Governance Officer

The British Academy

Hours
35 hours per week

About the Organisation

British Academy is the UK’s national body for the humanities and social sciences, established by Royal Charter in 1902. We mobilise these disciplines to understand the world and shape a brighter future. Today’s complex challenges can only be resolved by deepening our insight into people, culture, and societies. With a Fellowship of around 1700 leading national and international academics, the Academy invests in researchers and projects across the UK and overseas; engages the public with fresh thinking and debates; and brings together scholars, government, business, and civil society to influence policy.

The Academy currently has five directorates: Communications & Marketing, Development Policy Research, and Resources, plus a small Governance & Fellowship Team. We have increased staffing in the last 12 months and expect to continue to grow this year.

About the role

This role offers a unique opportunity to work at the centre of The British Academy to support our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and governance activity. This varied role will support the delivery of the Academy’s EDI Strategy and action plans, helping drive meaningful initiatives across the organisation while also contributing to the smooth running of the Academy’s governance structures.

You will work closely with colleagues across the Academy, Fellows, senior stakeholders and external partners, playing an important role in supporting projects, events, communications and committee activity. From helping shape EDI initiatives and building relationships across networks to coordinating governance processes and supporting high-level meetings, this role offers the opportunity to support work that has an impact across the Academy and contribute to EDI best practice in the research sector.

This role would suit someone who is highly organised, proactive and collaborative, with excellent communication skills. You may already have experience in EDI work, governance, higher education or membership organisations. A commitment to EDI is essential and an understanding of the broader context and regulatory landscape surrounding EDI would be valuable.

You will be comfortable using Microsoft Office 365 and working collaboratively across teams, bringing a positive and respectful approach to your work. Whether you’re looking to build your experience in governance or EDI and want a role where you can make a real contribution across the Academy, we’d love to hear from you.

Responsibilities

Support the delivery of the EDI Strategy:

• Assist the Business & EDI Manager in working with EDI workstream leads to deliver the EDI Strategy through offering guidance and supporting initiatives
• Become a co-workstream lead for the Strategy and Governance and Data and Insight action plans, and work to deliver key actions to timelines
• Undertake project-based work on different EDI initiatives. This could involve working with data, brainstorming ideas for projects and copywriting
• Show knowledge of best practices and innovations in the EDI landscape
• Contribute ideas and feedback for the continuous enhancement of EDI activity across the Academy

Facilitate collaboration and engagement on EDI:

• Support engagement activities on EDI, including away days, critical friends groups, all staff meetings and sessions with the Fellowship and ECRN
• Maintain strong relationships with the Staff EDI Group panel and actively participate in events
• Maintain a strong awareness of different EDI networks that could be potential collaborators with the Academy and identify potential partnerships 
• Implement and refine internal communication tools for EDI, such as the EDI SharePoint and Teams group
• Work collaboratively to identify innovative ways to improve cross-team working and share best practices on EDI activity

Administrative support for EDI activity:

• Provide administrative support for EDI activity, including minute-taking, updating action plans, organising meetings and logistics for engagement and training events 
• Support the Business & EDI Manager on managing the EDI Budget, including budget tracking and processing of payments and invoices
• Ensure compliance with GDPR, particularly how we handle sensitive EDI data

Governance Support:

• Provide Committee secretariat support, including commissioning, editing and circulating committee papers and agendas to agreed timelines and taking minutes
• Support on the organisation of events and meetings for the Academy’s main governance committees (including Council, Senior Management Team, Audit, Governance & Nominations Committee)
• Support with forward planning and co-ordination of the Academy’s governance activity more broadly, liaising with other teams as required (SMT and Council forward looks, cross-cutting activity such as annual report and operational planning)
• Provide other administrative support as required, including following up actions, processing travel claims and any other related activity
• Liaise with the Executive Assistants of the senior leadership to provide additional support on the management of the President’s inbox and diary
• Provide support for other governance activities and projects as appropriate

Internal:

• President, CEO and Governance team; Vice Presidents for Humanities and Social Sciences; EDI workstream leads; Staff EDI Group Panel; Diary Managers for President/CEO and Directors

External:

• Peers in other organisations; External members of EDI Subcommittee; ECRN members

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Knowledge & Skills:

• Demonstrates and develops appropriate knowledge and skills
• Knowledge and understanding of the regulatory context of EDI issues
• Is receptive to new ideas and change, adapting own ways of working as appropriate
• Proactively makes suggestions for improving processes and policies and oversees implementation when appropriate.
• Is aware of own strengths and weaknesses and capabilities.
• Seeks and uses opportunities to learn and develop, and is quick in picking up new tasks.
• Strong IT skills and confidence in using key Microsoft packages, including Office 365, Excel, Word and PowerPoint
• Shares knowledge and skillset with others.

Working Relationships:

• Is proactive in developing and maintaining effective working relationships with others internally and externally.   
• Demonstrates a positive attitude towards helping others by providing appropriate support, using initiative, and not waiting to be asked
• Adopts a communication style appropriate to the situation and the audience, understanding that communication is two-way
• Is sensitive to different working styles and views, adapting where appropriate
• Communicates effectively with staff across departments
• Promotes a positive impression of the Academy both internally and externally
• Is discrete and alert to the ways in which high-level and sensitive information needs to be managed.

Proactivity & Planning:

• Manages time and resources effectively in order to achieve own and organisational objectives
• Prioritises tasks to meet deadlines
• Keeps relevant colleagues informed with effective communication
• Responsive, flexible, and willing to work across a range of tasks within changing priorities. 
• Takes ownership of tasks and knows when to escalate
• Monitors progress effectively and adapts plans where possible

Problem Solving And Decision Making:

• Has a pro-active, can-do, attitude, taking personal responsibility whilst knowing when to ask for advice and escalate
• Anticipates conflict and thinks ahead to resolve quickly.
• Handles difficult situations calmly, with sensitivity and respect.

Required Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent relevant experience

Compensation & Benefits

• Competitive benefits package 
• 34 days’ annual leave plus Bank Holidays, a subsidised canteen, and an excellent occupational pension.

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• To apply, and to see the full job description and our workplace values, please apply to the Applied recruitment platform.
• We have a two-step approach to hiring, beginning with submitting an application through the Applied platform.
• Please note that applications that are highly plagiarised and not your own work, copied from ChatGPT, will be identified by the hiring team and may not progress to the next stage.
• The deadline for applications is  12:00 noon on 17 June 2026; however, we may close this role sooner if we receive a high volume of applications. In these circumstances, we will give those who have shown interest 24 hours' notice of the change of deadline.

Interviews

• Interviews for this role are currently scheduled for 2nd/3rd July 2026, but this may be subject to change.

Policies

Our senior management team have worked with staff to foster a culture of collaboration, respect, and empathy, in which all contributions are recognised as we work towards our common goals. Our people strategy and working practices focus on building strengths and sharing insights, with learning & development, wellbeing, and equality, diversity & inclusion at the centre of how we operate as an organisation. Investing in our staff and encouraging a healthy work/life balance is central to our success, as we move forward and continue to grow. Academy, including our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Statement.

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