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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for University Secretary

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The University Secretary is a senior, strategic governance professional who provides expert corporate secretariat services to the governing body (Council/Board), advises senior leaders on governance, compliance, statutory and regulatory matters, and leads the institution’s governance, risk and compliance functions. This role ensures that the university operates within its charter, statutes and relevant higher education regulation while enabling effective decision making, robust assurance and transparent reporting.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Governance Officer / Committee Secretary with experience supporting boards and committees.
  • Legal Counsel or Corporate Legal Advisor with experience in education or public sector law.
  • Head of Compliance, Risk or Policy in a higher education or public institution.

Advancement To:

  • Registrar and Secretary (combined senior university officer role)
  • Director of Governance and Legal Services
  • Chief Operating Officer or Deputy Vice‑Chancellor with operational remit

Lateral Moves:

  • Head of Compliance & Risk
  • Director of Corporate Affairs / External Relations

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Act as principal adviser to the Vice‑Chancellor, Chair of Council/Board and senior leadership on governance, constitutional matters, statutory obligations, legal risk and good practice in higher education governance.
  • Serve as Company Secretary and corporate secretary for the university and its subsidiary companies, ensuring statutory filings, company law compliance, board minutes and corporate records are accurate, timely and auditable.
  • Plan, prepare and provide full secretariat support for governing body and committee cycles: develop agendas, draft and collate high‑quality papers, ensure quorum, manage meeting logistics and record clear, actionable minutes and decisions.
  • Maintain and develop governance frameworks, standing orders, terms of reference and delegated authorities to reflect best practice, regulatory change and the university's strategic objectives.
  • Lead the annual governance cycle including board business planning, agenda scheduling, board effectiveness reviews, trustee induction, ongoing training and evaluation of committees and governors.
  • Oversee the development, review and publication of statutory and regulatory reports (annual report and accounts, governance statements, regulatory returns) to stakeholders including funders and external regulators.
  • Manage the registers of interests, gifts and hospitality, conflicts of interest and ensure transparent processes for declaration, escalation and mitigation across the institution.
  • Provide strategic oversight of institutional risk management frameworks: maintain the corporate risk register, chair or support risk committees, ensure linkage between risk, assurance and board-level decision making.
  • Lead institutional compliance with data protection (GDPR), Freedom of Information/EIR requests and information governance, including policy, training, response coordination and liaison with supervisory authorities.
  • Act as primary liaison with external regulators (e.g., Office for Students, Charities Commission, Companies House), auditors and legal advisors on matters affecting governance, compliance and corporate status.
  • Advise on and coordinate senior appointment processes, vetting and appointment packs for governors/trustees, including recruitment, terms of appointment, reappointments and induction programmes.
  • Oversee corporate records management, archival and retention policies for governance documents, ensuring secure storage, appropriate access controls and compliance with retention schedules.
  • Draft, review and advise on institutional policies, governance protocols, terms of reference and codes of conduct to support consistent governance and statutory compliance.
  • Design and deliver training and development programmes for governors, senior managers and committee members to build governance capability and ensure effective stewardship of the institution.
  • Coordinate the handling of complex governance issues: conflicts of interest, declarations, disciplinary or grievance matters affecting senior staff, and escalation to the governing body when required.
  • Manage governance‑related projects such as constitutional change, mergers and acquisitions, the creation or oversight of subsidiary companies, and the implementation of new governance systems and technologies.
  • Provide confidential support and advice on sensitive governance matters including investigations, whistleblowing cases, and legal or regulatory interventions, ensuring procedural fairness and legal compliance.
  • Prepare briefing notes, governance summaries and decision papers that synthesise complex information into concise recommendations for board-level consideration.
  • Ensure robust oversight of honorary degrees, awards committees and ceremonial governance processes, supporting academic governance where required.
  • Champion continuous improvement by benchmarking governance practices against sector standards, conducting post‑event reviews and implementing enhancements to governance operations.
  • Manage and supervise the secretariat team, allocating workload, setting standards for paper quality and minute-taking, developing staff competence and ensuring resilience in coverage.
  • Oversee governance budgets, procurement for secretariat services and the implementation and optimisation of board portal and meeting management technologies.
  • Coordinate board and senior leadership diary planning for strategic away days, retreats and stakeholder engagement, ensuring logistical excellence and cost-effective delivery.

Secondary Functions

  • Provide ad hoc governance advice to faculties, schools and professional services to ensure alignment between local decision‑making and central governance requirements.
  • Support preparation and oversight of institutional policies relating to academic governance, ethics and regulatory compliance, working closely with Academic Registrar functions.
  • Maintain close working relationships with student representative bodies, unions and other internal stakeholders to support transparent governance processes and student engagement.
  • Assist with public-facing governance communications including governance webpages, publication of minutes and transparency reporting to support the university’s accountability.
  • Coordinate internal assurance mapping and liaison with internal audit to ensure that governance actions and recommendations are tracked and implemented.
  • Support the planning and administration of ceremonial events (graduations, inaugurations), including governance sign‑off and compliance with regulations.
  • Manage small projects to digitise governance records, improve committee paper workflows and integrate board portals with institutional systems.
  • Provide short‑term cover for related corporate services when required, contributing to continuity of leadership and service delivery.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Corporate governance expertise: deep knowledge of board governance practice, trustee duties, company law, charity law and higher education regulation.
  • Committee secretariat and minute‑taking: proven ability to prepare agendas, high‑quality meeting papers and succinct, accurate minutes that capture decisions and actions.
  • Statutory and regulatory reporting: experience preparing annual governance statements, regulatory returns and filings with Companies House, Charity Commission and education regulators.
  • Legal and policy drafting: ability to draft clear governance documents, policy statements, terms of reference and formal resolutions.
  • Risk management and assurance: skilled in maintaining corporate risk registers, linking risk to strategic objectives and providing assurance to boards.
  • Data protection and FOI compliance: operational knowledge of GDPR, data subject rights, FOI/EIR request handling and information governance practice.
  • Financial oversight of governance budgets: experience managing budgets, procurement and financial controls for governance functions.
  • Board portal and meeting technologies: proficiency with modern board management systems, secure document repositories and MS Office/Google Workspace.
  • Project management: ability to lead governance-related projects such as constitutional change, mergers or system implementations.
  • Records and archival management: competence in corporate records retention policies, archiving and secure storage of sensitive governance documents.

Soft Skills

  • Strategic advisory and judgement: confident adviser to senior leaders with the ability to anticipate issues and present clear, evidence‑based recommendations.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication: able to produce concise briefings and present complex governance matters clearly to diverse audiences.
  • High integrity and confidentiality: trusted to handle sensitive and confidential information with discretion and professionalism.
  • Stakeholder management and influencing: skilled at building relationships with trustees, senior academics, regulators and external advisers.
  • Attention to detail and accuracy: meticulous approach to documentation, statutory compliance and minute accuracy.
  • Facilitation and diplomacy: able to manage challenging conversations in meetings, balance competing interests and build consensus.
  • Resilience and adaptability: comfortable working in a complex, changing higher education environment with competing priorities.
  • Leadership and people management: experienced in leading and developing a small professional secretariat team.
  • Analytical thinking and problem solving: interprets data and regulatory guidance to produce practical governance solutions.
  • Time management and organisation: strong ability to manage complex meeting schedules, deadlines and simultaneous projects.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Law, Business Administration, Public Administration, Governance or a related discipline (or equivalent professional experience).

Preferred Education:

  • Postgraduate qualification in Law (LLM), Governance, Public Administration, Corporate Governance, or professional qualification such as Chartered Governance Institute (ICSA) Certificate/GradDip.
  • Continuing professional development in charity/commercial law, higher education regulation or data protection.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Law
  • Public Administration
  • Business Administration
  • Corporate Governance
  • Political Science / Higher Education Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 5–10 years’ progressive experience in governance, corporate secretariat, legal or compliance roles; demonstrable experience supporting boards or governing bodies.

Preferred:

  • 8+ years’ experience with evidence of senior advisory work at executive level in higher education, charity or public sector organisations; experience as Company Secretary or Head of Governance is highly desirable.
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