Head of Governance & Committee Effectiveness

Job overview

The Head of Governance and Committee Effectiveness is responsible for establishing and maintaining a robust system through which the Sub-Committees of the Trust Board are serviced by the central Corporate Governance team to a high standard. They will work with the Director of Corporate Governance, Executive and Non-Executive Committee leads and other key internal stakeholders to ensure that all Committees are assurance-based, remain effective and that there is an appropriate information flow between the Board and its Committees.

The Head of Governance and Committee Effectiveness will serve as the operational "engine room" of the governance function. The post-holder is responsible for establishing, professionalising, and maintaining a resilient, centralised, and assurance-based system through which all Sub-Committees of the Trust Board are serviced to a high standard.

Moving the organisation away from a reactive model, this role will lead the phased repatriation and centralisation of the Trust’s Board committee structures into a single hub. The post-holder will work closely with the Director of Corporate Governance, Executive and Non-Executive leads, and senior stakeholders to ensure committees "do the heavy lifting" on strategic assurance, optimise information pipeline flows to the Board , and permanently embed the improvements mandated by the 2026 Care Quality Commission (CQC) Well-led Action Plan

Main duties of the job

This position provides the operational leadership needed to transition the organisation from a decentralised committee administration model into a unified, corporate governance hub. The primary responsibility is to oversee the entire life cycle, scheduling, and strategic alignment of all established and newly formed Board sub-committees, ensuring they function as assurance-driven bodies rather than operational reporting lines. A critical immediate focus involves managing the delivery of governance actions required by the regulator’s Well-led recovery plan, embedding these improvements permanently to maintain constant inspection readiness. Additionally, the role involves streamlining the corporate data pipeline to improve reporting triangulation, tracking actions to preserve organisational memory, and supporting the Director of Corporate Governance with an expanded portfolio and upcoming legislative changes affecting stakeholder accountability.

The ideal candidate must be an accomplished governance professional with extensive experience steering or advising Board-tier committees within large, intricate public sector or healthcare environments. . Beyond technical competence in building tracking frameworks, the position demands high emotional intelligence, diplomatic tact, and robust influencing skills to implement standardized reporting timelines across diverse directorates.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Lead the repatriation of all Board Sub-Committees into Corporate Governance
• Ensure all Board Sub-Committees operate at all times within their Terms of Reference, maintaining a focus on strategic assurance than just operational reporting and leading annual reviews of effectiveness. Following completion of these reviews the postholder will proactively identify opportunities to enhance the work of the Committees and present those to the Director of Corporate Governance for discussion
• Oversee the flow of information between the Board and its Sub-Committees, ensuring Executive and Non-Executive Leads are briefed and that Committee escalations are clearly articulated for the Trust Board. Oversee the operational rhythm, sequencing, and delivery of all established Board sub-committees.
• Ensure Board and Committee papers are accurate, actions are tracked and organisational memory is preserved
• Ensure that the Board and its Sub-Committees receive robust information at the right time to enable them to fully discharge their regulatory duties in relation to scrutinising, discussing and approving items that fall within their remit as required
• Manage the operational delivery and scheduling of newly established statutory forums, specifically including the Academic Committee in Common (with King's College London) and the Risk Oversight Committee
• Coordinate and operationalise the implementation of governance-specific actions within the Trust's CQC recovery plan (addressing the October 2025 inspection findings). Ensure all regulatory deadlines are met and robustly evidenced.
• Lead annual reviews of effectiveness across all Board Sub-Committees, proactively identifying gaps or opportunities to enhance workflows and presenting solutions to the Director of Corporate Governance
• Support the Director of Corporate Governance in developing and implementing a model of governance aimed at promoting key stakeholder group accountability, when the NHS Modernisation Bill which is due to remove the requirement for NHS Foundation Trusts to operate a Council of Governors is enacted.