Director of Legal and Governance – London

Location: London or Midlands

Salary: Competitive + Benefits

Contract Type: Permanent

Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH) is one of the UK’s leading housing associations, supporting over 130,000 residents across London, the South East, East Midlands and East of England. Our purpose is clear: everyone should have a quality home and the chance to live well, guided by our values Care, Dare and Collaborate, and our 2030 Strategy – Pride in Every Home, A Future Shaped by You.

We are seeking an experienced, values‑led Director of Legal and Governance to join our Senior Leadership Team in a newly elevated, organisation‑wide role. This is a pivotal appointment, bringing together legal, governance, risk and assurance into a single centre of excellence at the heart of MTVH.

The role reports into the CEO and is accountable for MTVH’s corporate governance, legal services and regulatory compliance. You will play a central role in shaping how the organisation governs itself, strengthening end‑to‑end decision‑making, and providing clear, confident assurance to the Board and Executive. This is a highly influential leadership position with significant visibility across the organisation. You will work closely with senior colleagues, Board members and external stakeholders to ensure robust governance, effective risk management and legally sound decision‑making that supports MTVH’s strategic ambitions.

A key focus of the role is embedding a strong governance and assurance framework, enhancing regulatory readiness, and ensuring that legal, risk and compliance considerations are proactively managed in an increasingly complex and regulated environment.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership across legal, governance, risk and assurance, creating a high‑performing centre of excellence.
• Lead MTVH’s corporate governance framework, ensuring effective Board and committee operation and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements.
• Provide authoritative legal advice to the Executive and Board, supporting robust, confident decision‑making.
• Oversee enterprise risk management and assurance frameworks, ensuring risks are identified, managed and clearly reported.
• Ensure compliance with all relevant legal, regulatory and policy requirements, including data protection and information governance obligations.
• Lead the company secretariat function, ensuring high‑quality Board and committee support, reporting and record‑keeping.
• Manage legal services, including in‑house teams and external advisors, ensuring value for money and high‑quality outcomes.
• Oversee dispute resolution and litigation management, providing clear oversight of risk exposure and lessons learned.
• Build strong internal and external stakeholder relationships, representing MTVH in key governance and regulatory forums.
• Foster an inclusive, accountable and performance‑focused culture, developing leadership capability across the function.

About you:

• Significant leadership experience in legal, governance or company secretariat roles within a complex, highly regulated environment.
• Professional qualification as a solicitor, barrister or chartered governance professional (CGI), or equivalent experience.
• A strong track record of developing and embedding governance frameworks and supporting Boards and executive teams.
• Deep understanding of regulatory environments (social housing or similar), with the ability to interpret and apply requirements pragmatically.
• Experience of leading risk management and assurance frameworks at an organisational level.
• Excellent judgement, influencing and communication skills, with the ability to translate complex issues into clear, actionable advice.
• A collaborative leadership style, with the ability to build trust, challenge constructively and drive organisation‑wide improvement.
• Strategic leadership capability, aligning teams to organisational priorities and delivering change at pace.

This is a unique opportunity to play a defining role in how a large, purpose‑driven organisation governs itself and delivers for residents. You will help strengthen accountability, improve decision‑making and support MTVH’s long‑term success as it delivers its 2030 ambition.

To apply and for further information, please visit www.odgers.com/95967.

To meet our commitment to providing safe, high‑quality services to our customers we will complete a basic background check with the Disclosure and Barring service, once an offer of employment is made.