Head of Governance & Compliance

Job Description

Head of Governance & Compliance
Bursary
Murray Edwards College, Cambridge, CB3 0DF
To support and strengthen College governance, to maintain and
improve standards of transparency and accountability within the
Council and Governing Body
To the Council, through the Bursar as appropriate
N/A
2
Full time, 37.5 hours per week
No

Job title:
Department:
Location:
Purpose of role:

Line manager:
Line manages:
Salary Band:
Hours:
DBS check required?

Principal Responsibilities:

Governance:

Ensure governance structures are in place across the organisation and utilised correctly by:

  Monitoring  ongoing  adherence  to  the  College’s  Statutes  and  Ordinances  and  provide
assurance to the Council and Governing Body on an annual basis that Governance standards
are met and can be evidenced.

  Conducting reviews of the College’s Statutes and Ordinances at appropriate intervals (every

three years)

  Ensuring that the College meets its governance responsibilities
  Ensuring key Council and GB decisions are made in line with approved policies and agreed

procedures

  Attend  and  provide  administrative  support  to  the  Governance  Committee,  Remuneration

Committee and IT committee (for GDPR/Data Protection)

Data Governance:



In  conjunction  with  the  DPO,  ensure  a  data  governance  framework  is  in  place  for  the
organisation

  Ensure GDPR policies and procedures are in place and adhered to
  Handle DSAR and FOI requests (in conjunction with Head of Communications)
  Review  record-keeping  policies  and  ensure  records  management  meets  appropriate

standards

Compliance:

Ensuring  that  the  College  is  compliant  with  relevant  statutory  (including  College  and  University
Statutes), legal, fiscal, procurement and regulatory requirements by:

  Understand the Charities Act and relevant Statutes and the impact of them for the College
  Maintain  registers  as  required  (Register  of  Interests,  Conflict  of  Interest  etc)  including  a

register of legal advice received by the College

Updated: January 2026

  Ensure all filings with Companies office, Charities Regulator are up to date through the Head

of Finance/College Administrator.

  Support the College’s relationship with regulators (Charity Commission etc.).
  Collaborate  with  and  support  internal  stakeholders  to  address  compliance  issues  and

implement corrective actions.

  Demonstrate  policies  are  living  documents  by  running  regular  reviews  and  spot-checks  to

demonstrate compliance and understanding.

Risk Management:
Sponsor and promote the awareness of an appropriate risk culture across the organisation, and

  Maintain the College comprehensive risk management framework.
  Maintain the College risk register and present it at Council meetings
  Facilitate  in-depth  review  of  selected  sections  of  the  risk  register  by  the  Council/Audit

Committee

  Track implementation of risk mitigations and risk actions plans.
  Monitor and report on key risk indicators to the Audit Committee and Council.
  Maintain  incidents  records,  producing  high  risk  incident  reports  as  required  and  ensure
incident  records  are  kept  up  to  date  and  then  closed  off  at  the  appropriate  time,  through
collaboration with the necessary internal or external stakeholder(s).

  Support each department to manage incident reports as required.
  Ensure mitigation of risk through training and information sharing etc.
  Attend and play an active role at the Governance Committee.

Policy Development:
Lead the development and review of organisation policies and procedures by:

  Ensuring that policies and procedures are up to date, fit for purpose and accessible and the

College enjoys quality compliance with relevant standards

  Ensure that policies are communicated effectively to relevant stakeholders.
  Conduct training sessions on governance and compliance matters as needed.

Internal Audit:

  Develop  and  implement  an  assurance  framework  to  address  matters  arising  from  internal

audits.

  Agree areas of focus with Council and/or Audit Committee (from the internal audit framework)

for each year over each rolling three-year period.

  Report internal audit results to Council/Audit Committee as directed.
  Attend Audit Committee meetings.

The  above  Job  Description  is  not  intended  to  be  a  comprehensive  list  of  all  duties  involved  and
consequently,  the  post  holder  may  be  required  to  perform  other  duties  as  appropriate  to  the  post
which may be assigned to him/her from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post.
Job descriptions are reviewed on a regular basis in line with the needs of the College.

Person Specification

Essential

Qualifications:
Professional
Knowledge &
Experience

  Governance: Experience working with or

serving on boards, committees, or
governance bodies.

  Compliance: Demonstrated experience in
monitoring and ensuring adherence to
regulatory and legislative requirements.
  Risk Management: Practical experience in

identifying and managing organisational risks

Desirable

Charity or Nonprofit
Sector: Prior
experience in the
charity or voluntary
sector is desirable,
but not essential

Updated: January 2026

and safety, health and welfare in the
workplace.

Team Working

Demonstrate:

The post holder
must be able to
demonstrate the
following personal
qualities:

  The ability to work as part of a team and to
establish a good working relationship with a
wide range of internal and external
stakeholders

  The ability to work independently on own

initiative and as part of a team.

  The capacity for management responsibility

and initiative.

  Analytical and Administrative Skills: Excellent
analytical and administrative skills; able to
demonstrate compliance with the required
standards and ensure sufficient controls and
checks are in place.

  Decision Making: Exercises good judgement,
makes well informed decisions in a timely
manner; consults with others as appropriate
before implementing decisions.

  Planning and Organising: Experience of

developing accurate paper and electronic
record systems, capable of information
retrieval, analysis, and dissemination to
relevant parties. Excellent attention to detail.
Experience of working to multiple deadlines.

  Promotes co-operation and commitment
within teams to maintain progress and
achieve goals and deliverables.

  Monitoring and follow-up: Proactively tracks
and follows up with colleagues to ensure
timely completion of governance, compliance,
and risk-related tasks.

  Communication and interpersonal skills:

Serve as a central point of contact between
teams ensuring transparency and effective
communication across all levels both
internally and externally.

Updated: January 2026