Governance Manager - Secretary to National Archives’ Board Advisory Council

Based within the Chief Executive’s Office, the Governance Manager
- Secretary to The National Archives Board and the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (‘the Secretary’) provides dedicated lead professional secretariat support to The National Archives Board and to the independent Advisory Council on National Records and Archives (ACNRA), and its subcommittees, The Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research and provide support with The Manorial and Tithe Documents Panel.

More broadly, the Secretary delivers a range of activities to support The National Archives’ corporate governance function and the Keeper’s statutory responsibilities.

The National Archives’ Board (the Board) is the key strategic advisory body of The National Archives. and is responsible for ensuring that the leadership of The National Archives sets the strategic direction and makes strategic choices; provides leadership in the delivery of statutory, corporate and business responsibilities; makes key investment, procurement and project decisions that withstand scrutiny; identifies and manages risks effectively;

encourages improvements in performance across the organisation; and takes corporate responsibility for its decisions and their implementation.

The Advisory Council is chaired by the Master of the Rolls and is an advisory non-departmental public body reporting to the Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). The Council advises the Secretary of State for DCMS on issues relating to access to public records and represents the public interest concerning records that are due to be transferred to The National Archives open or closed.

The Forum on Historical Manuscripts and Academic Research, also chaired by the Master of the Rolls, is a subcommittee of the Advisory Council, with a remit relating to independently held archives, the wider archives sector and academic research issues. The Manorial and Tithe Documents Panel advises the Master of the Rolls and the Historical Manuscripts Commissioner (who is also the CEO of The National Archives) on matters relating to manorial and tithe documents, for which the Master of the Rolls has responsibilities.

The Governance Manager
- Secretary will work alongside the Governance Manager – Annual Reporting, Transparency and Assurance, to ensure that the Board and its subcommittees receive high-quality and coordinated support, and with the Head of Chief Executive’s Office to ensure that The National Archives’ corporate governance continues to meet the standards set by Government.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

• Significant experience of working in a corporate governance or secretariat role, with excellent organisational skills and a proven ability to manage senior-level committee meetings and associated business.
• Substantial experience in, or a demonstrably strong understanding of issues relating to Freedom of Information and access to information.
• Sound judgement, based on an expert understanding of the role and responsibilities of the Advisory Council and/or a strong understanding of the role played in Government by similar advisory bodies.
• Substantial experience of forming strong and effective working relationships with internal and external senior stakeholders and using initiative to solve problems and broker solutions.
• Strong engagement, influencing and negotiation skills, gained through significant interaction with senior-level internal and external audiences.
• Demonstrate a high level of integrity, coupled with strong Political awareness and a proven ability to deal with sensitive material.
• Excellent written skills, including the ability to present complex information concisely and with good attention to detail.