Position:  Governance & Compliance Manager
Office location:  Dublin & Remote
Report To:  Director of Finance & Operations

About The Wheel 

The Wheel is Ireland’s national association of community and voluntary organisations, charities and social enterprises. We are a registered charity in Ireland and are unique in our role as a ‘one-stop-shop’ for anything related to the charity and non-profit sector. 

‘Our Vision is a thriving community and voluntary sector at the heart of a fair, just and inclusive Ireland.’ 

We are an authoritative and trusted voice for the sector, and we are enthusiastically committed to transparency, accountability, and the highest standards of practice and governance. Together, we work to ensure that the sector is recognised and respected, adequately resourced and appropriately regulated. 

Overall Purpose & Level:

This role will support The Wheel in ensuring it meets all its legal, regulatory and good governance requirements, and will assist the organisation by reporting on key metrics across all programmes. It will support the compliance function of the organisation in implementing policies and procedures, reviewing policies and processes, and advising senior management on possible risks.

The ideal candidate will be professional, highly-analytical, and possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. They will be experienced, and motivated to guarantee that our processes and transactions follow all relevant legal and internal guidelines

Working Relationships:

The post holder will have an excellent working relationship with the Director of Finance and the members of the Finance & Operations team, and will assist in supporting the work of the other staff in The Wheel office. They will provide the data and analysis for various reporting requirements of all The Wheel teams. While the role will initially not have a direct report, all managers in The Wheel should be open to this possibility. 

Role & Responsibilities:                                                                                     

Governance:

• Liaise with the Board and subcommittees on all matters of governance and compliance
• Liaise closely with the CEO & Directors on the agenda, preparation and meeting packs for Board meetings, including the CEO report
• Manage the Governance subcommittee agenda, preparation and meeting packs in consultation with the Director of Finance
• Liaise closely with the Director of Finance on the agenda, preparation and meeting pack for Finance & Audit subcommittee meetings
• Attend board meetings and subcommittee meetings as required and take minutes
• Manage the full process for The Wheel’s annual board elections and recruitment, including
  • Succession planning
  • Skills assessments
  • Elections and recruitment
  • Induction and onboarding
• Lead on preparation of Trustees’ Report for annual statutory accounts in consultation with Director of Finance Manage the Board and subcommittee online portal
• Manage and update board handbook and board materials as needed
• Manage The Wheel’s risk register, including horizon scanning for future risks and mitigations, updates for subcommittees and the board, and ensure planned actions are carried out in line with agreed timelines 

Compliance:

• Work closely with the Company Secretary to ensure all secretarial duties are carried out fully
• Manage The Wheel’s internal policy schedule, ensuring policies are updated in accordance with agreed timelines.
• Update and manage on an ongoing basis The Wheel’s Data Protection systems and processes
• Manage The Wheel’s compliance with the Charity Regulator’s Code of Governance
• Manage compliance with statutory filing requirements for the Companies Registration Office, Charities Regulator, Register of Beneficial Ownership and Lobbying Register and any other as they arise.
• Manage The Wheel’s register of bank mandates, including preparing updated mandates in cases of changes in signatories.
• Organise the regulatory and compliance aspects of the annual external audit process
• Manage requirements of key funding contracts including reporting, disclosures, milestones and online portals
• With the Director of Finance, create and manage effective action plans in response to any audit discoveries and compliance reviews
• Manage, in close consultation with the Director of Finance, the internal audit process and be a point of contact for same
• Be a key organiser of The Wheel’s annual Operations Planning process
• Manage ongoing monitoring and reporting on progress of the organisation
• Lead on organising the AGM process and event annually, and any EGM process which may be required from time to time.
• Any other tasks as considered reasonable and necessary by Senior Management

Metrics:

• Manage The Wheel’s system of organisational metrics, including collating, analysing and presenting.
• Work closely with key team members in support of the above metrics management duty
• Liaise with all colleagues who feed into The Wheel’s organisational metrics to ensure all information is stored in a uniform way for ease of reporting
• Prepare quarterly summaries of key metrics for providing to the Board.
• Prepare and promote annual infographic for The Wheel
• Any other tasks as considered reasonable and necessary by Senior Management

Person Specification:

Minimum Education & Skills required

• A 3 – 5 years’ proven experience in a Governance and Compliance, or similar role
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Good knowledge of legal requirements and procedures. Knowledge of the nonprofit sector an advantage
• Highly-analytical with strong attention to detail

Skills and Abilities Required

• Ability to work effectively on one’s own initiative
• Ability to collate and interpret data, with close attention to detail, and ability to effectively communicate that data to a variety of stakeholders
• Ability to build effective & successful relationships; a team player
• Commitment to and understanding of working within a voluntary organisation in an inclusive manner
• A strong commitment to the importance of The Wheel’s role in building an understanding and appreciation of the importance and value of civil society and the nonprofit sector.

Behavioural Competencies

The Wheel uses a Behavioural Competency Framework as a key cornerstone of its performance management processes. The priority behavioural competences identified for this role are:  

Collaborative Working: 

Co-operates with others and participates outside of own work area, seeks to understand fully the work of the organisation, willingly offers support where needed. Creates a friendly work environment where any conflicts can be resolved amicably. 

 Open Communications: 
Listens attentively, speaks clearly and to the point, and responds positively to questions. Uses relevant building/linking to improve on what has been said. 

Positivity: 
Displays an affirming outlook and ensures that commitments are kept.  Tackles difficulties with good humour and purpose, willing to give time and energy to completing work. 

Adaptability: 
Understands, accepts and adapts to change quickly, finding new ways of working while continuing to be productive and effective; Responds with enthusiasm & communicates clearly.    

Key information about the role

This is a full-time permanent position with The Wheel. The Wheel’s offices are located in Dublin 2.  
This contract is for a 36-hour week and salary is payable monthly in arrears.  

The Wheel is currently working a Hybrid Working Pilot and hybrid working is available to all employees. With this role, there will be a requirement to work from the office regularly, approximately twice per week.

The role may require participation in meetings, which can occur in the evenings and on weekends. Travel outside of the office is reimbursed according to our expenses policy. 

The annual gross salary for this role is expected to be in the first or second quartile of the range for the Manager level posts within The Wheel, i.e. €49,000 - €68,000. This will depend on the knowledge and experience of the person who occupies it, and will be decided accordingly. 

Other benefits include:

• A 6% employers' contribution to a company contributory pension scheme (subject to a mandatory 4% employee contribution)
• Annual Leave of 25 days
• Closure of the office on Good Friday, Christmas Eve and the Christmas / New Year period which comes additional to annual leave entitlement
• Death in Service benefit of four times salary
• Further Education / Training investment programme
• Professional subscriptions (as applicable)
• Travel (bike-to-work schemes/tax saver commuter tickets)

A complete list of all the terms and conditions will be made available to the candidate offered the role through The Wheel’s Staff Handbook.  

The Wheel is an equal opportunities employer. Shortlisting will apply.