EdCity Project Governance and Compliance Lead

EdCity is a ground-breaking not-for-profit partnership between national education charity Ark and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.  With a £150m investment, EdCity is designed to be a new neighbourhood hub that opens up social, economic and educational opportunities for local people of every generation, from infants to adults, and which provides new state-of-the-art facilities for learning, living and working.

EdCity is moving towards phase two of completion, and Ark is now looking for a Project Governance and Compliance Lead to help us bring together the threads of this pioneering mixed-use public and private space.

Playing the role of a key advisor and aide to the EdCity team within Ark, and also supporting the EdCity Board and their professional working with our project assurance boards; you will combine a legal sensibility and governance experience with outstanding stakeholder management skills, an understanding of how high-profile projects are brought to life, and ideally, experience of delivering for the UK’s children and young people.

In addition to working on EdCity, the appointed candidate will join the Ark corporate governance team, providing advice and support to Ark projects, corporate assurance and compliance functions.

The EdCity Project Governance and Compliance Lead will report into Director of Risk and Corporate Governance. This role is currently operating hybrid working in our West London Office on a permanent basis working full time or with the option to be part-time starting at 0.6FTE minimum (we are also open to discussions around other flexible working patterns).

1^st and 2^nd round Interviews will be held w/c 13^th January and w/c 20^th January 2025.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for EdCity’s governance, also acting as company secretary and reporting on key information as required
• Responsible for ensuring successful engagement and management of the EdCity Board.  Ensuring a highly organised and detailed approach to board management is developed and maintained
• Responsible for maintaining excellent working relationships with all stakeholders, specifically including the EdCity Development Director with whom this role will work very closely
• Act as Company Secretary for the 3 EdCity Boards (EdCity Development Limited, EdCity Management Company and EdCity Office Limited
• Report on key governance risks and act as a source of information and advice for the EdCity Development Director and the Ark leadership team on governance and compliance in respect of EdCity
• Support the EdCity Development Director to plan ahead for the yearly programme of board meetings, assisting in setting agendas, coordinating submissions for board papers; preparing Chairs’ briefing notes in advance of each Board, and scheduling preparatory calls and reminder emails as necessary
• Establish and maintain positive and constructive relationships with a wide range of project stakeholders, including the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, the Tenants of the EdCity scheme, the property and estate management teams, local community groups, and neighbouring landlords
• Create and maintain risk register for the Boards of both EdCity Office and EdCity Management Company, in respect of the operational management of the office building and the mixed-use estate
• Support to the wider governance team, as required, for instance advising or setting up governance arrangements for any new ventures Ark may establish

Key Requirements:

• Right to work in the UK
• Legal or company secretary qualification
• Project management certification or experience
• Legal, governance or project board experience gained in a context suited to the nature of the EdCity project
• Detail oriented, with experience of board support including organising meetings, agendas and taking accurate and concise minutes, ideally in a development or venture/project board context, and of project tracking and progression between meetings
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills including organisational skills and attention to detail
• Understanding of commercial law with proven contract management and scrutiny skills, including drafting heads of term and managing contract life cycle
• Focus on philanthropy or charitable work
• Detail-oriented, with the ability to grasp and bring order to complex information
• Starter/finisher, with the ability to find a way forward and carry project compliance delivery to completion
• Proactive, a self-starter able to identify workstreams and take them forward with minimal direction. Able to deal with confidential and/or sensitive information with diplomacy and tact
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate effectively with board members, leadership within the organisation, and external stakeholders

• Our hybrid working model aims to offer the best of both worlds, striking the right balance between in-person collaboration and remote working. You will work a minimum of two days per week in our state-of-the-art office in West London allowing you to connect with colleagues, with the flexibility to work remotely, or in the office over the remaining days
• In addition to our current hybrid working arrangements, employees can request to work fully remotely for up to 10 working days a year, whether this be in the UK or abroad
• Our flexitime policy allows you to work your hours around our core hours of 10.00 - 16.00, helping you prioritise your work-life balance and personal commitments
• 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, rising with each year of service up to 30 days after 3-years’ service. This entitlement is pro rata for part time employees. This entitlement excludes bank holidays
• Full office closure between Christmas and New Year
• Regular social events, monthly free breakfast, and daily fruit
• As an Ark employee, you will have the opportunity to be part of the TPT (The Pension Trust) scheme, our workplace pension scheme where we make an 11% contribution; you are not required to contribute towards this scheme unless you choose to. Depending on your role you may also be entitled to LGPS which is a defined benefit scheme where you contribute a percentage based on how much you earn (as do we) in exchange for a guaranteed amount in your pension pot every year
• Access to high-quality professional learning throughout your career, offering both face-to-face sessions and a bespoke online learning platform
• Access to Ark Rewards scheme offering savings from over 3,000 major retailers, interest-free loans available for season tickets or a bike, gym discounts offering up to 40% off your local gym and free eye tests

We’re an international charity, transforming lives through education. We exist to give every young person, regardless of their background, a great education and real choices in life. In the UK, we’re a network of 39 schools, educating around 30,000 pupils in areas where we can make the biggest difference and we’re recognised as one of the highest achieving academy groups in the country. We want to change the lives of children everywhere, not just in our own schools. So, we create and incubate Ventures designed not only to help pupils in Ark schools, but also to improve education systems.

You’ll be joining a group of like-minded, ambitious individuals who work collaboratively and are all committed to our core mission, that every child has the potential to succeed. Having just celebrated our 20^th anniversary, we are shaping our goals for the next 20 and there has never been a more exciting time to join us.