Head of Governance & Company Secretary

Join us in seeing our vision come to life, where living in Letchworth Garden City offers everyone the opportunity to flourish as part of a vibrant community, enjoy the best that both town and country offers, and benefit from easy access to nature with unrivalled facilities, culture, and support networks.

ABOUT THE ROLE: This newly created role reporting to the Chief Executive will ensure the Foundation and wider group, including a new Community Trust, operates to the highest standards of governance, compliance, and regulatory integrity. Providing both strategic and operational support to the two Board of Trustees and trading subsidiary. Leading the development and oversight of governance frameworks, ensuring compliance with our rules and all statutory and regulatory requirements, and acting as the Foundation’s named Company Secretary. This role also carries responsibility for overseeing the governance of our Scheme of Management, including its ongoing review and effectiveness.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead and coordinate all Board, Governor, and Committee meetings, ensuring efficient and effective governance processes
• Preparing high-quality agendas, papers, minutes, and reports
• Advising Trustees and senior leaders on governance best practice and regulatory requirements (FCA, Charity Commission)
• Acting as Company Secretary, ensuring all statutory filings and records are accurate and up to date
• Maintain governance frameworks, policies, and compliance processes (inc. risk, conflicts, and safeguarding)
• Ensure alignment with the Charity Governance Code and Data protection requirements
• Support strategic decision-making, organisational planning, and reporting
• Build strong relationships with Trustees, Governors, and senior stakeholders
• Lead governance communications and reporting and manage annual meetings
• Line management responsibility

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:

• Significant governance experience in a charity, not-for-profit, or regulated environment
• Strong understanding of Charity Commission, FCA, and Companies House requirements
• Experience supporting Boards and developing governance frameworks
• Excellent written communication and organisational skills, including strong digital and IT skills
• Strong analytical ability, attention to detail, and sound judgement
• Confident influencing and building relationships at senior level

ABOUT YOU:

• Proactive, professional, and solutions-focused
• Committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion
• Aligned with our values: Collaborative, Evidence-based, Impactful, Inclusive, Supportive

Please note: Attendance at some evening/out-of-hours meetings will be required.

OUR BENEFITS: Every member of our team is valued, which is why we support them with a range of benefits to help them thrive both inside and outside of work. Our benefits are grouped around three priorities – Health, Work life balance/time and Finances.

• Health: Cash Health Plan, Employee Assistance Programme, Aviva Smart Health 24/7 GP consultation, Cycle to work scheme
• Time: 27 days holiday plus Bank Holidays (pro-rata for part time), Holiday buy/sell scheme, 1 day paid Volunteering Leave per year (pro rata for part time)
• Finances: Company Pension, Life Assurance, Annual Wellbeing Allowance, Electric Vehicle Scheme, Employee Discount Scheme, Discounts for our venues

APPLICATIONS: Closing date for applications: 1st July 2026. 1st stage interviews via Microsoft Teams, 2nd stage interviews in person. Applications must include a CV and a covering statement/letter explaining why you are applying for the role. Applications without a covering statement will not be accepted.

We are happy to discuss reasonable adjustments to the application process should you require these. Please note if we receive a large volume of applications for this role, we reserve the right to close the vacancy ahead of the published closing date.

FLEXIBILITY: We understand that you might need a little help balancing your work and home life. Many of our colleagues work flexibly in many different ways. Please feel free to talk to us about the flexibility you may need; we’re happy to explore what’s possible for you and the role.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES: Whether it is creating diversity in our services or building new teams, we care about our people and the opportunities they have. We are committed to equality of opportunity across our organisation. At all levels we promote equality, ensuring our people are consistently treated in a fair and equal manner.

SAFEGUARDING: We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults at risk and expect all our colleagues to share this commitment.

PERSONAL DATA: Letchworth Garden City Heritage Foundation (LGCHF) will only collect personal data relevant to the recruitment process and will process that data in compliance with the Data Protection Act 2018 / UKGDPR. Your personal data will only be shared with persons directly involved in the recruitment process, and LGCHF will retain your personal data for only as long as it remains relevant to LGCHF.