HEAD OF GOVERNANCE AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S OFFICE

JOB OVERVIEW

The Head of Governance and Chief Executive’s Office is responsible for effective governance across The Place, compliance with regulatory frameworks and providing effective professional administrative support to the Chief Executive. Specifically, this post holder will:

• Ensure effective governance across The Place and its Board of Governors.
• Provide secretarial services to the Board of Governors.
• Provide effective and professional administrative support to the Chief Executive and wider leadership team.
• Lead on the timely coordination of the Annual Report and Financial Statements.
• Lead and coordinate on special projects as determined in collaboration with the Chief Executive and Board Working Groups.

SALARY & CONTRACT TERMS

SALARY

The salary for this position is £40,000-£45,000 (depending on experience).

Salaries are reviewed in August each year when any cost-of-living increases are made. No salary changes are made until after successful completion of a probationary period.

CONTRACT TERMS

This is an open-ended, permanent contract. This is a full-time position (equivalent to 40 hours per week). These hours are inclusive of a one-hour paid lunch break each day. Your hours of work will be agreed with the line manager. A minimum of 50% of hours must be office-based, with the opportunity for some remote working in agreement with the line manager.

Whilst in the six-month probationary period the notice period will be two weeks. Once this period is successfully completed the post holder will be confirmed in the post and the notice period will be twelve weeks.

CLOSING DATE

The application closing date is Thu 23 Oct 2025 at 12:00pm (noon).We reserve the right to close applications early depending on the volume of applications we receive and so we advise it is better to apply early.

For an informal chat about this role to answer any questions you may have before applying, please email Richard Lawrence-Allen , HR Operations Manager.

INTERVIEW DATES

We anticipate that interviews will be conducted firstly on Mon 27 Oct 2025 and subsequently Tue 04 Nov 2025 either in person at The Place or remotely via Microsoft Teams (or similar platform as necessary). Interview dates may be subject to change.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of regulatory environments and organisational compliance good practice.

SKILLS

• High standard of English language proficiency, including knowledge of the correct use of punctuation. Proofreading and copywriting skills.
• Proficient in MS Office (Office 365 including Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive).

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Degree or equivalent qualification, or equivalent professional experience.
• Experience of servicing Boards and Committees, or multiple stakeholders that demonstrates the ability to write accurate minutes with attention to detail.
• Proven experience in an Executive Assistant or Personal Assistant role (or equivalent) supporting senior individuals in either the arts or Higher Education sector.
• Experience of managing projects and budgets whilst demonstrating commitment to high quality outputs (this need not be in a Governance setting).
  

ATTRIBUTES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Impeccable organisational, time-management and forward planning skills including the ability to determine priorities to meet tight deadlines.
• Diplomacy and a high level of integrity, understanding and respecting the need for complete confidentiality.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

KNOWLEDGE

• Knowledge of the Committee of University Chairs Code of Governance.

EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience of working successfully in a governance manager role.
  

ATTRIBUTES AND PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• An interest in dance and/or the arts.

Graduation VIP Reception | 2022 | Photo by Nici Eberl

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

GOVERNANCE

This post holder will ensure effective governance across The Place and its Board of Governors. They will:

• Be responsible for The Place’s governance framework ensuring it meets statutory and regulatory requirements. This includes compliance with the Office for Students regulatory framework, Arts Council England conditions, Committee of University Chairs Code of Practice, The Place’s Articles of Association, and other regulatory bodies including the Charities Commission and Companies House.
• Provide effective oversight of The Place’s governance procedures and processes managing risk whilst ensuring alignment with legal and statutory obligations.
• Take the lead role in the coordination of the annual corporate calendar, building work plans, and policy review schedules for Board and Committee meetings ensuring effective integration with The Place’s business, statutory and regulatory reporting cycles and strategic priorities.
• Working with the Chief Executive, provide specialist advice to the governing body and leadership team on governance, constitutional, procedural and regulatory matters.
• Facilitate and maintain effective working relationships with the Chair of the Board, Chairs of Sub-Committees and other Governors enabling them to carry out their roles in an effective and efficient manner.
• Act as a key communication channel for all Governors to the senior executive team and other colleagues.
• Manage the recruitment, appointment, induction, and succession planning for Board and Committee members and support and coordinate the programme of ongoing development and training.
• Assume the lead role in the development, implementation, and review of new working methods for governance including digital technologies to ensure maximum effectiveness and impact.

BOARD SECRETARIAL SERVICES

This post holder will provide secretarial services to the Board of Governors. They will:

• Business manage the portfolio of Board, Committee meetings, working groups and away days, acting as Clerk working with senior staff to coordinate the timely preparation of papers and the completion of actions, drafting clear and concise minutes and briefing the Chair and members as necessary.
• Provide high level executive support to the Chair working in collaboration with the Chief Executive and Development Director.
• Work with members of The Place’s space booking and IT teams to ensure that rooms are booked and arrangements for blended online meetings are in place.
• Ensure all minutes are signed off by the Chief Executive and/or Chief Financial Officer as well as the Committee Chair before being distributed, documented and filed accordingly ensuring confidentiality and integrity.
• Maintain an up-to-date register of the Board members’ declarations of interest.
• In accordance with regulatory requirements and best practice, ensure all relevant information is made publicly available on the website.

ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT

This post holder will provide effective and professional administrative support to the Chief Executive and wider Leadership Team. They will:

• Proactively plan ahead and manage the Chief Executive’s engagement schedule, ensuring alignment with the corporate calendar, maintaining schedules that underpin forward-planning and workload prioritisation.
• Provide professional support to the Chief Executive, ensuring the effective day-to-day management of the diary, prompt engagement with correspondence, scheduling meetings and working with Visitor Services to manage visitors and organise catering.
• Work closely with the Chief Executive to plan agendas, take notes and participate in the weekly Leadership Team meetings, track actions and monitor Director rotas and annual leave in support of health and safety requirements.
• Support communications for the Chief Executive which may include drafting announcements and correspondence and maintaining mailing lists in collaboration with the Communications team.
• Collaborate with the Development Team in relation to donor cultivation, management and stewarding.
• Work collaboratively with all colleagues across all departments to contribute to the delivery of the business plan.
• Support the Chief Executive with submitting and authorising expense claims, credit card receipts and budget management.
• Provide support to key groups that the Chief Executive attends, both within The Place and externally, maintaining excellent working relationship with external stakeholders.
• Manage and review professional memberships such as GuildHE, London Higher, Creative UK.
• Fulfil any other duties as reasonably required by the Chief Executive or Chair.

ANNUAL REPORTING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

This post holder will lead on the timely coordination of the Annual Report and Financial Statements. They will:

• Design, lead, and coordinate the schedule of activity for the production of the Annual Report and Financial Statements which takes into account annual work plans, Directors' leave, and the external audit process.
• In conjunction with the communications team, Chief Executive, and Artistic Director, select the images which best represent the mission, vision, and values of the organisation.
• Work collaboratively with the senior team and in liaison with external auditors, designers and Governors, to produce the Annual Report and Financial Statements to a high standard.
• In conjunction with the Chief Financial Officer, ensure that the completed Annual Report and Financial Statements are filed in a timely fashion with Companies House and the Charity Commission, and made available on The Place website.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

This post holder will lead and coordinate on special projects as determined in collaboration with the Chief Executive and Board Working Groups. They will:

• Undertake the project leadership of designated cross-organisational projects from initiation to evaluation of outcomes, within agreed timelines, budget, and quality standards.
• Work closely with, and coordinate the work of, Directors, project managers, and project teams involving both internal and external stakeholders.
• Coordinate work across multiple teams and external stakeholders and anticipate and solve problems in real-time.

BA Graduation Show 'Recollections' by Monique Jonas | 2025 | Photo by Camilla Greenwell

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLACE

o find out more about our story, our values, and our aspirations, you may find the following pages of interest:

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: GOVERNANCE

The Place is led by Clare Connor , Chief Executive and Accountable Officer—she has held this role since August 2017. Clare provides visionary leadership across all dimensions of the organisation: academic, artistic, operational, financial and strategic. Under her stewardship, The Place moved through its ambitious 50th-anniversary year and launched a transformative ten-year plan to further “a world with more dance”. During this period, turnover increased by approximately one-third, and London Contemporary Dance School became an independent Higher Education Provider recognised by the Office for Students as a World-leading specialist provider.

The Board of Governors is led by Alan Bishop , who joined as Chair in August 2019. Under Alan’s leadership and guidance, The Place has demonstrated dynamism and growth in dance development through our world-leading status despite an increasingly challenging external context.

Alan has been a passionate advocate for our artistic and educational ambition, championing a culture of thoughtful risk-taking underpinned by strong risk management. He has deeply understood and valued the innovative spirit that has defined The Place since its founding and his leadership has been instrumental in carrying that legacy forward- guiding us from our previous five-year strategic plan to our current vision, with boldness and creativity at its core. The Place expects to welcome a new chair in 2026.

The Governors help us shape our overall strategy and support The Place to fulfil its artistic and educational objectives within a sustainable business model. The Governors work closely with the Chief Executive and senior leadership team, and play a vital role as advocates and ambassadors on behalf of The Place.

As The Place is a company limited by guarantee (company no. 883094) and a registered charity (charity no. 250216), Governors are both charity trustees and company directors.

There are two key departments; Education (comprising Research and London Contemporary Dance School and the Centre for Advanced Training), and Public Programmes (comprising Theatre and Artist Development, Producing and Touring, Creative Learning and Classes and Courses). These departments are supported by Central Services Teams including Communications, Development, Finance and Human Resources.

Key stakeholders and partners include Arts Council England, Office for Students, the Department for Education, Research England alongside the Charity Commission. We also have a partnership with the University of the Arts London (UAL) in support of degree validation and PhD supervision.

HEADER PHOTO CREDIT

A Festival of Korean Dance | 2025 | Photo by Joel C Fildes