Board Secretary (maternity cover)
Job summary
You will be a senior member of the Private Office team, responsible for supporting the Board and its committees. You will work closely with colleagues across the Leadership Team including the Chair and Chief Executive to ensure Board and Committee meetings are managed and fully supported.
This is a fast-paced, complex and fascinating job at the heart of the organisation working on high profile, high impact issues concerning equality and human rights in Britain. This is a period of change for the EHRC, as new Commissioners are inducted onto the Board. The Board Secretary will play an important role in supporting those new Commissioners.
Job description
You will:
- Lead a small team of professional staff to ensure that the Board and Committees are able to operate strategically and to the highest standards of public sector governance, with high quality and expert briefings and support.
- Act as trusted planner and coordinator for the Chair and Chief Executive, organising and overseeing all Board meetings, Committee meetings and non-executive activities at different locations around Britain to enable effective decision-making.
- Manage the workplan for the Board and Committees, engaging Board and Committee members and senior staff to develop a forward schedule.
- Commission, process and circulate all meeting papers and agendas, ensuring they are prepared, quality assured and approved in line with deadlines and shared with attendees according to agreed timetables.
- Ensure the accurate and timely production of minutes, actions and decisions for the corporate record.
- Ensure effective onboarding and offboarding of non-executives, coordinating contracts, forms, set-up, induction and knowledge-sharing sessions with a professional, courteous and efficient approach.
- Maintain, review, and update corporate governance documents to ensure clarity, compliance, and alignment with evolving organisational needs and governance standards.
- Coordinate Board and Committee effectiveness reviews, strategy and development days, and deliver action plans, to ensure continuous improvement in governance and performance.
- Proactively identify and manage issues, reduce bottlenecks and drive improvement in service to key stakeholders (senior staff, Commissioners, committee members and the whole organisation).
- Work closely with the Communications Team to ensure that Board and Committee members are supported in public-facing engagements and kept up to date with news about the organisation.
Person specification
The role requires excellent organisational skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines. You will need to deploy project management approaches to coordinate and organise multiple meetings and engagements at once. You will need to build strong relationships and trust with senior leaders and work confidently within a senior leadership environment.
You will need to have the confidence of your key customers, the Chair, Commissioners, committee members, lead officers and the Chief Executive, as well as inspiring your team and supporting them to thrive.
The full list of the knowledge, skills and experience required for the role can be found in the Candidate Pack, available to download at the bottom of this advert.
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £44,508, Equality and Human Rights Commission contributes £12,893 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.In return you can expect to receive a competitive salary, 30 days annual leave plus bank holidays (full time FTE) and access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes.
We will provide investment in your career, giving you access to Civil Service Learning, our peer learning programme, specialist training and mentoring.
We offer a range of family friendly benefits, such as enhanced parental leave, flexible working including non-contractual hybrid working.
You will also have access to our wellbeing offering, including our employee assistance programme, mental health supporters, health checks, discount gym membership and retail discounts, cycle to work scheme and other salary sacrifice options. In addition, we have a range of staff networks and social groups.
Things you need to know
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.Selection process details
Please download and complete both parts of the application form, found at the bottom of this advert. Please submit your completed forms to our recruitment email.
Through our application, you will be asked to provide specific examples to outline how your experience, skills and knowledge meet the selected key criteria to successfully perform the role. Your answers will enable us to assess your suitability for the role and will help us decide whether to invite you to the next stage of the recruitment process.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).Apply and further information
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, please email the Commission’s People Helpdesk in the first instance.If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.
Attachments
202602_Candidate Pack_Board Secretary Opens in new window (docx, 91kB)202504_Part 1 - Personal details Opens in new window (docx, 121kB)202504_Part 2 - Application form Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)Share this page
Salary range
- £44,508 per year