Factory International
Nov 24, 2025
Full time
Head of Governance & Business Administration We're looking for a dynamic Head of Governance & Business Administration to play a pivotal role in ensuring our organisation runs with integrity, transparency and impact. This is an exciting opportunity to influence how one of the UK's most ambitious cultural organisations operates as we grow and evolve. Job Summary Head of Governance & Business Administration is responsible for ensuring efficient governance, operational systems and controls to manage Factory International's Governance and Business Administration function. The role includes acting as Company Secretary, Data Protection Officer, overseeing business planning and reporting, legal and insurance matters, procurement and organisational policies. Key Responsibilities Governance & Risk Ensure robust governance frameworks and compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. Coordinate Board and Committee meetings, including scheduling, agenda preparation and distribution of papers. Maintain statutory registers and ensure timely filing of returns and documents with regulatory bodies. Support Executive and Board in managing risk, reflecting updates via the Company Risk register and sharing quarterly updates with Executive Leadership. Maintain consistency and compliance for all internal communication channels. Business Planning & Reporting Act as organisational lead for Business Plan Reporting, aligning across all key grant funding agreements and business plan KPIs. Oversee the annual cycle of statutory reporting to public sector funders and trustees, including all ad hoc reporting requests. Attend key external stakeholder meetings with the Executive Director relating to reporting against grant agreements. Work closely with key Directors, Commercial Leads on funding bids ensuring commitments are consistent with internal Business Plan targets. Legal, Insurance, Data Protection & Compliance Ensure legislative and regulatory compliance in all systems and procedures around business administration. Act as lead contact and budget holder for external legal support, ensuring consistent processes and value for money. Ensure adequate data protection, devise and implement additional processes and training, and act as DPO. Support achievement of essential consents such as Planning, Licence variations, Building Control, etc. Manage relationship with insurance broker, reviewing cover regularly and overseeing claiming of losses. Procurement Act as lead contact for all Procurement Activity, ensuring consistent processes and value for money. Maintain oversight of the register of planned Procurement and respond to un planned procurement requirements. Policies & Procedures Overall responsibility for control and oversight of policies and procedures, including requests for new procedures. Ensure key policies are updated by business owners and renewed on schedule, maintaining consistency of tone and content. Person Specification Essential Demonstrable experience in developing and maintaining governance frameworks and ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. Proven experience coordinating organisational business planning and delivering statutory and grant related reporting. Ability to implement and maintain risk management processes, reporting to senior leadership and trustees. Strong ability to build relationships and influence senior internal stakeholders and external partners. Experience leading cross organisational initiatives and managing change in complex environments. Excellent written and verbal communication skills for preparing board papers, policies and reports. Commitment to championing representation and inclusion at every level of the organisation. Willingness to pass statutory checks such as DBS (Factory International can support processing and payment). Desirable Previous experience operating as a Company Secretary. Experience acting as a Data Protection Officer and implementing GDPR compliance. Understanding of governance requirements within charitable or cultural organisations. Expertise in legal, data protection, procurement or company secretariat. Familiarity with governance and compliance in the cultural or creative industries. Experience supporting governance and compliance during periods of significant organisational growth or transformation. Enthusiasm for training, mentoring and support of emerging talent. When applying, please do not rely solely on ChatGPT/AI software for your answers as they may not fully reflect your skills and experience and could result in your application being discounted.