Leadership and Governance Officer (Maternity Cover)

Salary: £41,852 p.a. (Inc London Weighting)  

Hours of work: Full time/35 hours per week  

Contract: 12 months – Maternity Cover

Location: London Office/ Hybrid  

Job Profile 

The leadership and Governance Officer is a key role that enables CAFOD’s Leadership (the Executive Team) and Governance (the Board of trustees) teams to fulfil their remits well through sound administration, organisation, and relationship-building skills. 

The post sits at the centre of CAFOD and will have a broad overview of key issues affecting CAFOD’s work and the management mechanisms in place to address them.  The post holder will have proven experience in providing sound administrative and organisational support at a board/senior management level. This includes excellent communication and interpersonal skills with an ability to interact across different cultural settings. They will have experience in setting meeting agendas, following up on key actions and experience in forward planning with excellent project management skills to support the Board of Trustees. 

The post holder will ensure: 

• That the governance of meetings and functions in CAFOD (Board of Trustees and relevant committees) are well planned, effective and documented transparently. 

• That governance reporting requirements are fulfilled to a high quality and in a timely fashion. This includes minute-taking, serious incident reporting and follow-up actions. 

• That they keep abreast of changes in the governance environment and ensure CAFOD is following charity commission regulations appropriately, engaging with relevant Directors accordingly. 

• That key stakeholders receive a high-quality service from the small Directorate team. This includes CAFOD colleagues and supporters, Trustees, Catholic Church officials and members of the public. 

The role is part of the Governance Team, which has a broad, cross-organisational remit, working closely with CAFOD’s Directors.  

The post holder will also manage the Leadership and Governance Assistant who provides direct support to CAFOD’s Executive Director and Executive Team. Line management of this post holder is provided by the Executive Director.  

Key Responsibilities 

Ensuring effective Governance (60%) 

• Acting as Secretary to the Trustees and Committees, ensuring that the annual meeting cycle (Governance Calendar) is followed, records of meetings are kept and that external submissions (e.g. the annual report, serious incidents, and other reporting) take place in a timely manner. 

• Ensuring Trustee and Trustee committee meetings are well-planned (dates, papers, agendas, attendance, etc.) and well-run (including guidance for Chair, minuting, follow-up, action tracking, etc) and that follow up actions are monitored and undertaken.  

• Liaise with Trustees on governance matters, including due diligence requests, and events, planning a schedule of Trustee travel to international programmes. 

• Overseeing the recruitment and induction of trustees to CAFOD’s Board and coordinating their on-going training and development in conjunction with the Governance Lead Trustee. 

• Manage the policy review processes and document management with support from the Leadership and Governance Assistant. 

• Ensuring relevant policies come to the Board of Trustees for review in line with the schedule of reporting as outlined in the Governance Calendar. The meeting calendar dates are reviewed on an annual basis in October (so next review is October 2025). 

• To be responsible for CAFOD Trustee’s Annual Report being produced in a timely and accurate way, commissioning a consultant. 

• Liaising with the Executive Members regarding governance matters ensuring that they are able to provide relevant and accessible information in a timely manner. 

• Assist with the communication of CAFOD’s governance work with key donors, supporters and other stakeholders. 

• Working with the Governance Lead Trustee to implement any necessary improvements in CAFOD’s governance mechanisms.   

Ensuring the effective running of the Executive Team (25%)  

• Providing strategic guidance on governance issues and support to CAFOD’s Trustees and Leadership Team. 

• Managing the Governance and Leadership assistant to ensure that Executive Team meetings are well-planned (dates, papers, agendas, attendance, etc.) and well-run (including minuting, follow-up, action tracking, etc.). 

• Having a broad oversight of all critical projects and support the team to deliver its objectives on time and to budget. 

• Brief the Executive Team on matters arising as needed especially governance. 

• Process organisational grants and memberships. 

• Alongside the Governance and Leadership Assistant, maintain an overview of CAFOD’s key contacts and relationships with the Catholic Church 

Support to the Director (15%) 

• Working closely with the Executive Director in planning trustee board meetings, following up on necessary actions and ensuring that papers and other necessary information are well produced, accurate and timely. 

• When the Governance and Leadership assistant is absent, to manage the diary of the Executive Director. This includes broad insights to plan effective use of their time, including sufficient time to follow up on actions and to prepare for internal and external commitments. 

• Provide support on Budget monitoring for the team with input from the Executive Director and L&G assistant. 

• When required monitoring the ED inbox, ensuring that requests are followed up and that communications are drafted and signed off, as necessary. 

• Forward planning and ensure coordination of travel. 

• Prepare briefings and presentations for the ED when required. 

People Management 

Lead, manage, develop and support the Leadership and Governance Assistant by championing CAFOD’s purpose and values through building strong and safe working relationships, setting SMART objectives and conducting performance reviews, and nurturing staff career development.  Encouraging collaborative ways of working and aiding staff to be adaptable to change whilst engaging with the external and internal context.    

Safeguarding 

All CAFOD staff share the responsibility to promote and maintain a strong safeguarding culture, including identifying the key actions they should take given their role and responsibilities. 

Person specification 

Understanding our context – awareness of and sympathy with CAFOD as an agency of the Catholic Bishops Conference and a commitment to international development. 

Working together – a team player who is able to get the best out of others; communicating well across cultures and levels; seeking to understand where and how problems arise and finding solutions. 

Resources – careful stewardship towards resources, always cognisant of CAFOD as a Charity; ability to prioritise and use my (and others’) time well and respectfully. 

Results – seeking feedback and continuous improvement; awareness of own development needs and taking responsibility to act on them. 

Job specific competencies 

• Experience in setting meeting agendas to make the best use of time and achieve objectives, follow up and results. 

• Experience of forward planning and ability to take a project management approach: bringing in the right people and using their contributions well. 

• Good understanding of charity governance requirements 

• Communication and interpersonal skills that enable the person to interact across different cultural settings. 

• The ability to process complex information and compose accurate minutes. 

• Collating the necessary paperwork for Trustees whilst exercising meticulous attention to detail 

• Ability to manage and organize a complex work pattern, managing competing priorities and dealing with senior-level stakeholders. 

• Ability to work with discretion and confidentiality. 

Desirable 

• Experience of working with/in a catholic church/NGO setting. 

• Being able to work in Spanish, French or Portuguese. 

• Experience in line managing others. 

• Experience in managing budgets. 

• Trustee experience.   

CAFOD is committed to being an anti-racist organisation and we are keen to increase the diversity of our teams. We are particularly keen to seek out applications from people of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. 

There's room for everyone: Catholics and non-Catholics; people of all faiths and none. We employ people in all corners of the world, of all ages and ethnicities. The result? A friendly and open-minded organisation. 

Safeguarding for Children and Vulnerable Adults 

CAFOD recognises the personal dignity and rights of children and vulnerable adults, towards whom it has a special responsibility and a duty of care and respect.  CAFOD, and all its staff and volunteers, undertake to do all in our power to create a safe environment for children, young people and vulnerable adults and to prevent their physical, sexual or emotional abuse.  CAFOD is committed to acting at all times in the best interests of children and vulnerable adults, seeing these interests as paramount.  Any candidate offered a job with CAFOD will be expected to adhere to CAFOD’s Safeguarding policy and sign CAFOD’s Code of Behaviour as an appendix to their contract of employment and agree to conduct themselves in accordance with the provisions of these documents.  

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references, and appropriate screening checks can include criminal records and terrorism finance checks. CAFOD also participates in the Inter Agency Misconduct Disclosure Scheme. In line with this Scheme, we will request information from job applicants’ previous employers about any findings of sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and/or sexual harassment during employment, or incidents under investigation when the applicant left employment. By submitting an application, the job applicant confirms their understanding of, and consent to, these recruitment procedures.