We believe in people, we believe in you.

Head of Governance

Recruitment Pack November 2020

WELCOME TO VALLEYS TO COAST

Dear candidate

Thank you for considering us here at Valleys to Coast as the next step in your career. If you are reading this

then we already know that you are passionate about your work, passionate about making a difference and

passionate about working for an organisation that shares your values.

As a relative newbie myself, having only joined in May of this year, I can say that Valleys to Coast is an

organisation that has unlimited potential and is filled with talented and capable people. People who care and

want to help us grow, making the most on the unique opportunity we have here to build an organisation that is

more than just a landlord.

We are at the start of a journey now which will shape the next 10 years and we want to start by being brilliant

at the basics and setting lasting foundations upon which we can build something special for the people of

Bridgend and perhaps beyond.

Now is an exciting time to be coming on board. The organisation is bristling with ideas and energy and is

proving itself, not least by rising to the challenges of the last year.

The role of Head of Governance has a vital role to play, building on the great strides we have made in

governance in the last twelve months. As part of the Leadership Team you would be able to share your

expertise across the whole business and access a strong, supportive and truly brilliant team that will back you

all the way to make this role a success.

With this role also comes an excellent opportunity for development in to the position of Company Secretary.

Being part of OUR team means being part of the solution to delivering excellent customer service, improving

prospects across the Borough, developing and growing a talented workforce, building the right homes in the

right places, reducing our environmental impact as a business and making sure that our customer are happy

and safe in their homes.

If all this sounds appealing then we would love to hear from you, please read through this information pack

and visit our website and social media and if you need to contact us with any questions, we look forward to

hearing from you.

Joanne Oak - Chief Executive

ABOUT VALLEYS TO COAST

We're a not for profit organisation who provide and manage 5,835 homes across Bridgend, South Wales.

We also provide management services to 722 leasehold flats, have a portfolio of 50 shops and other non-

residential properties let on commercial terms, and manage 1,129 garages.

Our Purpose

Providing homes where people feel happy and safe.

Our purpose describes what we are here to do as an organisation. It is the essence of why we exist and it

drives our strategic priorities. We help people to live together independently.

Our Vision

Helping to build a better Wales

Our vision is intended to stretch and provoke our people to think the impossible and have ambitious

aspirations for themselves and our customers. It is inherently based on us building strong and fertile

partnerships in every area of our business.

Our Values

Our Values are our fundamental beliefs as an organisation. They are the guiding principles for how all of our

people should behave and act. They flow through every part of our organisation and are what makes us

special.

Value People

We see the potential in people, those we work with and those we are here to serve.

Think Differently

We try new things to improve peoples’ lives and careers.

Courage to see things through

We want the best for ourselves, our colleagues and the people we serve; so we speak, work and act with

conviction, strength and determination.

MEET THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

The day-to-day responsibility for the business lies with the Executive Management Team; this group of senior

executives brings a wealth of talent, skills and experience to Valleys to Coast.

Joanne Oak, Chief Executive

Jo joined us in May 2020 and is a qualified accountant with over two decades of

experience in senior leadership roles across the public and third sectors. She is

experienced in leadership, change management, strategic planning, financial

management and governance. Her previous role was in Social Care Wales where she

was their Director of Strategy and Corporate Services. She had the pivotal role of

driving the organisation through growth and transformation working with Welsh

Government, sector partners and colleagues. Jo is also currently a Board member of

Bron Afon Community Housing and a Trustee for Buildings Communities Trust.

Paul Ryall-Friend, Chief Operating Officer

Paul joined as Chief Operating Officer in March 2017. Previously he was Director of

Strategy & Planning at Curo, a housing and care group based in Bath and operating

across the South West of England. Paul has been in the Social Housing Sector for 5

years but his career started in the late 1980s at Lloyds Banking Group in 1988 working

in Plymouth, Cardiff, Bristol, London and Edinburgh. Paul is an associate of the

Chartered Institute of Bankers and has a BSc (Hons) degree in Financial Services.

Sarah Prescott, Chief Finance Officer

Sarah joined in July 2017 as Chief Finance officer continuing to spend her career in

the housing sector, in particular not for profit organisations. Her previous role was,

Director of Finance and ICT for Cardiff Community Housing Association, before that

she was the Assistant Director of Finance at Gwalia (now the Pobl Group), and also

Director of Finance for Tenovus, the cancer charity. Sarah was a Board member at

Valleys to Coast for a short period of time in 2011 and is currently on the Board of Tai

Pawb, the Institute of Welsh Affairs and Barcud Assurance and its subsidiary Astari.

She is on the ICAEW Wales Strategy Board, the District Society, the ICAEW Social

Housing group and respresents Wales on the Housing SORP panel. She is a Fellow of

the Institute of Chartered Accountants, has a CIPFA qualification in International

Treasury Management, a Foundation Certificate in NLP from Chester University and a

degree in Economics from Swansea University.

Polly Thompson, IT Director

Polly joined as IT Director in January 2018. She started her career at Southern

Housing Group in London, before moving on to Scope and then Citizens Advice,

where she spent 14 years supporting the use of technology and data to help

individuals and to campaign for policy change. She has an MBA from the Open

University.

Claire Marshall, Financial Director

Claire joined in 2019 as Financial Director. Claire is a Fellow of the Institute of

Chartered Accountant with a wealth of experience from working in core finance, audit,

corporate finance and risk management roles, and also holds an MBA from Warwick

University. Claire has most recently worked in Advisory for Grant Thornton, but also

brings housing experience as is currently the Chair of the Cadarn Housing Group, and

has previously worked for both the Pobl Group and Coastal Housing.

Darrin Davies, Director of Development & Asset Investment

Darrin joined as Director of Development and Asset Investment in April 2017. Darrin is

a Chartered Surveyor with nearly 30 years’ experience in both private and public

sector asset management. Prior to joining Darrin had an interim role with The Pobl

Group which followed 25 years heading up the asset management, development,

procurement and health & safety services for Family Housing Association (Wales) Ltd.

Steve Gopal, Operations Director

Steve joined Operations Director in 2019. Steve joined us from Pan Macmillan UK.

Steve previously worked as Operations Director then as Business and Strategy

Director for Honda Logistics UK and then more recently Head of Logistics at McLaren

Automotive. Steve trained as a barrister in London, is MBA qualified and occasionally

lectures Economics.

Emma Howells, Director of Housing & Customer Services

Emma Joined us in January 2020 after working in the housing sector both in England

and Wales for over 20 years. She has held management roles in Trivallis, United

Welsh and London Borough of Camden delivering a range of housing related services

and has a special interest in the customer voice, restorative working and innovative

service design.

Liz Murray-Downie, Director of People

Liz joined us in September 2020 after working in the housing sector in South Wales for

2 years and in Human Resources for over 20 year. She has held a Director’s position

for Hafan Cymru and supports Thrive Women’s Aid with their HR needs. Liz is a

chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and has a

special interest in employee engagement.

MEET THE BOARD

Valleys to Coast’s Board has a diverse range of skills and experience, with not only housing sector knowledge

but knowledge of the financial, public, governance and legal sectors too. This along with their passion for

social housing is invaluable to us as we plan for the next 10 years.

Anthony Whittaker

Anthony has recently retired after a 40 year career working for a number of not-for-

profit housing organisations. Most recently he was the Chief Executive of one of Wales

leading housing associations. In addition, he has served as a non-executive Board

member for a number of housing organisations in England and Wales. A resident of

Bridgend, in his spare time he enjoys walking with his dog, gardening and following his

(formerly) local football team.

John Kinder

John is a retired economic statistics consultant. He was also previously a Director at

the Office for National Statistics and is an expert in Information Management. In

addition John has a wide experience of financial and resource management and a

sound knowledge of Welsh Housing Statistics.

Joanne Smith

Joanne has recently been appointed Governance and Regulation Manager for a

housing association in South Wales following a two year secondment to the Housing

Regulation team in the Welsh Government. Prior to this Joanne worked for a number

of years in operational housing management during which time she gained an MSc in

Housing from Cardiff University. Joanne firmly believes in the benefits good quality

secure homes and services can bring to improve people's health and well-being.

Mark Woloshak

Mark is a Cardiff based solicitor, who works for national firm Slater & Gordon. His

professional work has included acting on behalf of Housing Associations and he was

previously on the Board of a Housing Association in Devon. Originally from London,

Mark has a keen interest in social housing and firmly believes that it is of crucial

importance to society’s well-being.

Councillor Stuart Baldwin

Stuart has worked in the housing sector for 25 years working for Local Authorities,

Registered Social Landlords and Welsh Government. During his time in the housing

sector Stuart was a Member of the Chartered Institute of Housing and was a member

of their board with responsibility for Policy and Practice. Stuart was elected to

Bridgend Town Council in February 2016 where he has held the positions of Mayor

and Deputy Mayor. In May 2017 Stuart was re-elected to Bridgend Town Council and

also elected to Bridgend County Borough Council representing the Morfa Ward on

both Councils. Stuart is passionate about equalities, social justice and communities.

Andrew Wallbridge

Andrew is a Management Consultant for a Bridgend based consultancy firm and works

with many Housing Associations across South Wales. He has been a tenant for over 4

years and lives with his wife & family in Maesteg.

Jason Evans

Jason is a partner at Gambit Corporate Finance, an award winning corporate finance

advisory firm based in Cardiff and leads on debt advisory services and the social

housing sector for Gambit. He also sits on the Confederation of British Industry (CBI)

Council for Wales.

Lisa Griffiths

Lisa is a Fellow of both the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the

Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors and currently works in corporate governance

and acts as Company Secretary for a number of companies within the steel sector.

Caroline Jones

Caroline is an Associate Director at Savills as well as a chartered surveyor and RICS

registered valuer. She works in the development department advising on property

development and regeneration. Caroline has worked closely with the affordable

housing sector in Wales, providing valuation and consultancy advice on assets and

new build programmes.

Sophie Taylor

Sophie is a ICAEW qualified chartered accountant who is currently the head of finance

at Cardiff and Vale college and is responsible for the day to day management of the

finance team, as well as ensuring a strong financial control environment and

supporting the organisation through a period of rapid growth and change.

ROLE PROFILE Responsible to: Chief Finance Officer Line Manages: Compliance and Assurance Business Partner

Data and Governance Business Partner Board Facilitator

Executive Assistant Overview of the role The overall purpose of the Head of Governance and Compliance role is to:

Act as the internal expert on governance, risk and regulatory compliance.

Work with Board, Executive Team and Senior Leadership Team to ensure that the highest standards

of governance are in place.

Lead on risk, assurance, data protection and the Company Secretariat

Key responsibilities and accountabilities Governance

Promote high standards of corporate governance, ensuring that all parts of the organisation operate

within their constitutions and governance codes.

Keep up to date with the regulatory changes and provide reports on changes that affect the group to

the Executive Team and Board. Offer expert advice on policies and procedures for effective

compliance.

Maintain the governance framework suite of policies and procedures.

Deliver continuous improvement of the performance of governance activities by developing and

implementing clear actions, policies and processes.

Lead of the compliance monitoring for the organisation, ensuring all data held is accurate and up to

date, with measures put in place to support business leads.

Ensure appropriate probity reporting is in place.

Company Secretary

Maintain the board member handbook; ensuring policies are regularly reviewed in line with best

practice, and maintain Board service contracts.

Support the Board in succession planning, recruitment, induction, training, and performance appraisal.

To deputise for the Company Secretary as required.

Manage, co-ordinate and administer the group’s board, committee and shareholder meetings

efficiently, accurately and on timely basis.

Risk management / Internal Audit and Controls

Lead on and manage the Risk and Assurance Framework and the risk policy.

Lead on risk reporting to Board and Audit Committee.

Continually scan the operating environment and horizon to ensure that the Board and Executive team

are aware of relevant issues in relation to governance, risk and compliance activities.

Be responsible for facilitating the identification of strategic and operational risks, working with the

Executive Team and senior managers to identify and effectively manage and mitigate risk. Promote a

culture of risk awareness

Lead on the risk assurance framework, reporting to Audit Committee and Board.

Working with Executive Team and Audit Committee lead on the appropriate assurance plans including

the rolling internal audit programmes.

Be the key liaison between us and our internal auditors, and ensure the smooth running of the internal

audit programme.

Commission additional assurance with other advisors as required.

Ensure that the reporting within the team is effective, supports sound governance and escalated to the

rest of the business in an effective way.

Regulation

Be a key point of contact and maintain a strong relationship with the Regulator.

Represent Valleys to Coast in consultations and in sector initiatives

Lead on the preparation of the self-evaluation, code of governance, performance standards reporting,

assets and liabilities lists and any other requirements of the regulator.

Lead on ensuring statutory returns are submitted to Regulation as required.

Data Protection

Lead the GDPR and data protection procedure and policy, ensuring Valleys to Coast complies with

legislation and good practice.

Lead the organizational compliance with data retention and support the business in document

management.

Performance Management

Help to embed a culture of continuous improvement, innovation and excellence.

Provide effective performance and KPI reporting for Board and Executive, leading on the appropriate

oversight and checks within.

Maintain the overall policies register and ensure organisational policies are kept up to date

Identify and address data integrity issues or issues of underperformance across the organisation,

working in conjunction with the strategic leadership team to ensure remedial action plans are out in

place to address shortfalls.

Leadership and Management

Provide clear leadership and direction to all staff within the Governance function, and wider

organisation, in line with Valleys to Coast’s values and the leadership behaviour framework.

Directly line manage all posts within the Governance function including holding one to one meetings

and conducting performance reviews with direct reports.

Encourage, promote and participate in cross functional working between teams and directorates

across Valleys to Coast.

Other

Ensure all work is aligned to the purpose, vision and values of Valleys to Coast.

Carry out all other duties as may be reasonably assigned from time to time, with the level of this job

description.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Knowledge/Qualifications

Degree level qualification or relevant professional experience.

ICSA or CIPFA qualification or extensive practical experience of a company secretary role and

willingness to work towards

Relevant professional experience or qualifications such as CCAB accountancy or IIA.

Evidence of CPD.

Thorough understanding of the areas for which the role is responsible: governance, risk, company

secretary, audit, compliance, health and safety.

Expert knowledge of GDPR, ICO requirements, document management and data retention

An understanding of the sector, political agenda, and regulatory landscape for social housing

providers.

Experience

Senior management experience in a relevant role within a regulated environment. Experience of

Welsh social housing is desirable.

A track record of providing in-depth governance support and risk business partnering.

Strategic leadership experience, operating as part of a senior leadership team.

Experience providing strategic and operations advice in governance, compliance and risk to senior

internal stakeholders (executive team and board), and being accountable for that advice.

Experience communicating, negotiating, and influencing a wide range of internal and external

stakeholders and partners.

Personal Qualities

Sound risk awareness.

Takes a proactive and pragmatic approach – focused on delivery of outcomes and performance.

Ability to motivate others.

Ability to interact with a range of stakeholders at a senior level.

Detail conscious - with the ability to see the bigger picture.

Ability to analyse complex data and provide clear, well-structured and well-written reports.

Has integrity and accountability.

Represents and promotes Valleys to Coast’s purpose, mission and values.

Confident decision-maker.

Excellent written, verbal and numerical skills.

Other

Ability to attend evening meetings and occasional weekend meetings and events.

Practical understanding of equal opportunities issues and commitment to valuing diversity.

KEY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The role

Head of Governance. Permanent position with 6 month probation period.

Remuneration

£60,000 per annum

Generous annual leave allowance

On joining Valley’s to Coast staff are entitled to 25 days leave per annum plus bank holidays. The numbers of

days’ leave increases to 30 as your service increases, rewarding your loyalty.

Company sick pay

We recognise that from time to time we all become unwell. It is in our interests to ensure you recover quickly

and that it is not delayed by financial worries which is why we offer a good company sick pay package.

During probation period - SSP

From confirmation in post to 12 months - 1 month full and 1 month half pay

During 2nd year of service - 2 months full and 2 months half

During 3rd year of service - 4 months full and 4 months half

During 4th and 5th year of service - 5 months full and 5 months half

After 5 years of service - 6 months full and 6 months half

Stakeholder pension

All staff are able to join the stakeholder pension scheme. It has various contribution rates ranging from 6% to

8%.

Non Contractual Benefits

Perkbox Online retirement planning

Salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme Subsidised car parking

Health care cash plan

You will be eligible to participate in the health care cash plan. The scheme entitles you to reclaim money for

the cost of dental and optical appointments and check-ups, as well as various therapy treatments and

services every year to keep you at your fit and healthy best. As part of this cover, you will also have access to

exclusive rewards and special offers from over 1000 leading online and high street retailers.

Level 1 of the cash plan is paid for by Valleys to Coast, you have the option to upgrade this at your own cost.

Study and Professional Subscriptions

We encourage staff to study for job related professional qualifications. We will also pay for one professional

subscription related to your role.

Family Friendly Leave

We offer a range of family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and paternity pay and statutory

parental leave, as well as special leave options including time off for dependents and family related leave.

Sports & Social Club

Sports & Social Club is initiated and managed by colleagues who organise various activities and events for

staff to attend inside and outside of work. Every year we partner with a ‘Charity of the year’ to do our bit,

fundraise and get together as a team. We’ll have bumper prizes on big occasions throughout the year with

multiple prizes or hampers up for grabs.

KEY DATES AND THE SELECTION PROCESS

Closing date: Monday 30th November 2020 at 12 noon

We will be in touch with candidates on Thursday 3rd December 2020 to confirm the outcomes of the

applications.

First interviews: Monday 7th December 2020

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a virtual interview to take place on Google Meet with a panel from the

Leadership Team. Invites will be sent on Thursday 3rd December 2020.

Online Personality Testing:

Between first and final stage interviews, shortlisted candidates may be asked to complete an online

psychometric test. Links to the test will be sent to candidates on Monday 7th December and are required to be

completed by no later than 12 noon on Wednesday 9th December 2020.

Final interviews: Thursday 10th December 2020

The final stage of the process will be meeting the team, a panel interview and the facilitation of a discussion

with the leadership team regarding risk. The panel will comprise members of the Board and Leadership Team.

This will take place at Valleys to Coast’s Head Office in Bridgend, subject to Welsh Government Guidelines.

If you are unable to attend on any of the identified dates for interview, please do speak to the Valleys to

Coast’s recruitment team before making an application.