Head of Legal & Governance

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton or Liverpool

Permanent

Full time (37 hours per week)

£56,563 - £62,223

Who are we?

We are the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) - the UK's centre of excellence for oceanographic sciences. We are a national research organisation, delivering integrated marine science and technology from the coast to the deep ocean.

We are made up of a dynamic and vibrant community whose focus is on improving the world in which we live. Our work is balanced by our strong sense of purpose, values and behaviours and an unwavering commitment to a ‘one NOC’ approach.

We have a rich history dating back to 1949, and our future has never looked more exciting as we aim to be the world’s most innovative oceanographic institution.

About the role

Good governance is critical to the management of NOC. It is how NOC will work to meet its strategic, financial, and operational objectives, and achieve long-term sustainability that fosters public and community trust.   As a charitable company, meeting NOC's legal compliance responsibilities and successfully managing its corporate information is clearly important. This post takes the lead in ensuring NOC complies with all of the legal requirements set out by the Charity Commission and company law, working at all levels of the organisation.

NOC has established robust legal, governance, risk and compliance policies and procedures that need leadership to ensure they embed across the organisation and create a culture of good governance. This role is critical to taking the NOC Governance and Risk frameworks out across NOC ensuring that NOC operates in line with the Charity Governance Code and considered risk in all of its day to day decision making. 

About you

We are looking for an experienced Legal and Governance professional with significant experience of delivering fit for purpose contracts support services, governance frameworks, including risk and compliance activities for complex organisations. This will require an adaptable individual, with ability to engage our staff in the importance of good governance and how it brings benefits across our sphere of activity.  The post holder will have the opportunity to develop and implement a new Information Governance approach for NOC and will have a key role in overseeing the legal relationships with tenants, delivery partners, suppliers, customers and maintaining internal relationships on an overall business partnering basis. The ability to demonstrate a positive and proactive approach to driving change in a busy research environment is a must for the post.

Why the NOC?

We offer a generous set of benefits including 28 days annual leave, plus 3.5 local closure days and 8 public bank holidays, and a contributory Group Personal Pension Plan.

We are committed to flexible working, trusting our staff to get the job done. And we offer an inclusive and supportive environment where our people can meet their full potential.

Location

This position can be based in Southampton or Liverpool. Our Southampton site is well connected by public transport and has ample cycle parking in addition to free onsite car-parking. The Liverpool centre is part of the University campus and is only a short walk from the city centre and Lime Street station. 

Our commitment as an employer

The NOC is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. There is a guaranteed interview scheme for suitable candidates with a disability and we welcome applications from ethnic minorities currently under-represented. The NOC is an Investors in People organisation, and has signed up to the Athena SWAN charter principles to take action to address gender equality.

How to apply: 

Please click ‘Apply’ and submit an up-to-date CV and cover letter. If you are unable to apply online, please contact the NOC recruitment team at careers@noc.ac.uk / 07955 851648.

Before submitting your application please ensure you have reviewed the attached job description and assessment criteria.

Date advert posted: 11 August 2022.

Closing date: 8 September 2022. Please note this vacancy may close earlier depending on the number of applicants. 

Please note we are not accepting applications via recruitment agencies for this position.

Assessing applications

All applications to the NOC are reviewed by a real-life person, not a computer programme. Attached to our adverts you will find a ‘Candidate Assessment’ document which clearly sets out the criteria against which applications are assessed. Once assessed the strongest candidates will be invited to interview.

If you have been selected for interview we will be in touch to arrange a time and date. If you haven’t been selected for interview we will let you know, although we may not be able to give detailed feedback to every applicant.