JOB SUMMARY

Do you want to be a driving force behind our governance, helping to shape decisions that help protect workers. We are currently seeking a dedicated Secretariat Officer to join our Strategy and Impact directorate.
In this dynamic position, you’ll support senior leaders, colleagues and external stakeholders ensuring seamless communication, precise coordination, and efficient execution of board and committee functions. As the GLAA’s Secretariat, you will play a pivotal role in coordinating high-level meetings, preparing agendas, and ensuring the smooth operation of our governance processes. Your attention to detail and organisational excellence will directly support our mission to stop worker exploitation.
This is more than administration, it’s a chance to make a difference.

ABOUT THE GLAA

At the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), we provide exceptional service to the public, businesses, and workers in the fight to stop worker exploitation. We are seeking inspiring leaders who can set clear direction, role model exemplary leadership behaviours, and deliver our vital services to our wide range of beneficiaries with a focus on efficiency and excellence. Building a culture of belonging, we are committed to providing an experience that is inclusive, equitable and kind. We prioritise diversity and believe in a culture rooted in collaboration, growth and team cohesion. Everyday, everyone on the team contributes to stopping worker exploitation.

The GLAA is one of the principal investigative law enforcement bodies for labour exploitation in the UK. The GLAA ensures that workers in the UK are treated fairly, properly and are protected from abuse and exploitation. We have three core functions:

• Regulation - We regulate businesses that provide workers to the horticulture, agriculture, shellfish gathering and food processing and packaging sector. Our regulatory work includes operating a licencing scheme, undertaking inspections to ensure compliance with that scheme, and taking enforcement action where there are breaches.
• Prevention – We work with a broad range of stakeholders locally, nationally, and internationally to help prevent workers from being exploited.
• Enforcement - We investigate allegations of worker abuse under the Modern Slavery Act 2015. GLAA Officers conduct civil and criminal investigations and take enforcement action, including prosecutions and court orders to disrupt criminal activity. We also support victims who have been abused, in particular by ensuring they can access specialist help from our partners.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Government’s plan to Make Work Pay included a commitment to establish a single enforcement body to enforce workers’ rights, including strong powers to inspect workplaces and take action against exploitation. Bringing together state enforcement for workers’ rights will better support businesses who want to comply with the rules, create a strong, recognisable single brand so individuals know where to go for help, and lead to a more effective use of resources and coordinated enforcement action. Bringing state employment enforcement together will create a single executive agency of the Department for Business and Trade known as the Fair Work Agency (FWA). The FWA will bring together the enforcement bodies – HMRC’s National Minimum Wage enforcement function (HMRC NMW), the Employment Agency Standards Inspectorate (EAS), the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) and the Director of Labour Markets (DLME) strategic functions.

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

FOR A RANGE OF COMMITTEES AND GROUPS, THE POST HOLDER MAY BE EXPECTED TO FULFIL THE FOLLOWING RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Plan frequency, location, attendance the management of the GLAA meetings.
• Recommend, collate and commission agenda items.
• Commission, quality control (including formatting and corporate branding) and circulate papers.
• Take and distribute minutes including action and decision points.
• Track the production of papers.
• Circulate actions to action owners.
• Creation and circulation of Chair’s Brief (to provide background and context).
• Creation, maintenance and progress tracking the Governance workplan.
• Maintain the Board’s Register of Interests.
• Assist with onboarding new board members and arranging inductions.
• Act as point of contact for sponsor unit, Chair, Board members and Executive on matters relating to Board and sub-committee meetings.

These responsibilities apply to the following committees and groups:

• GLAA Board
• Audit and Risk Committee (ARAC)
• Finance and Performance Committee (F&P)
• People and Culture Committee (P&C)
• Management Board
• Information Management Group (IMG)
• Strategy and Impact Directorate Meeting

Other support

• Acting as support to the Executive Assistant when required in relation to activity for Board Committees.
• Ad hoc support to meetings or events as requested by the Governance, Planning and Impact Manager.
• To be an active member of the governance team.
• Work closely with others responsible for administrative duties to ensure consistency and efficiency.
• Ad hoc support to cover essential Governance mailboxes when required.