Committee Secretary | Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust

The role works closely with the Director of Corporate Governance to ensure effective corporate governance arrangements are in place to support the work of the Board and its Committees, and that the Trust is maintaining and demonstrating the necessary standards of accountability, probity and openness.

The post holder will be primarily responsible for supporting the six Board Committees, providing a high-quality professional service for the effective delivery and recording of all Board Committee meetings. The post holder will work closely with Committee Chairs, Lead Executives and other members of the Corporate Governance team.

· Establishing and maintaining the annual programme of meetings to integrate effectively with the reporting cycle.

· Working closely with colleagues in the team to ensure the effective flow of business between Board Committees and sub-committees, and up to the Board of Directors.

· Assisting the Director of Corporate Governance with the preparation of Committee Annual Reports, working closely with Committee Chairs to ensure that comprehensive effectiveness reviews of the Committee's work over the year are carried out.

· Working closely with the Director of Corporate Governance to ensure that all Board Committees are operating efficiently and in accordance with the Code of Governance for NHS providers, as well as their terms of reference and annual forward plans. This includes highlighting any areas that may impact on Committee effectiveness (e.g., quoracy issues, conflicts of interest etc.).

· Recommending and making improvements to the work of the Committees, based on the requirements of the Code of Governance, corporate governance best practice and in line with the recommendations of the Office of Modern Governance Report.

· Providing project support work, as required, including managing the creation and support for task and finish groups and other short term governance arrangements.

Working environment
· Some light physical effort required during the course of the working day and frequent sitting.

· Extensive use of VDU equipment.

· The postholder may at times be exposed to distressing or emotional circumstances as part of their work
Our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion

Mission and values

Continuing professional development

Professional registration

Mandatory training

Policies and procedures

Confidentiality

Code of conduct

Risk management

Safeguarding

Emergency planning

· Establishing and maintaining the annual programme of meetings to integrate effectively with the reporting cycle.

· Developing, in conjunction with the Committee Chairs and Executive Leads, each Committee's annual forward plans, and preparing meeting agendas

· Working closely with paper authors, Executive Leads and their Assistants to ensure that authors are given early notification and constant reminders of their papers.

· Quality assuring meeting papers to ensure that they are in line with Trust Standing Orders, Style Guide and that they are providing the Committees with the information needed for competent and safe decision. Ensuring that these are produced on time.

· Drafting accurate, high-quality and timely meeting minutes.

· Producing and managing meeting action logs, ensuring that all actions from previous meetings have been captured correctly and liaising with the responsible officers for updating and delivery within agreed timelines.

· Working closely with colleagues in the team to ensure the effective flow of business between Board Committees and sub-committees, and up to the Board of Directors.

· Assisting the Director of Corporate Governance with the preparation of Committee Annual Reports, working closely with Committee Chairs to ensure that comprehensive effectiveness reviews of the Committee's work over the year are carried out.

· Working closely with the Director of Corporate Governance to ensure that all Board Committees are operating efficiently and in accordance with the Code of Governance for NHS providers, as well as their terms of reference and annual forward plans. This includes highlighting any areas that may impact on Committee effectiveness (e.g., quoracy issues, conflicts of interest etc.).

· Recommending and making improvements to the work of the Committees, based on the requirements of the Code of Governance, corporate governance best practice and in line with the recommendations of the Office of Modern Governance Report.

· Providing project support work, as required, including managing the creation and support for task and finish groups and other short term governance arrangements.

· Assisting in the gathering and collation of evidence for external and internal auditors, NHS Resolution and CQC, and other bodies, and acting as a point of contact between the Trust and those organisations as required.

· Providing training and development to the Executive Assistants, and other administrative colleagues as required on minute taking, agenda setting and other aspects of board and committee support as required.

· Providing support and cover for Board, Council of Governor or any other corporate governance activity as required from time to time.