Team Leader – Corporate Services Secretariat

This is an exciting opportunity to lead a small but influential governance and secretariat team at the heart of UKRI, a newly established vibrant non-departmental public body (NDPB) operating as an Arm’s Length Body from its sponsor department BEIS.

We are keen to hear from both public sector governance professionals, and Chartered Secretary / Governance Professionals working in the private sector.

The role offers you the opportunity to work closely with senior leadership at committee level and with a range of teams across UKRI, its Councils, and BEIS. It also offers you the opportunity to help strengthen corporate governance as a function across UKRI. As Team Leader you will lead your team to deliver high quality governance and secretariat support to a portfolio of board and Executive Committee sub-committees and help implement governance best practice across UKRI. You will be expected to be a visible role model, build trusted relationships with senior leadership, and have the confidence of the committee chairs, committee members and wider stakeholders. You should be confident in working directly to the UKRI chair, board and Executive Committee members as required, often at pace and in response to changing priorities. 

There will be a requirement to work at various UKRI locations.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• Build, lead and inspire a high performing, adaptive and resilient governance and secretariat team
• Deliver high quality professional secretariat support for your nominated committees including, but not exclusively:

1. UKRI board committees: Audit Risk Assurance and Performance Committee; Board Investment Committee
2. UKRI Executive Committee sub-committees: People Finance and Operations Committee; Health and Safety Management Committee
3. Other UKRI committees: Joint National Consultative Committee; Investment Advisory Working Group

• Manage your committees’ Forward Schedules and business case pipeline, draft agendas, commission papers, prepare committee packs, maintain committee terms of reference, publish accurate concise minutes, and follow up committee action in a timely way
• Ensure the efficient functioning of your committees and management of information complies with the chairs’ requirements, Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017, BEIS UKRI Framework Document, UKRI policies, and the latest corporate governance regulatory guidance and best practice 

You will need:

• Demonstrable experience as a governance and secretariat professional
• Demonstrable understanding of a governance professional’s core competencies and behaviours including:

1. Knowledge of the essential practical and theoretical information required for good governance and how to apply it
2. The practice, skills and expertise governance professionals bring to deliver their role
3. The values that inform and sustain effective governance professionals in their role

• Experience of working in a Secretariat or private office role

Choosing to come to work at UKRI, means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits including a flexible working scheme, a Career Average Revalued Earnings pension scheme, 30 days annual leave allowance, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme.

Applications are handled by UK Shared Business Services, to see more details and to apply please click the apply button. Please include a covering letter outlining how you fit the role criteria.  Applicants who are unable to apply online should contact us by telephone on +44 (0)1793 867000.

The closing date for applications is 18th August 2021

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 20 Sep 2021