Governance And Risk Officer

Do you have experience in governance and risk?

Publica is seeking a Governance and Risk Officer to join our team, providing vital support to Publica and our shareholder councils – West Oxfordshire, Cotswold, and Forest of Dean.

About the role

This role is central to ensuring that our governance, risk, and compliance arrangements are effective, transparent, and meet all statutory requirements.

You will play a key role in coordinating board and committee functions, maintaining compliance with the Companies Act, and supporting councils in delivering good governance practices.

In this varied role, you will lead the coordination and delivery of strategic and service-level risk registers, working closely with officers to embed risk management across the organisation. You will own and improve risk management policies, produce reports for audit and governance committees, and ensure annual governance statements are compliant with national frameworks. Alongside this, you will support complaints management, oversee governance processes such as declarations and hospitality registers, and contribute to key compliance areas including data retention, CCTV policies, and the unacceptable behaviour framework.

We are looking for someone with strong organisational skills, excellent written and verbal communication, and the ability to manage complex issues with confidence and diplomacy. You should have experience in governance, risk, or compliance – ideally supported by a relevant qualification or equivalent professional experience. This is an exciting opportunity to make a real impact in shaping governance standards across three councils, while developing your expertise in a supportive and collaborative shared service environment.

You will need

• A qualification in your area of expertise, equivalent to a degree or relevant experience of five years
• GCSE Maths and English or equivalent to grade C/4 or higher
• Experience of working flexibly as part of a team and collaborating with colleagues and stakeholders
• Experience of being involved in continuously improving services and developing products to meet customer need

• Special conditions
• Full UK driving licence with access to a vehicle for work purposes
• BPSS

For more information about this role please see the Job Description/Person Specification.

• What we can do for you
• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
• 27 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays and an extra two volunteering days off a year for you to support a charity of your choice
• Renewed again for another year there is a health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
• Pension scheme with a good employer contribution of up to 7% of your earnings
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements
• Additional income protection, covering 50% of your salary for potentially a further five years if you are unable to work due to sickness or injury
• Life assurance, currently four times your annual salary

You will be employed by Publica Group Ltd which was created by four partner Councils (West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Forest of Dean District Council) to deliver more efficient and improved services. 

Publica is a unique place to work, established to transform the way local services are delivered, fundamentally rethinking the way our services are designed and delivered in a digital era, making us a customer-focused organisation driven by real user needs.