Governance Clerk

At Astrea we firmly believe in the importance of local volunteers’ challenge and support for the Academy in their community. Local committee members play a crucial role in working alongside the academy leadership team to drive school improvement and maintain high standards of education and pastoral support. The clerk will work with local committees at five Cambridgeshire academies to enable them to fulfil this function effectively.

The postholder will need to be proactive and creative in identifying where governance is working well but also where interventions may be required. They will build strong relationships with Principals, Chairs and central team colleagues in ensuring governance at each Academy is fully ‘Ofsted-ready’. As a local governance expert, the postholder will support the Trust’s local committee member training programme, and also support volunteer recruitment and retention in their schools, with a licence to be innovative in attracting high calibre volunteers.

As part of this role, the postholder will also help to ensure that the flow of information between the various layers of Astrea governance – local, hub, Trustees – is functioning effectively.

This is the perfect time to join Astrea as we implement improvements to our model of governance, consolidate the excellent support and challenge provided by our committed groups of local volunteers, and build on our success in raising standards. This is an ideal role for an ambitious and autonomous individual keen to embed effective governance within a multi-academy trust committed to addressing educational inequality.

Key Responsibilities

Governance

• To support, enable and drive development of Astrea’s governance arrangements through ensuring high standards of local challenge and support, and strong links between the layers of governance in the Trust:
• To act as clerk to some of Astrea’s Cambridgeshire schools, including the collection and distribution of papers, production of minutes and ensuring statutory compliance in local governance
• Proactively to raise suggestions and to provide feedback on local or Trust-wide governance
• Ensure a high standard of local non-executive challenge and support in Astrea’s Cambridgeshire schools through knowing how local arrangements are working, standardising and spreading good practice, facilitating the right mix of skills on local committees, and identifying where local interventions are necessary
• Support the links between the various layers of Astrea governance – local, regional and Trustee – so that information flows efficiently both ways. In particular, to facilitate the termly Link Trustee meetings with local chairs.
• Build proactive and productive working relationships with Principals, local Chairs, and local committee members
• Support recruitment and retention of local committee members in Cambridgeshire
• Support the roll-out of an annual programme of training and development for local committees
• Support the embedding of Astrea’s local committee member handbook, code of conduct and local governance terms of reference across Cambridgeshire
• To provide advice and clerking support in relation to exclusions and complaints, ensuring that statutory deadlines are met

Compliance

• Help to ensure that Astrea governance meets statutory and regulatory compliance requirements, working with Academies and central Trust functions to identify and address gaps, and clearly defining what Academies need to have in place to ensure their governance is fully compliant
• Monitor Academies’ compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements in relation to governance, working with Principals to address there where clear gaps are identified
• Support the Regional Governance Officer in ensuring statutory records and filings are made
• To work collaboratively with other key Astrea functions so that Governance and Policy within the Trust supports and enables the delivery of Astrea’s strategic objectives
• The duties and responsibilities in this job description are not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to complete such duties as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grade of the post

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The successful candidate will be self-motivating and comfortable working at home and across sites with minimal supervision.  Superbly organised and with the ability to encourage and cajole others to stay on track, the clerk will be confident in being the ‘go-to’ person for all matters governance in Cambridgeshire.

Previous experience as a clerk to governing bodies or decision-making boards within the commercial, public or charitable sector is an advantage, but those with strong administrative skills and a commitment to the values of Astrea are encouraged to apply.

The post-holder must be able to make his or her own arrangements for travel to and from meetings.

EXPERIENCE

• Administrative duties, including minute-taking and preparation of meeting papers 
• Advising decision-makers on processes 
• Experience of clerking meetings 
• Experience as a clerk to school governors or equivalent 
• Familiarity with legal or HR processes, particularly panels 
• Experience of being a governor, trustee or equivalent 
• Experience in volunteer management 

QUALIFICATION

• GCSE Maths and English at Grade C (or ‘4’) or above 
• A-levels at Grade C or higher 
• Clerking qualifications 

 KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITY

• Impeccable written and spoken English 
• Highly organised, detailed and diplomatic 
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Word, Outlook and Teams 
• Proficient in the use of other Microsoft packages and conference facilities such as Zoom 
• An understanding of state education in England 
• An understanding of company, charity and/or public law 
• An understanding of data protection 

OTHER

• A full, valid UK driving licence 

This is not exhaustive.

Closing Date 19 August 2022

To apply please go to our website 

Astrea Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Posts are subject to enhanced DBS checks. For further details on the recruitment process, please review our Recruitment Pack. This can be found attached to each vacancy or requested by emailing recruitment@astreaacademytrust.org