Governor Support Officer in London

Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest

Salary: SO1 £38,256 - £39,276

Contract Type: Full-time/Term time only

Working hours per week: 36

Weeks per year: 39

Application Deadline: 31/08/2026

Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC

Reference: 2246

About Us

Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.

London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.

The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email so we can arrange an alternative application method.

About the role

As Governor Support Officer, you will play a key role in ensuring governing boards are well supported, informed and able to fulfil their statutory responsibilities. You will work closely with governors, school leaders and local authority colleagues to coordinate governance activity and provide high-quality administrative support. You will be able to plan, attend and accurately minute governing body and relevant panel meetings.

We are a Home Office-licensed sponsor; however, for this specific role we are not able to provide Skilled Worker visa sponsorship. To be considered, you must already hold a form of UK work authorisation that does not require sponsorship.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide administrative and governance support to school governing boards.
• Organise and coordinate meetings, including preparing agendas and distributing papers.
• Advise governors on procedural matters and governance requirements.
• Maintain accurate governance records and databases.
• Support governor recruitment, induction and training activities.
• Ensure governing boards are compliant with statutory and local governance requirements.
• Develop positive working relationships with governors, school staff and stakeholders.
• Provide high-quality customer service and respond to enquiries in a timely manner.

Qualifications and Requirements

• Previous experience supporting governance, committees or boards.
• Knowledge of school governance and the education sector.
• Experience of providing advice on meeting procedures.
• The ability to attend and accurately minute panel meetings, including disciplinary, complaints, admissions or other formal hearings, would be highly desirable.

Terms and Conditions

• Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
• Satisfactory declaration of interest;
• This role is subject to safer recruitment practices as it involves work with children and/or vulnerable adults;
• As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives:

• Promoting equality of opportunity
• Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage
• Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels.
• Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent services to all.

Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.

To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.

We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.

If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Donna Miller Head of Governance, Attendance and Children Missing School or Sue Gill, Principal Governor Support Officer.

The London Borough of Waltham Forest only advertises vacancies via our official website and approved recruitment platforms (e.g. Jobsgopublic). We will never ask for payment or request sensitive personal or financial information as part of our recruitment process. If you are contacted by a third party claiming to represent the Council, please verify the vacancy via our official careers website before sharing any information. If you have concerns about a job advert or communication, please report it.