Head of Governance

BACP is the leading professional body for counselling and psychotherapy in the UK with around 62,000 members.

Benefits include 25 days annual leave (for full time) plus Bank Holidays, 5 paid mental health days, health cash plan, corporate yoga and anonymous 24/7 over-the-phone counselling.

To be responsible for the management and oversight of matters relating to governance, assurance and risk across all areas of the business. To act as a steward within the Association for these areas, embedding a culture of good governance and compliance.

This role can be performed remotely with regular visits to various sites and to BACP House in Lutterworth for Governance activity, team meetings, 1 to 1s and as required.

**Principle Accountabilities**

To act as a link between the Senior Management Team (SMT) and Trustees to ensure that governance of the Association is efficiently and effectively managed in accordance with external regulatory compliance obligations and internal constitutional and administrative procedures of the charity.

To oversee the delivery of effective and productive Board and Committee meetings through effective pre-meeting stakeholder engagement and planning, agenda setting, paper collation and circulation, meeting delivery and logistics, presentation of concise house style minutes/actions and reports for Board consideration.

To oversee the maintenance of a forward-looking calendar of Board and Committee meetings and agenda items, working closely with the Board and Committee Chairs, CEO team, and SMT team.

To ensure the production, implementation and embedding of a BACP Governance Framework that adequately supports the organisation and aligns with the strategic growth of the Association.

To deliver best practice with respect to supporting the Charity Chair and trustees in carrying out their duties. To ensure the role of trustee is understood and complied with and inductions, support and training are delivered.

To provide strategic legal and corporate governance advice to the Board and colleagues on their responsibilities under applicable regulatory legislation and internal policies and procedures and ensure timely legal advice is provided to the organisation where required.

To perform the role of steward for the charity with responsibility for oversight and, as appropriate, development of Association policies, including Articles of Association and Standing Orders, in line with legislation, guidance and best practice.

To oversee the delivery of the internal audit programme and other appropriate audit activity including reporting the outcomes to the Board and SLT; working collaboratively to ensure all follow up actions are implemented to give the Association assurance that policies and processes are fit for purpose.

To lead on the Annual General Meeting, trustee election process and member submission of resolutions and motions from a governance perspective, liaising with colleagues across the business and with external legal advisors, where necessary, to deliver a timely, compliant and well-run meeting.

To act as Company Secretary and ensure Charity and Company documents are filed with the Charity Commission and Company’s House as required.

To ensure the risk management framework for the organisation is developed, followed and maintained including maintaining the strategic risk register and review and mitigation of risk based on Association risk appetite.

To oversee quality assurance within the Association through the review of policies against processes and service level agreements, highlighting areas of concern and remedial actions.

To have oversight of GDPR processes to ensure the Association is compliant with legislation and follows processes correctly.

To line manage a team through regular 1-2-1s and performance appraisals, empowering the team to deliver their objectives and support the work of the department.

**Knowledge & Experience**
- Graduate with at least three years professional experience
- Must have experience of successfully leading at a senior level in Governance or as Company Secretary
- Knowledge of company and charity legislation, regulation and the governance landscape, both current and future requirements
- Must be able to establish strong working relationship, with experience of working with volunteers desirable
- Must be self-motivated and able to use initiative
- Confident in leading meetings or group discussions
- Excellent inter-personal skills and the ability to communicate at all levels
- Work within a team and on own initiative, organising and prioritising workloads
- Ability to handle multiple projects and meet deadlines
- Good report writing and presentation skills
- ICSA membership or equivalent is desirable
- Knowledge of governance within a membership body or charity is desirable

**Job Types**: Permanent, Full-time

**Salary**: £68,088.00 per year

**Benefits**:

- Additional leave
- Flexitime
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Work from home

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