Governance Administrator

What skills and experience we're looking for

The Governance Administrator provides high‑quality administrative and operational support to the Governance Team, enabling effective academy‑level governance across the Trust.

The role focuses on meeting coordination, clerking support, record‑keeping, and day‑to‑day governance administration, ensuring that Local Governing Bodies (LGBs) and governance professionals are well‑supported and compliant with Trust policies and statutory requirements. This includes a willingness to work some evenings to support governance meetings and the ability to travel across the Trust as required.

This role is essential in ensuring efficient governance operations, accurate documentation, and timely communication, contributing to the smooth functioning of governance at academy and Trust level.

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Qualifications to Level 3 or equivalent experience.
• Willingness to undertake governance‑related training, with NGA or clerking qualifications desirable
• Experience in administration, clerical, or coordination roles.
• Strong organisational and administrative skills, with excellent attention to detail
• Ability to produce clear, accurate minutes and documentation
• Confident communication skills, both written and spoken

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

What the school offers its staff

The Harris Federation is a leading education charity with 55 Harris primary and secondary academies across London and Essex. The founder, Chairman and sponsor of the Harris Federation, Lord Harris of Peckham, opened our first school in 1990. We now educate some 38,000 young people and closing the gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers has always been a core mission.

The Harris Federation has a track record of accomplishment in achieving success through rapid school improvement and has built an unrivalled reputation for running outstanding academies in London.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.We look for talented individuals who share our vision for creating exceptional places of learning, and are committed to ensuring that every child in London has access to the best possible education.In addition to the opportunities for career progression, training and development, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan and many other benefits.

Further details about the role

As a Governance Administrator, you will play a key role in supporting effective governance across our academies by providing high‑quality administrative and operational support to the Governance Team.

You will support Local Governing Bodies through meeting coordination, clerking, and accurate record‑keeping, helping to ensure governance processes are compliant, well‑organised, and run smoothly at both academy and Trust level. The role requires a willingness to work some evenings to support governance meetings and the ability to travel across the Trust as needed.

Governance Administration & Coordination

• Coordinate governance meeting schedules, including AGB meetings, training sessions, and panel hearings.
• Prepare and distribute meeting agendas, documentation, and information packs according to Trust timelines.
• Support the Governance Manager in producing templates, forms, and administrative tools for use across the governance function.
• Maintain governance calendars, distribution lists, SharePoint/Teams sites, and other communication platforms.

Clerking & Meeting Support

• Maintain accurate governance records including:
• registers of interest
• governor attendance records
• training logs
• membership lists and terms of office
• Support onboarding and offboarding processes for governors, including DBS checks, induction materials, and profile updates.
• Ensure relevant governance documents, policies, and registers are updated and stored in line with Trust protocols.
• Assist with preparing documentation and evidence for governance audits and internal audit assurance checks.

Commitment to safeguarding

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share in this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed for all applicants. Before applying, please review our Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders.