Are you passionate about organisational resilience, governance excellence, and enabling effective decision‑making across a complex institution?
Join us as Senior Manager, Governance & Resilience and help shape a stronger, more responsive, and well‑governed University.
About the Role
The Senior Manager, Governance and Resilience, is a key role within the Governance team as part of the Governance, Compliance and Legal Services (GCLS) unit. Working collaboratively, the post-holder provides project, corporate and academic governance and relationship management support to key groups and committees across the University, supporting a range of stakeholders to achieve organisational resilience and promote good governance practice.
Maintaining an awareness of the changing policy and regulatory environment, the post-holder contributes to the sustainability and delivery of business continuity and crisis management across the University, as well as to the development and promotion of efficient and effective governance. Providing expert advice on business continuity and resilience to stakeholders across a variety of Units will be an important feature of this role, supporting the University Secretary in overseeing the organisational approach to business continuity and resilience and in ensuring all relevant plans remain current and are regularly tested. In addition, the postholder will promote good governance practice across the University, providing a full secretariat service to formal committees within the University's governance structure, as well as provide management support to other advisory groups.
Key Responsibilities
Management of business continuity & resilience activity
Provide assurance & oversight of Business Continuity activity, working with departmental leads to ensure that plans are in place, validated, tested & reviewed appropriately.
Maintain & annually review the Business Continuity Policy & Framework, ensuring they are aligned to professional standards & embedded within strategic & operational planning activities.
Review & update (at least annually) the Crisis Management Plan & list of key contacts.
Organise & manage one-off and annual exercises to test existing business continuity & resilience plans.
Enabling good governance & reviewing governance effectiveness
Support the delivery of the objectives of the Governance Team & the GCLS unit, building collaborative relationships across the University to enable clear institutional accountability through effective, efficient, & compliant corporate & academic governance.
Lead on the continuous review & development of processes, policies & guidance owned by the Governance Team, ensuring they remain fit for purpose in line with sector best practice.
Provision of advice & guidance
Maintain effective communication & engagement with key internal & external stakeholders & planning communities which is customer focussed, collaborative, transparent & drives continuous improvement.
Provision of strategic advice to the Crisis Management Team (when in place), & undertake a lessons learned exercise post-incident/crisis.
Maintain & develop the business continuity hub as an important source of information, training & resources for staff. Oversee the production, development & review of training materials, templates, & guidance for use in formal governance settings across the University, as well as for business continuity purposes.
Provision of advice and guidance on business continuity & governance issues, contributing to increased awareness of both areas & ensuring the adoption of best practice across the University. Monitor legal & regulatory developments in relation to business continuity & resilience.
Awareness of the HE policy environment, especially as it applies to the four Nations in the UK, & of trends in governance.
Draft committee papers & policy documents, communicating complex issues clearly & fluently to a range of audiences.
Committee servicing and business planning
Chair the Business Continuity Operations Group, and work with the secretariat support to ensure the timely provision of information to this Group.
Provide management support to a range of other management and advisory groups such as the Crisis Management Team, ensuring that they consider relevant business in a timely manner.
Provision of effective secretariat support to formal committees within the University's governance structure and to any other formal committees or informal groups as required. Manage all activities associated with such committees, working closely with committee chairs and subject specialists to ensure business is conducted transparently and efficiently and in line with relevant schemes of delegation and standing orders.
Lead on the recruitment and induction of external committee members, developing induction materials and ensuring that committee members are supported to discharge their responsibilities.
Oversee processes to ensure that committees across the University are operating in accordance with their terms of reference and conduct appropriate reviews of their business and effectiveness.
Staff management and development
Line or matrix management of team members and responsibility for appraisal and development.
About You
Essential:
Knowledge of the University's strategic, regulatory, and financial context, and the risks it faces to resilience of its business operations.
Demonstrable experience of business continuity, incident response or risk management, and governance in a similar organisation e.g. education, public sector, charity.
Strong analytical skills and ability to identify, analyse, interpret, and present complex information effectively, to comment on its significance, and to develop proposals for action.
Experience of process development or redesign and improvement.
Demonstrable experience of managing working groups or committees efficiently and effectively, with a high level of discretion over sensitive and confidential issues.
Proven experience of managing and developing staff.
Experience of working collaboratively and as part of a team, with the ability to pull together the right people to achieve results through pro-active development of internal and external networks.
Excellent communication skills including ability to draft papers clearly and convincingly as well as deliver training and workshops to groups of colleagues.
Ability to take a holistic view of problems and to develop creative and pragmatic solutions, often under pressure and with limited or ill-defined information.
Ability to plan, schedule and manage a range of complex tasks and projects simultaneously, on time, within budget and to agreed standards.
High degree of integrity, credibility and resilience coping with ambiguity and change at the last minute.
Well-motivated, with an ability to work on own initiative and to exercise judgment within area of responsibility.
Desirable:
Evidence of ongoing professional development in areas relating to business continuity, crisis response or risk management. A certification in one of these areas would be advantageous but not essential.
Demonstrable understanding of and ability to uphold The Open University's mission and statutory duties, including widening participation and equality of opportunity, in accordance with academic freedom, freedom of speech and relevant legal obligations.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on or email quoting the advert reference number.
Why Join The Open University?
You'll be part of a collaborative, mission‑driven organisation committed to accessible education and sector‑leading governance practice. This is your opportunity to enhance the University's resilience, strengthen its governance structures, and make a lasting institutional impact.
Our benefits include:
33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three-day Christmas closure period.
Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
Staff Fee Waivers for OU study, meaning you could earn a degree for free.
Hybrid working, with limited requirement to attend the office in-person, with agile working and family friendly policies.
Discounts, wellbeing support, and development opportunities.
Ready to make a meaningful impact?
Apply now and help shape resilient, effective, and trusted governance at one of the UK's most respected institutions.