Senior Governance Manager

Job summary

Senior Governance Manager

£80,000 per annum

Bedford

Permanent

Hybrid Working

Ready to make a real difference? Join us at the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) as our Senior Governance Manager. This is your chance to play a meaningful role in helping people across the UK build stronger financial futures and to do it as part of a supportive, energetic team.

Why This Role Matters

In this role, you’ll have the opportunity to lead and own the development, implementation and continuous improvement of MaPS’ corporate governance framework, ensuring it is robust, proportionate, strategically aligned and consistently embedded across MaPS’ Non-Executive and Executive governance structures. The role will provide senior leadership on governance design, decision-making, accountability and assurance, ensuring MaPS has effective arrangements in place to support organisational delivery, manage risk and meet public sector accountability expectations.

A key priority will be to lead the integration of the National Dashboard Connection Service into MaPS’ governance framework, ensuring that appropriate governance, assurance, compliance and accountability arrangements are established for the Executive, Board and DWP. The role will act as a senior governance adviser to Chairs, the CEO, Executive Team and senior leaders, providing authoritative advice, constructive challenge and practical solutions on complex governance, compliance, regulatory and public sector accountability matters, working closely with MaPS’ legal advisers where required.

The role will provide strategic leadership to the governance team, setting standards for high-quality governance advice, secretariat support and corporate governance practice across MaPS. It will be accountable for ensuring that Board, Committee and Executive governance processes operate effectively, support high-quality decision-making and enable the organisation to demonstrate transparency, accountability and good governance. The postholder will deputise for the Head of Governance and Data Protection as required and will play a key role in shaping the future direction, maturity and impact of the governance function. Shaping work that genuinely improves people’s financial wellbeing.

You’ll join a team that’s passionate, collaborative, and driven by the belief that financial confidence should be something everyone can access.

Job description

• Lead and be accountable for the continuous improvement of MaPS’ Corporate Governance Framework, ensuring appropriate decision-making processes are in place across the business and that MaPS has a consistent and holistic approach to governance aligned with external best practice.
• Provide senior governance leadership and expert advice to Chairs, Non-Executive Directors, the CEO, Executive Team and senior leaders on governance, decision-making, accountability, compliance and public sector requirements.
• Lead the governance integration of the National Dashboard Connection Service, ensuring that appropriate decision-making, assurance, risk, compliance and accountability mechanisms are embedded and effective.
• Shape and influence governance and approvals arrangements with DWP and other government stakeholders, ensuring MaPS’ decision-making processes are clear, efficient, robust and capable of withstanding external scrutiny.
• Lead the business case governance framework, ensuring business cases are well-governed, evidence-based, appropriately assured and aligned with government approval expectations.
• Provide strategic oversight of Board, Committee, Executive and sub-committee governance processes, ensuring agendas, papers, minutes, actions and decisions support effective oversight, accountability and delivery.
• Set standards for governance advice, secretariat practice and corporate governance support across MaPS, ensuring consistency, quality and continuous improvement in the service provided to senior forums.
• Lead and develop a team of Governance Managers and Advisers, building capability, setting clear expectations, supporting professional development and fostering a high-performing, trusted governance function.
• Provide senior oversight of MaPS’ corporate policy framework and governance-related policies, ensuring key policies are reviewed, maintained and embedded effectively, including conflicts of interest, whistleblowing, gifts and hospitality and related governance procedures.
• Work collaboratively with legal advisers, policy colleagues, risk, finance, internal audit and other corporate functions to ensure governance, assurance and internal control arrangements are coherent, proportionate and effective.
• Identify opportunities to improve decision-making, accountability and governance maturity across MaPS, leading change and influencing senior stakeholders to adopt improved approaches.
• Deputise for the Head of Governance and Data Protection, including representing the governance function in senior discussions, providing advice on complex matters and making decisions within agreed authority.

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you’ll need:

Essential:

• Proven track record in a Governance leadership role advising senior stakeholders, with the ability to demonstrate sound and sensitive judgement gained through experience working within the public sector or at a senior level within other organisations.
• Demonstrable experience of leading, developing and improving corporate governance frameworks.
• Extensive governance knowledge. Chartered member of the Corporate Governance Institute, with the ability to understand complex legislative, regulatory and public sector accountability matters and work with legal advisers to provide clear, practical guidance to the business.
• Strong, flexible leadership and interpersonal skills, including tact and diplomacy when required.
• Evidence of a proactive, results-driven and collaborative approach, with a willingness to challenge the status quo and develop new ideas and approaches to achieve the successful delivery of corporate governance, legal and compliance objectives. Able to drive progress in the face of competing views and priorities.

Desirable:

• Understanding and experience of managing the end-to-end secretariat cycle for a Board, its Committees and the Executive.
• Understanding of public sector governance and approval routes.
• Experience of identifying legal, regulatory or compliance issues, including data protection matters.

Benefits

MaPS is based in bright, modern offices in Bedford, and we’re here to help people across the UK feel more confident and informed about their money.

Our values guide how we work together:

• Caring – for colleagues and the communities we support
• Connecting – building supportive, positive relationships
• Transforming – creating impact that truly matters

We’re proud to foster an inclusive, welcoming culture. Our colleague networks include LGBTQ+, neurodiversity, women’s health, men’s health and ethnicity groups — and we welcome applications from all backgrounds.

What We Offer

• 30 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• Pension (2:1 matched contribution up to 10%)
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme (up to £3,000)
• Subsidised eye tests & flu jabs
• Life assurance
• EAP Assist & Life
• Enhanced family and sick pay
• 2 paid volunteering days
• Recognition scheme
• Retail discounts portal

Flexible Working

We believe work should fit around life. This Bedford‑based role offers genuine flexibility so you can balance work, family, and personal commitments. We come together for purposeful team collaboration to stay connected and drive great results.

Career Development
We love supporting internal growth and progression, while continuing to follow fair and open Civil Service recruitment practices.

Important Information About Applying

• Please apply only via official MaPS links - we can’t accept applications via email or unauthorised sites.
• MaPS is unable to offer visa sponsorship.

Reserve List: If you're successful at interview, we may place you on a reserve list for up to 6 months. If a similar role becomes available, you may be offered it without the need for another assessment.

If you believe your application hasn’t followed the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles, you can contact resourcing@maps.org.uk. If unresolved, you may then contact the Civil Service Commission.

Job Reference: MaPS01315

Close Date: 05/11/2026

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

We keep things simple, fair, and transparent:

Step 1: Submit Your Application

Open: 22/10/2026 , Deadline: 05/11/2026

To apply, please submit the following documents:

1. Your most up-to-date CV
2. A cover letter (maximum 1,000 words). Please structure your cover letter in two parts:

• Part 1 – Motivation and fit
  Explain why you are interested in this role and how your experience and values align with it.
• Part 2 – Essential Criteria
  Using the five Essential Criteria as headings, provide concise examples that demonstrate your judgement, level of responsibility and impact.

Step 2: Telephone Interview

Between 22/10/2026 – 07/11/2026

If your application is shortlisted, you will be invited to a telephone interview with one of our recruiters. This is an opportunity to:

• Discuss your experience in more detail
• Learn more about the role and our organisation
• Ask any questions you may have

Step 3: Timed Task

Prior to interview, shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a timed assessment exercise. The assessment will be arranged at a mutually convenient time, and further information will be shared closer to the date.

Step 4: Final Stage Interview

Hosted 16/11/2026 and 19/11/2026

Successful candidates from the telephone interview will be invited to attend a remote interview over Microsoft Teams. This stage will include:

• A series of competency-based interview questions

Everything we do aligns with the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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 :

• Name : sophie.rigney@reed.com
• Email : sophie.rigney@reed.com

Recruitment team

• Email : sophie.rigney@reed.com