Standalone hr manager jobs

Governance Manager (12-months maternity cover)

About the role

This is an exciting time to join Emmaus UK and provide maternity cover for our Governance Manager.

This standalone role is responsible for managing the operations of the board and committees of Emmaus UK, as well as for providing support to local boards at Emmaus communities across Great Britain as they look to develop their governance arrangements.

The postholder will manage the board of trustees, leading on recruitment, induction and compliance, ensuring meetings run smoothly and are minuted effectively. They will also work as company secretary, managing the smooth-running of the AGM, and ensuring returns are made to Companies House and the Charity Commission within appropriate timeframes.

The Governance Manager is responsible for monitoring the development of policies, tracking completion and working with managers to continuously improve policies in line with changing regulation.

The role will also involve extensive work with members of the Emmaus movement, through the performance of reviews of local governance of members, reporting back to local boards on areas to celebrate and actions to develop. They will also be responsible for developing Emmaus UK’s best practice toolkit for trustees to refer to in developing their local governance arrangements, and for liaising with the wider Emmaus movement through facilitation of the membership processes with Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International.

About Emmaus UK

We understand that a home is more than just a roof over your head; it’s somewhere to belong, where you feel part of a community, and that’s what Emmaus offers. 

Emmaus is a unique, secular organisation supporting homeless and socially excluded people by providing a home, meaningful work opportunities and a sense of belonging. 

There are currently over 30 Emmaus communities across the UK, stretching from Glasgow to Dover and Norfolk to South Wales, including three Emmaus groups working towards the development of services in their areas. Collectively the Emmaus federation supports more than 1,000 people with experience of homelessness. 

Emmaus UK Governance

• Manage the board of trustees, leading on recruitment, delivering a comprehensive and appropriate induction, dealing with enquiries, maintaining declarations of interest, skills audit and eligibility forms and ensuring all details are up to date and accurate.
• Act as company secretary for Emmaus UK, leading on the preparation for and delivery of the Annual General Meeting, filing required returns, developing documents associated with membership, and ensuring the charity is compliant with relevant charity and company law.

​Board and Committee Meetings

• Coordinate board meetings including organising venues, liaison with the relevant secretary and chairs in creating agendas, preparing and distributing papers and taking and circulating accurate minutes
• Oversee the smooth-running of committee meetings in conjunction with the admin team, including creation of the annual calendar.
• Ensure all follow up actions are coordinated, and ongoing rolling actions logs are maintained and appropriately shared with the Emmaus UK staff team.

Emmaus UK Governance Development

• Lead on governance projects within Emmaus UK, including but not limited to risk, policy management and internal governance reviews, reporting to the Board and subcommittees as appropriate.
• Provide governance advice and support to staff members on an ad hoc basis.
• Monitor all internal policies and procedures ensuring they are fit for purpose and kept under review by the relevant staff members.

​Federation Governance

• Lead on reviews of members’ local governance arrangements, scheduling, undertaking analysis, reviewing documentation, collating responses from members and observations from Emmaus UK Senior Leadership Team members, and reporting to local boards on findings and Emmaus UK’s Audit & Risk Committee on emerging themes.
• Provide guidance for federation members on governance development through ad hoc advice, the production of governance toolkits and supporting resources.
• Facilitate the membership processes and requirements for Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International, supporting transitioning members and contributing to movement-wide events such as the World and Regional Assemblies, international visits and exchange programmes.

To apply 

· To apply for the role, please complete our application form and equal opportunities monitoring form and email us, our Email address is in the application Pack by COP Wednesday 19th November 2025. 

· Please ensure you download the job pack and refer to the job description and person specification when completing your application form.

· Those shortlisted will be invited to an interview conducted via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday 26th November or Friday 5th December 2025.

· If you would like to arrange an informal discussion about the role, please email us, the email address is in the Application Pack.