Governance & Data Protection Administrator in Exeter

As Governance & Data Protection Administrator, you will support the delivery of effective governance and data protection across Cornerstone. You will co-ordinate governance activities, maintain key records and policies, and help ensure the organisation meets its legal, regulatory and information management responsibilities.

Responsible to: Governance Manager

Responsible for: No line management responsibility

Salary: £28,976 a year depending on experience and qualifications

Hours: 35 hours per week

Closing Date: 01/10/2026 9.00am

Main Tasks

Provide efficient, accurate and proactive operational support across all aspects of governance administration, ensuring meetings are well-serviced, records are well-maintained, compliance is supported, and the Governance Manager is effectively backed in delivering a high-quality governance function.

• Meeting and Board Administration

  • Prepare and collate papers for Board, committee and governance meetings, ensuring materials are accurate, complete and available in good time.
  • Take accurate, clear and timely minutes for Board and committee meetings, providing a reliable record of discussions and decisions that supports the governance audit trail.
  • Track and monitor actions arising from meetings, proactively following up with action owners to ensure timely completion.
  • Maintain and update the board portal, ensuring documents are uploaded accurately and relevant parties have access.

• Subject Access Requests

  • Administer and coordinate all subject access requests received by the organisation, ensuring they are logged promptly, acknowledged appropriately and managed in line with GDPR requirements and internal procedures.
  • Check that requests are valid, support identity verification where required, clarify the scope of requests where necessary and ensure key deadlines are recorded and monitored.
  • Coordinate information gathering across the business, working with relevant teams to identify, locate and collate records, correspondence and system information that may fall within the scope of the request.
  • Liaise with the external redaction company to securely transfer information, respond to queries and support the timely review and redaction of personal data before disclosure.
  • Maintain accurate records of each request, including actions taken, information received, decisions made, redactions applied and final responses issued, ensuring a clear audit trail is kept.
  • Monitor progress against statutory timescales, proactively following up with colleagues and suppliers to avoid delays and escalating risks, complex queries or potential breaches to the Governance Manager.
  • Support the preparation and secure issue of final responses to requesters, ensuring disclosures are accurate, appropriately redacted and handled sensitively and confidentially.
  • Contribute to continuous improvement by identifying learning from subject access requests, supporting updates to guidance, templates and processes where required.

• Data Breach

  • Provide administrative support for data breach incidents, ensuring potential breaches are logged promptly, recorded accurately and escalated to the Governance Manager in line with internal procedures.
  • Gather and record initial information about each incident, including what happened, what data may be affected, who is involved, actions already taken and any immediate risks identified.
  • Maintain the data breach log and support the tracking of actions, deadlines and follow-up activity, ensuring a clear audit trail is kept for each incident.
  • Assist with the preparation and collation of information needed to support breach assessment, internal reporting and any required communication with individuals or external bodies.

• Complaints Administration

  • Administer the complaints management process: accurately record complaints, monitor progress against agreed timescales, and proactively follow up with staff to keep delivery on track.
  • Compile trend analysis and lessons-learned reports on complaints, customer feedback and survey results for the Executive Team and Board.

• Performance Data & Reporting

  • Run system reports and gather data from multiple sources to support KPI and performance reports.
  • Monitor performance against targets, escalating where complaints or governance KPIs are at risk of being missed.
  • Support the co-ordination of performance reports and annual target-setting for the Executive Team and Board.

• General

  • Promote Cornerstone’s Vision and Values in all that you do.
  • Work positively and collaboratively with Board members, customers, colleagues and other stakeholders to ensure strong working relationships and a good standard of service delivery to customers.
  • Ensure that you are fully acquainted with and follow the law, regulation, policies and procedures as they relate to your post and other key posts across Cornerstone.
  • Observe and promote Cornerstone’s Health & Safety policies and procedures at all times.
  • Ensure all data is handled in accordance with GDPR and in line with both the Information security and data management policies.Take ownership of the quality and accuracy of processing data and its appropriate storage, transfer and retention.
  • Treat customers and colleagues with respect ensuring people feel included and that diversity is valued. Observe and promote our Equality, Diversity & inclusion policies and procedures at all times.
  • Take ownership of your own professional development as relevant to your role.
  • Keep all duties of the post-holder under review and make recommendations for any improvements in policies and procedures to your line manager.
  • Occasional after-hours work may be required within the scope of the role, including attendance at meetings.
  • Any other duties appropriate to your position as may be identified from time to time.

Person Specification

• Basic Eligibility (Any offer of employment will be conditional on you satisfying these requirements)
• Right to work within the United Kingdom - Essential - ID and Online Check
• Satisfactory Basic DBS check
• Qualifications
• A good standard of general education, with strong written English and numeracy skills. - Essential
• Relevant qualification or training in governance, data protection, business administration or a related area. - Desirable
• Skills and Experience
• Experience of providing accurate, proactive administration in a governance, regulatory, compliance or similarly controlled environment. - Essential - Application & Certificates
• Experience of preparing and collating papers for formal meetings, with the ability to check documents for accuracy and completeness. - Essential
• Proven ability to take clear, accurate and timely minutes that record discussions, decisions and actions. - Essential
• Ability to maintain action logs, monitor deadlines and follow up constructively with action owners. - Essential
• Experience of maintaining electronic records or document portals, with strong version control and attention to access requirements. - Essential
• Practical understanding of UK GDPR and data protection principles, including confidentiality, secure information handling and data retention. - Essential
• Experience of administering subject access requests, including logging, identity checks, scoping, information gathering, deadline monitoring and maintaining a clear audit trail. - Essential
• Ability to support the administration of data breach incidents by gathering accurate information, maintaining records and escalating risks promptly. - Desirable
• Experience of administering complaints or another time-sensitive case management process, including recording, progress monitoring and follow-up. - Essential
• Ability to gather information from different systems or teams and compile accurate performance, KPI or trend reports. - Essential
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office, particularly Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams. Experience of board portal, complaints or case management systems would be an advantage. - Essential
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to liaise professionally with Board members, customers, colleagues, suppliers and other stakeholders. - Essential
• Highly organised and able to manage competing priorities, statutory or internal deadlines and detailed records with minimal supervision. - Essential
• Sound judgement, discretion and sensitivity when handling personal, confidential or potentially high-risk information. - Essential
• Able to work collaboratively while also using initiative, taking ownership and escalating concerns appropriately. - Essential
• Commitment to accuracy, customer service, equality and inclusion, continuous improvement and ongoing professional development. - Essential
• Other
• Willingness to work flexibly, including occasional evening meetings for Board/Committees. - Essential
• Commitment to ongoing professional development. - Essential
• Ability to travel to meetings or sites as required. - Essential