Governance and Assurance Officer

Huntingdonshire District Council (HDC) is passionate about providing high-quality services to our communities, residents and businesses. This means we must employ and retain the most talented and dedicated people. Situated within the heart of the Cambridge-Peterborough Growth Area, Huntingdonshire is a beautiful district that boasts thriving market towns and many attractive villages, each with its own identity. We are an innovative and forward-thinking local authority whose residents are at the heart of our decision-making.

At HDC we want to employ staff who embody our icare values (Inspiring, Collaborative, Accountable, Respectful, Enterprising), all of which support our ultimate purpose of putting our customers first.

The Governance Officer will play an important role in ensuring that Corporate Transformation projects and programmes, as well as projects associated with the Local Government Reorganisation, delivered and supported by the Corporate Transformation, Insight and Performance team, are delivered successfully. Working with Services across the council and with partners, this role will help to ensure that the Corporate Transformation and Reporting Service adhere to internal governance. It is therefore important to have strong interpersonal and team working skills and to be able to work sensitively and effectively across organisational boundaries.

Key areas of responsibility for this role will be contributing to effective project and programme management across the Corporate Transformation and Reporting team and will ensure the effective and smooth use of governance groups to ensure that council Services are able to most effectively drive delivery across a complex and multi-faceted council.

Due to the scale of work during 2026 - 2030, there will be a need for the post holder to carry out a large amount of communication across all levels of stakeholders, within the team, staff groups, partner organisations and stakeholder groups. In addition, the role requires an ability support the Head of Corporate Transformation and Reporting to run the departmental Gating meetings, including distribution of papers for approval and minute taking. The role will also be responsible for ensuring all timesheets are uploaded monthly for financial reporting on projects and that the associated project purchase orders are updated and maintained.

About the role

• Support the Corporate Transformation and Reporting Service to ensure the effective Governance of projects for the Corporate Transformation service.
• Ensure adherence to the Governance processes and procedures for the Corporate Transformation team.
• Support Project teams to ensure that objectives, agreed milestones and gateways are delivered to a high quality and against agreed budgets.
• Produce reports for management meetings in a timely and efficient manner, including programme-wide progress reports.
• Lead the production and maintenance of project documentation such as risk and issue registers, monitoring risks and issues in accordance with the Corporate Risk Management Framework and other adopted processes.
• Assist with the development and embedding of consistent, efficient and effective processes for managing and reporting on projects across the Transformation programme and Local Government Reorganisation.
• Coordinate knowledge management systems covering preparation, control and recording of project and programme documents.

Effective governance arrangements

• Plan for and commission agenda items that allow these governance groups to make the most effective use of their time.
• Ensure that actions are captured, commissioned and logged (including monitoring delivery) from meetings and chasing where actions are not completed.
• Ensure the effective communication and understanding of the IT programme governance and implementation across the IT programme.

About you

• Educated to degree level, NVQ Level 4 or equivalent experience.
• Extensive experience of project governance processes and procedures.
• Extensive experience of supporting projects and programmes through the Governance process.
• Extensive experience of implementing and supporting governance arrangements, such as Executive Boards, Project Boards, and/or Councillor committees.

An offer of employment is conditional upon having the right to work in the UK. HDC does not hold a Sponsorship Licence and is unable to provide a Certificate of Sponsorship (CoS) or take over sponsorship for any role.

However, this is a rolling campaign and we’ll be reviewing applications on an ongoing basis and will close the advert early should we receive suitable applications, so please don’t delay in applying!

For many of our roles, our hybrid work model enables employees to work remotely while allowing for in-office collaboration opportunities across the district, with an expectation of being in the office at least two days a week. However, please note that some positions may require a more consistent presence in the office due to the nature of the work.

Please note that the official closing date is as above, and will be the correct date. Some third-party websites may have different dates. Please refer to the HDC website for the official closing date to ensure you do not miss out on applying.

Working for the council

As an employer who values diversity of thought, we seek to employ candidates from a range of backgrounds in order to make our organisation more innovative. We are seeking candidates who are looking for their next career opportunity and are supportive employers, enabling our staff to work in an environment that produces high standards of work in an employee-led environment.

Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our recruitment and along with our values we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment, where diversity is valued and there is equality of opportunity. We therefore welcome applications from all sections of the community and we offer a range of benefits, including flexitime, to encourage a work-life balance.