Governance Professional & Compliance Lead

Are you a governance professional passionate about making a tangible difference in education? Do you possess the expertise and values-base to lead and shape governance and compliance systems which will support us in our vision of every child in a great school? If so, we invite you to apply for the role of Governance Professional and Compliance Lead.

WeST is a tight-knit family of schools based around natural geographical proximity in the south west. Initially formed as a small multi-academy trust of only two schools in 2011, the Trust as we know it today was launched in 2017 and now comprises 31 schools, of which 8 are secondary and 23 primary. We are ambitious and hold high expectations for the children in our care. We strive consistently to perform in the top 20% nationally.

WeST holds a firm belief in giving each child every opportunity to learn and succeed in all that they do. Whilst we are a family of schools who share common values and beliefs, all our schools are unique and hold their own identity. We believe that by working collectively, sharing what works well and jointly developing best practice, we are stronger together and can provide the very best education for our children in our geographical area.

The role is available on a hybrid basis and, whilst there is an indicative full time working pattern spread across the year, we are happy to discuss a variety of flexible working options that might suit the right candidate.

Working closely with the Trust Board this role offers the opportunity to significantly impact on the education and lives of children within the Trust by leading, developing, monitoring and maintaining WeST's strategic and operational systems of governance and compliance, supporting our mission of empowering children to impact positively on society and upholding our trust values.

It is crucial to us that your values align with ours:

Compassion - Recognising the needs of others and driven by a desire to improve student outcomes and staff well-being
Aspiration - Bringing high expectations and resilience to continuously push for excellence and innovative solutions
Integrity - Acting consistently in the best interests of young people, upholding strong ethical principles and communicating with respect and transparency
Collaboration - Working inclusively and effectively across boundaries to engage with and lead teams in pursuit of a shared vision
Tasked with ensuring exemplary governance and compliance standards across the trust, the Governance Professional and Compliance Lead has a broad remit, including oversight of strategic and operational systems of governance, acting as professional advisor to the Board and leadership of the governance and compliance function with responsibility for overseeing the contracted DPO service, the Trust Policy Schedule and complaints.

For the opportunity to apply your skills in a dynamic, values-driven organisation and join us in shaping the future of education, apply now to become a key driver of excellence across our Trust.

Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

A highly competitive salary
Local Government Pension Scheme
Cycle to Work and Tech Schemes
Employee Assistance Programme
Occupational Health Services
Corporate Flu and eye care voucher schemes
Staff discount schemes provided via Employee Benefits Choice, Discounts for Teachers and Blue Light
Equal Opportunities

In fulfilling its aims and objectives, Westcountry Schools Trust actively seeks to achieve equality of opportunity and treatment for all members of the trust community.

We will continuously strive to ensure that everyone is treated with respect and dignity. Each person in our trust will be given fair and equal opportunities to develop their full potential regardless of their gender, ethnicity, cultural and religious background, sexuality, disability or special educational needs and ability. The trust works actively to promote equality and foster positive attitudes. WeST is committed to combatting all forms of discrimination by implementing positive policies and practices in compliance with the Equality Act 2010.

Procedures

All appointments are subject to pre-employment checks. That means