22671 - Central Secretariat Team Manager

Ministry of Justice UK•National City, CA

9d•£35,335 - £42,859•Hybrid

About The Position

The Office of Public Guardian (OPG) is seeking a Central Secretariat Team Manager to lead a small team responsible for corporate governance arrangements. This role involves managing the delivery of high-quality secretariat support to OPG’s senior Boards and Committees, including the OPG Board and Executive Committee. The postholder will work closely with the Public Guardian, Deputy Directors, Non-Executive Directors, Committee Chairs, the Public Guardian’s Private Office, and colleagues across the organization. The role provides leadership and oversight to ensure meetings are effectively planned and supported, papers are of a high standard, decisions and actions are clearly recorded and followed through, and governance arrangements operate effectively. It offers excellent exposure to OPG's work and the opportunity to develop strong relationships with senior leaders, providing insight into decisions that shape the organization's strategic direction.

Requirements

Leadership and people management: Experience of leading, supporting or developing colleagues, with the ability to allocate and prioritise work, maintain high standards and build an effective team.
Quality Assurance and attention to detail: Demonstrate ability to maintain high level of accuracy and quality when managing governance documentation, meeting records and senior correspondence.
Senior stakeholder management: Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the confidence and judgement to build effective relationships with senior leaders, Board/Committee Chairs, Non-Executive Directors and other stakeholders.
Organisation and delivery: Excellent organisational skills, with demonstrable experience of managing competing priorities, planning and delivering high-quality work to tight and changing deadlines.
Written communication: Excellent written communication skills, including the ability to understand complex discussions and information and produce clear, concise and accurate minutes, briefings and governance records.
Judgement and constructive challenge: The ability to assess information critically, identify gaps or issues and provide appropriate challenge to colleagues and senior stakeholders while maintaining effective working relationships.
Digital capability: Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365, with the ability to use and champion digital tools to improve document management, action tracking, meeting administration and information governance, ensuring efficient and effective ways of working.

Nice To Haves

Experience of working within a corporate governance, Board Secretariat or senior leadership environment.
Experience of supporting Non-Executive Directors or equivalent senior independent stakeholders.
Experience of improving governance, secretariat or administrative processes.

Responsibilities

Act as the lead secretariat and governance contact for the OPG Board, taking responsibility for the end-to-end planning and delivery of Board business and working closely with the Chair, Chief Executive, Non-Executive Directors and senior leaders to develop forward plans, agendas and meeting schedules, coordinate high-quality papers and ensure effective follow-up of decisions and actions.
Provide dedicated and professional support to Non-Executive Directors, Board and Committee Chairs and senior leaders, building effective relationships and responding confidently to sensitive or high-profile issues.
Oversee the commissioning, coordination and quality assurance of Board and Committee papers, constructively challenging authors where papers do not meet required standards or governance requirements.
Ensure governance processes comply with OPG, MoJ and Cabinet Office requirements, identifying governance risks and escalating issues where necessary.
Maintain accurate governance records and decision logs, ensuring a clear audit trail of decisions, actions and approvals.
Produce and quality assure accurate, concise and timely minutes, decision records, Chair's briefs and other governance documentation.
Maintain oversight of decisions and actions arising from senior governance meetings, proactively following up with action owners and escalating overdue or significant matters where appropriate.
Maintain and coordinate forward plans and annual meeting cycles, anticipating future requirements and ensuring appropriate sequencing of business across OPG's governance structure.
Support the maintenance and regular review of Terms of Reference, membership, governance records and other key governance documentation.
Line manage EO grade staff, taking responsibility for individual and team performance of staff, allocating work effectively, managing team and individual performance by setting clear expectations and providing quality assurance, coaching and support.
Promote consistent standards and ways of working across the Central Secretariat team, ensuring resilience and effective cover across Boards and Committees.
Identify and implement opportunities to continuously improve secretariat and governance processes, drawing on good practice and feedback from Chairs, members and senior stakeholders.
Drive the effective use of Microsoft 365 and other governance tools to improve document management, action tracking, reporting and meeting administration.
Handle sensitive and confidential information appropriately and exercise sound judgement when dealing with senior stakeholders and competing priorities.
Any other duties commensurate with the HEO grade, as required.

Benefits

Annual leave is 25 days on appointment and will increase to 30 days after five years’ service.
Scheme to allow qualifying staff to buy or sell up to three days leave each year.
Additional paid time off for public holidays and 1 privilege day.
Choice of pension schemes.
Extensive range of training and development opportunities.
Opportunity to join employee-run networks.
A range of ‘Family Friendly’ policies such as opportunities to work reduced hours or job share.
Access to flexible benefits such as voluntary benefits, retail vouchers and discounts on a range of goods and services.
Paid paternity, adoption and maternity leave.
Free annual sight tests for employees who use computer screens.