

It is expected that you will actively promote and embed Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in all your work and support and comply with all organisational initiatives, policies and procedures on EDI.

As HS2 Ltd do not hold a sponsorship license from the Home Office, we are not able to provide sponsorship to any applicant. Applicants must already have the Right to Work in the UK at the time of application and our process involves a Right to Work validation prior to the interview stage. Note, there are certain types of time-bound visas that we cannot accept.

Any offers made to applicants will be subject to satisfactory completion of pre-employment checks which include Nationality & Immigration Status, employment references, DBS, Financial and Education checks.

We ask for a variety of detail in your online application, however we perform the first assessment of suitability for a role based solely on the information in your CV. In a further development of our efforts to create a more diverse workforce, your CV will be anonymised and personal information will be removed during the first stage of the application review. This removes bias from the process and makes it even more important that you attach an updated word version of your CV for each new application ensuring you include evidence directly related to the criteria in the job advert.

Any applications received after the closing date will not be considered.About Us

High Speed 2 (HS2 Ltd) will be the UK's new high speed rail network. As well as improving capacity, the new scheme will shorten journey times between a number of Britain's major population centres, boost the economy and create thousands of jobs.

HS2 Ltd will create a skills legacy and develop a diverse range of talent. We aim to be a leader in EDI practice by creating a safe & inclusive working environment for all our staff - living our values of Safety, Respect, Integrity and Leadership.

In practice, this means we are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, providing flexible working, encouraging our staff networks to flourish and providing personal and professional development opportunities.

HS2 Ltd is also a safety-critical organisation. Employees are required to ensure reasonable care of their own and others' health and safety by taking personal responsibility for working to our 'Safe at Heart' programme principles and following safe working procedures at all times.

HS2 Ltd endeavours to ensure everyone working for us and with us feels included, thrives and achieves their full potential.