Head of Governance and Innovation

Key information

Role: Head of Governance & Innovation

Location: We are happy to consider remote candidates, but you must be based in the UK. We have an office in London, which staff are welcome to use whenever they’d like, with most London-based staff going in 2 times a week.

Salary: £52,500 - £58,000 (pro-rata if part-time), depending on experience

Reports to: Director of Governance

Line Manages: Governance and Compliance Officer, Governance and Compliance Assistant, and other roles as required.

Contract type: Fixed-term for 18 months, full-time (37.5 hours/week). Flexible or part-time working (minimum 30 hours/week) will be considered.

Contract Start Date: As soon as possible.

Recruitment Timeline:

• Applications will close on Wednesday 18th November at midnight (23:59).
• Candidates will be notified on the w/c 23rd November.
• The first round of interviews will be conducted on the w/c 30th November.
• A second round of interviews will be conducted on the w/c 7th December.
• Offers will be made on the w/c 14th December.

Application Process:

Please visit our website to apply. You will need to attach your CV (redacting your name and any personally identifiable details) and a cover letter of no more than 1,000 addressing:

• Motivation and values: Why SCN’s mission resonates with you, and how your personal values align with our work.
• Progressive governance and innovation: Your experience leading governance, risk, or compliance operations, particularly how you have rethought, streamlined, or innovated workflows to make compliance practical and enabling rather than bureaucratic.
• Trauma-informed regulatory balance: How you navigate statutory regulations alongside a trauma-informed, proportionate, and relationship-based approach to risk.
• Leadership and collaboration: Your approach to team leadership and mentoring, alongside holding collaborative, constructive boundaries across departments.

AI Guidance:

• While use of AI is not a knockout criterion, we discourage candidates from using AI to write the answers. If you use AI and can hide it well enough that we don’t notice, go for it! If we do notice, that might affect you negatively in the process.

About The Social Change Nest CIC

At the Social Change Nest (SCN), we’re radically transforming the funding landscape and strengthening civil society. We remove the financial and administrative barriers - like bank accounts and legal structures - that often prevent communities, grassroots groups and informal movements from accessing funding and focusing on their core mission. We also work closely with funders, enabling them to support social action with confidence and transparency.

We currently support over 700 groups across the UK and abroad addressing issues such as social injustice, climate, housing, wellbeing and animal rights. We are at the forefront of fiscal hosting in Europe and, since our inception in 2020, we have supported groups in securing over £50 million in funding, helping them take advantage of opportunities that may have otherwise been unavailable. Read more about this here.

How we work

You’ll be joining a close-knit team, supported and developed to be the best you can be. We believe that every member of our team brings a unique perspective from their experiences and abilities and we encourage everyone to be curious about how we can improve everything we do, from how we interact as a team to how we deliver for our clients and communities.

Underpinned by our values of collaboration, curiosity, courage, and creativity, we work closely and with care with our partners because we believe relationships are the glue that hold us all together.

We’re a growing business and operate at pace to keep up with the challenges that the sector faces. We have established a lot, but as we grow, we’re still working some things out. The right person will thrive in this environment and feel a level of ownership to support the build out of things we need as we need them. You will enjoy working in an evolving organisation, have a natural curiosity about how your role fits into the bigger picture, feel comfortable handling multiple priorities collaboratively, and adapt quickly when circumstances evolve.

About the role

At SCN, we believe governance, risk, and compliance should embody the freedom to empower transformative social change rather than restrict it.

As our Head of Governance & Innovation, you'll serve as the operational anchor and creative engine of our governance function. Sitting between strategic executive leadership and daily operational delivery, you'll hold total ownership over SCN's compliance and risk backbone. You'll ensure our active Money Laundering Supervision (MLS) framework, due diligence processes, and board support cycles run smoothly, proportionately, and on time across our multi-entity group structure, tailoring operational controls depending on whether specific services fall under statutory regulation or non-regulated subsidiary operations.

In this role, you'll combine hands-on operational delivery with team leadership and progressive governance innovation. You and the Governance Team will champion and model SCN’s trauma-informed, relationship-based approach to risk, turning operational insights into creative governance tools that make compliance accessible and enabling for grassroots movements. You'll mentor and support the team, manage complex Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD), handle sensitive safeguarding or compliance cases, and hold clear operational boundaries with cross-functional peers across Business Development, Operations, and Finance. You'll also act as key deputy to the Director of Governance, stepping in to represent the function when required.

Skills and experience Essential:

• Senior Governance Leadership: Demonstrable track record (typically 3 to 5 years) leading or managing governance, risk, or compliance functions within a social enterprise, charity, fiscal host, or complex values-led organisation, with experience of applying compliance flexibly and creatively, and operating with significant autonomy.
• Governance Innovation and Process Design: Strong capability in analysing operational workflows and complex case handling, designing user-friendly compliance tools, and translating group feedback and data into continuous governance improvements (using tools such as HubSpot or Google Workspace).
• Trauma-Informed Risk Approach: Deep understanding and practical experience of relationship-based, trauma-informed risk management, with the ability to champion and embed this culture across an organisation.
• Complex Risk Assessment: Demonstrated expertise in conducting EDD, analysing complex legal or financial risk profiles, and applying anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing frameworks proportionately.
• Multi-Entity and Regulatory Nuance: Solid working knowledge of AML regulations and experience navigating governance across multi-entity group structures, with the ability to apply proportionate controls across both regulated and non-regulated operational models.
• Practical Regulatory and Safeguarding Experience: Practical working knowledge of data protection (General Data Protection Regulation / GDPR), handling sensitive safeguarding or whistleblowing escalations, and applying risk management frameworks in operational settings.
• Board and Committee Administration: Practical capability in managing formal Board and Committee cycles, with confidence to support Board effectiveness, advise Trustees and Directors on governance protocol, and oversee high-quality minuting and statutory records.
• People Management: Experience in line-managing staff, setting clear objectives, managing workload distribution, and supporting career progression.
• Cross-Functional Communication: Outstanding interpersonal and negotiation skills, with the ability to hold firm compliance boundaries while maintaining warm, collaborative working relationships.
• Values Alignment: Deep commitment to social change, equity, and removing bureaucratic barriers for grassroots community action.

Desirable:

• Experience with multi-entity corporate structures, subsidiaries, or international grant distribution.
• Formal or professional training in adult or child safeguarding, data protection (GDPR), or accredited risk management frameworks.

We will provide comprehensive onboarding and training on our internal systems, processes, and methodologies relevant to your role.

To apply, and for a full breakdown of the job duties and responsibilities, as well as information on our hiring process, the terms, and benefits offered, please visit our website: https://thesocialchangenest.org/scn-vacancies/head-of-governance-and-innovation/