Governance Professional - Complaints and Governance Support
Inspiration Trust, Norwich, NR2 1NR13 days remaining to apply
Start date details
November 2026
Closing date
23 September 2026 at 12pm (midday)
Date listed
10 September 2026
Job details
Job role
- Administration, HR, data and finance
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time: Full Time - 37 hours per week over 5 days from Monday to Friday
Contract type
- Permanent
Pay scale
- Salary: Support Staff Pay Scale I: £38,510 to £40,444 per annum
What skills and experience we're looking for
About You:
We are looking for a professional, impartial and highly organised individual with strong administrative, written communication and record-management skills. You will be confident interpreting and applying policies, statutory guidance and procedures, handling sensitive information and managing competing deadlines. You will have excellent attention to detail, be calm under pressure and able to communicate diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders.
Professional Development
As part of the role, the successful candidate will have an opportunity to study towards a recognised governance qualification. Dedicated study time will be agreed within your contracted working hours, providing an excellent opportunity to develop your professional knowledge and expertise while gaining valuable practical experience in the role. This is an ideal opportunity for someone looking to build a career in governance and gain a recognised professional qualification alongside their day-to-day work.
Essential:
- GCSE English and Mathematics at grade 5/C or above, or equivalent.
- A relevant Level 3 qualification or equivalent substantial professional experience.
- Strong administrative, organisational, written communication and record-management skills.
- Experience handling sensitive information and competing statutory or policy deadlines.
- Ability to clerk formal meetings and produce clear, accurate and impartial minutes, alongside strong digital skills including Microsoft 365.
Desirable:
- Commitment to study towards and complete a recognised governance qualification, with study time agreed within contracted working hours.
- A qualification in governance, legal, public administration, data protection or the education sector.
- Experience working in an academy trust, school, public body or other regulated environment.
- Experience using Governor Hub or a comparable governance management system.
- Experience of formal panels, hearings, appeals or casework relevant to the role.
- Willingness to attend evening meetings and travel across Trust locations.
What the school offers its staff
We offer:
- Generous annual leave, and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with excellent employer contributions
- Health Plan and Employee Assistance Programme, including 24/7 virtual GP access, mental health support and claim-back options for healthcare costs *
- Cycle-to-work scheme, retail and theatre discounts (including discounted shopping vouchers, dentist and gym memberships), and salary sacrifice options (including home technology). *
- Free parking at most sites
- Personalised CPD and development programmes
- A structured and specific induction programme.
*Terms and conditions apply. Some benefits are only available following successfully passing probation.
Further information about the job
Salary: Support Staff Pay Scale I: £38,510 to £40,444 per annum
Make a real difference through effective complaints management and governance support across our Trust.
This is an exciting opportunity to join our Governance Team as a Governance Professional, with responsibility for coordinating complaints across the Trust and providing professional governance and support to Academy Committee clerks.
You will play a key role in ensuring complaints are managed fairly, impartially and within the required timescales, coordinating investigations, panels and communications while maintaining accurate and confidential records. Alongside this, you will support effective local governance by organising committee meetings, providing procedural advice, producing accurate minutes and monitoring governance compliance, attendance and actions.
Working with academy leaders, senior colleagues, governors, panel members and other stakeholders, you will need to demonstrate excellent judgement, diplomacy and attention to detail. This is a varied role that offers the opportunity to contribute to strong governance, continuous improvement and effective outcomes across the Trust.
What You’ll Be Doing
- Receive, acknowledge, log and triage complaints, identifying the appropriate procedure and stage and monitoring required timescales.
- Coordinate Stage 2 investigations and Stage 3 panel processes, maintaining clear records and neutral communications.
- Support investigators and panels by organising evidence, correspondence, interviews and hearing documentation.
- Arrange independent panel members and clerks, complete conflict checks and coordinate meetings, invitations and reasonable adjustments.
- Maintain confidential complaints records, track agreed actions and produce anonymised management information, themes and lessons learned.
- Act as governance professional and provide impartial procedural advice to Academy Committee clerks as required.
- Plan meeting cycles, agree agendas, issue papers, attend meetings and produce accurate minutes and action logs.
- Maintain governance records, compliance trackers and systems, including Registers of Interests, terms of office, attendance, training and vacancy records.
- Monitor governance compliance, attendance and quoracy, escalating concerns and statutory governance risks where appropriate.
- Support governance policy reviews, consultations, publication requirements and wider governance administration across the Trust.
About You:
We are looking for a professional, impartial and highly organised individual with strong administrative, written communication and record-management skills. You will be confident interpreting and applying policies, statutory guidance and procedures, handling sensitive information and managing competing deadlines. You will have excellent attention to detail, be calm under pressure and able to communicate diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders.
Professional Development
As part of the role, the successful candidate will have an opportunity to study towards a recognised governance qualification. Dedicated study time will be agreed within your contracted working hours, providing an excellent opportunity to develop your professional knowledge and expertise while gaining valuable practical experience in the role. This is an ideal opportunity for someone looking to build a career in governance and gain a recognised professional qualification alongside their day-to-day work.
Essential:
- GCSE English and Mathematics at grade 5/C or above, or equivalent.
- A relevant Level 3 qualification or equivalent substantial professional experience.
- Strong administrative, organisational, written communication and record-management skills.
- Experience handling sensitive information and competing statutory or policy deadlines.
- Ability to clerk formal meetings and produce clear, accurate and impartial minutes, alongside strong digital skills including Microsoft 365.
Desirable:
- Commitment to study towards and complete a recognised governance qualification, with study time agreed within contracted working hours.
- A qualification in governance, legal, public administration, data protection or the education sector.
- Experience working in an academy trust, school, public body or other regulated environment.
- Experience using Governor Hub or a comparable governance management system.
- Experience of formal panels, hearings, appeals or casework relevant to the role.
- Willingness to attend evening meetings and travel across Trust locations.
Why Join Inspiration Trust
At Inspiration Trust, we believe in the power of education to transform lives. You’ll be joining a supportive, forward-thinking organisation that values professional development, collaboration, and innovation. We provide opportunities for growth and empower you to make a real impact in schools across Norfolk and north Suffolk. As part of our thriving network of talented teachers, leaders, and support staff, you’ll receive a varied professional development programme designed to help you be the best you can be.
We offer:
- Generous annual leave, and access to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with excellent employer contributions
- Health Plan and Employee Assistance Programme, including 24/7 virtual GP access, mental health support and claim-back options for healthcare costs *
- Cycle-to-work scheme, retail and theatre discounts (including discounted shopping vouchers, dentist and gym memberships), and salary sacrifice options (including home technology). *
- Free parking at most sites
- Personalised CPD and development programmes
- A structured and specific induction programme.
*Terms and conditions apply. Some benefits are only available following successfully passing probation.
About Us
Inspiration Trust is a thriving family of schools across Norfolk and North Suffolk, recognised nationally for pupil progress and excellence in teaching and leadership. We believe every young person deserves the best education, regardless of background.
The Trust offers extensive networks and opportunities to collaborate with a diverse range of schools and partners. We are committed to delivering outstanding professional and learning opportunities for all staff, supported by a rich programme of continuing professional development led by some of the country’s leading educational thinkers and practitioners.
We believe it is important to support every school by centralising key support services. This approach reduces workload for senior leaders, provides value for money across a range of integrated services, and ensures that our academies benefit from a strong local support structure that promotes the sharing of best practice. As a Trust, we continually review our services to ensure they remain responsive to the needs of individual academies.
Our Central Services team, currently based at The Hewett Academy site in Norwich, provides expert support across HR, Payroll, Recruitment, Finance, Governance, Operations, ICT, Marketing, and Estates - enabling our schools to focus on what they do best: teaching and learning.
Next Steps
Before applying, please read the attached Recruitment Pack and Job Description, for more details about the role. We ask that you read this pack carefully, especially the “Planning your application” section from page 11. This will support your application ensuring you have the opportunity to tell us about your relevant skills, experience and qualifications that relate to the job description and person specification in addition to details of your references covering the last 5 years.
If you would like to know more about this exciting opportunity, then please contact Fiona Hamilton, Executive Assistant to the CEO - fionahamilton@inspirationtrust.org
To apply for this role please click the Apply button to complete the online application form.
When you start your application, you will receive several emails from our application provider, Vacancy Filler. Please be aware that some email providers may mistakenly mark these messages as spam. To avoid missing important updates, we recommend checking your spam or junk folders regularly throughout the application process and marking these emails as safe.
Closing date for applications: 12pm on Wednesday 23rd September 2026
Interview date: Wednesday 30th September 2026
Safeguarding and Equal Opportunities
Inspiration Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
All staff appointments are subject to satisfactory references and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. We are an equal opportunities employer.
Commitment to safeguarding
Inspiration Trust is committed to safeguarding and all staff appointments are subject to satisfactory references and enhanced DBS checks. You will be required to provide references and undertake an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service Check.
This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are an equal opportunities employer.
Applying for the job
Apply for the job by following the link below.
CVs will not be accepted for this application.
View advert on school website (opens in new tab)Additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Inspiration Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
- Website
- Inspiration Trust website
- Email address
- recruitment@inspirationtrust.org
We are part of the Inspiration Trust, twice ranked as the country’s top family of comprehensive schools for pupil progress, and strongly believe in the importance of giving the widest educational opportunities to all young people, regardless of their background. We have strong networks across the Trust, with opportunities to work with a diverse range of schools and partners. We are committed to offering excellent professional and learning opportunities for our staff, with a busy programme of continuing professional development courses delivered by some of the country’s best educational thinkers and practitioners.
Head office location
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