Governance Adviser, Beyond Governance
In short: A governance adviser helps organisations make decisions properly. The work covers preparing boards and committees, drafting minutes and resolutions, maintaining statutory records, building governance frameworks and advising directors. Its core skill is judgement: knowing what matters, what to record and what to flag.
It’s one of the questions I get asked most often, and it’s rarely answered particularly well.
Most explanations of what a Governance Adviser does read like a job description written by someone who has never actually sat in a board meeting: dry, procedural and slightly beside the point.
So instead of another list of responsibilities, I thought I’d explain what the role actually looks like from the inside.
At its core, governance is about helping organisations make decisions with the right information, oversight and accountability.
A Governance Adviser’s role is to help that process work effectively, without ever being the person making the decision.
In practice, that involves everything from supporting boards and reviewing governance frameworks to advising senior leaders and helping organisations navigate challenges and change.
One of the biggest misconceptions about governance is that the work starts when a board meeting begins.
In reality, much of the work happens before anyone enters the room. Agendas need to be prepared, papers reviewed, stakeholders coordinated and directors provided with the information they need to make informed decisions.
Nor does the work stop when the meeting ends. Minutes need to be drafted, actions tracked and decisions followed through.
The meeting itself is just one part of a much larger governance process.
This is the part people assume is the whole job.
It isn’t.
That said, it is one of the most important skills a Governance Adviser develops.
Good minutes are not a transcript.
They are a judgement call.
They require you to understand the discussion, identify the key decisions and create a clear record that remains useful months or even years later.
When I first entered governance, I assumed minute-taking was largely administrative. I quickly learned that the real skill lies in understanding what matters and communicating it clearly.
One project that brought this home involved supporting a full-day board meeting where the previous format of the board minutes typically ran to 12-15 pages. My challenge was to capture the same discussions, decisions and actions in just five pages without losing any of the substance.
It taught me that good minute-writing is not about recording everything that was said. It’s about identifying what matters most and ensuring the official record reflects it accurately.
The same applies to resolutions and other governance records. They’re not simply documents. They become part of an organisation’s decision-making history.
Every organisation has legal and regulatory obligations, but meeting those obligations requires more than simply filing documents on time.
Governance professionals help ensure records remain accurate, deadlines are met and governance processes operate as they should.
Much of this work goes unnoticed when it’s done well. In my experience, some of the most important governance work is also the least visible. But without that foundation, organisations can quickly encounter unnecessary risks and challenges.
One of the more interesting aspects of governance is helping organisations define how decisions should be made.
That might involve reviewing terms of reference, updating governance structures or improving reporting processes.
I’ve worked on projects that involved reviewing governance frameworks and committee terms of reference, helping organisations clarify responsibilities, reporting lines and decision-making authority. What appears to be a simple governance document can have a significant impact on how an organisation operates in practice.
Good governance doesn’t happen by accident. It relies on clear structures, defined responsibilities and processes that support effective decision-making.
One of the things I enjoy most about governance is the opportunity to work closely with senior decision-makers.
Governance professionals often act as a bridge between boards, senior leaders and operational teams, helping ensure that information reaches the right people at the right time.
The role requires strong communication skills, sound judgement and the ability to build trusted relationships.
Over time, I have learned that some of the most important governance skills have very little to do with technical knowledge. Listening carefully, understanding context, asking the right questions and communicating clearly are often just as important as understanding governance frameworks or regulatory requirements.
Sometimes the role also requires the confidence to challenge, particularly when something doesn’t feel right or when an important issue risks being overlooked.
Ultimately, governance is a people profession as much as it is a technical one.
One aspect of governance advisory work that often surprises people is how quickly you have to adapt.
Over the course of my career, I have worked with organisations across a range of sectors, from energy and higher education to insurance. While the principles of good governance remain broadly the same, every organisation has its own priorities, culture and ways of working.
As an adviser, you’re often brought in because an organisation needs support. That could involve reviewing governance structures, supporting boards or helping implement governance improvements.
Unlike someone who joins an organisation permanently, you often have a limited amount of time to understand how the organisation operates, identify key stakeholders and build effective relationships.
That means adaptability is just as important as technical knowledge.
In many ways, the role can feel a little like being a governance doctor.
Organisations rarely seek external governance support when everything is working perfectly. More often, they need additional capacity, specialist expertise or a fresh perspective. Your role is to understand the challenge, provide practical support and leave the organisation in a stronger position than when you arrived.
For me, that’s one of the most rewarding aspects of the profession.
Governance never stands still.
Regulations evolve, expectations change and new risks emerge.
Earlier this year, I attended a governance conference and was struck by how quickly conversations around technology, risk and stakeholder expectations are evolving.
That’s one of the reasons I continue to enjoy the profession: there is always something new to learn.
For most governance professionals, that ongoing development is formalised through a professional qualification. The routes into the profession are set out here.
In practice, all of the above.
But if I had to summarise the role in a single word, it would be judgement.
Anyone can learn the mechanics of a filing, a board paper or a set of minutes.
What makes a Governance Adviser valuable is knowing what to capture, what to flag, what questions to ask and where attention is needed.
It’s not paperwork for its own sake.
It’s not administration for the sake of administration.
It’s about helping organisations create the conditions for good decision-making.
And that is what drew me to governance in the first place.
If you’re considering a career in governance, the role is far broader than most people realise.
It combines law, business, communication, strategy and problem-solving in a way that few professions do.
I certainly didn’t know that when I first came across it.
But that’s exactly why I think more people should know it exists.
You cannot choose a career you have never heard of.
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Tanya Asimiea is a Governance Adviser at Beyond Governance. She holds an LLB, an LLM in International Commercial Law and Dispute Resolution, and an LLM in Corporate Governance, and works with boards, committees and senior leaders across a range of sectors.
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Evon Chung is a Chartered Governance Fellow who has spent more than a decade bringing order to some of the most complex corporate structures in the world. As Manager of Global Corporate Services at Deel, she oversees the governance of around 350 entities across 125 jurisdictions, leading an international team of sixteen lawyers and governance professionals. Before Deel she held senior corporate secretarial roles at The Law Debenture Group and Eversheds Sutherland, running multi jurisdictional projects for FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 clients.
She has also sat on the other side of the exam paper. Some years ago, as a Subject Matter Expert for the Institute, she set and reviewed questions for the foundation level examination. She no longer does so, and her work with Campbell’s is purely as a tutor. The insight stays with her, and few tutors understand better what an examiner is looking for.
Evon came to governance by accident. An engineer by training, she joined a charity board of seventeen trustees, none of whom had a governance background, to help write the minutes. A few years later a law firm invited her into corporate secretarial work, and she never looked back. In a previous life she was a volunteer emergency ambulance technician, which taught her to stay calm under pressure, decide quickly on incomplete information, and know when to lead and when to hand over.
She teaches strategy as a form of storytelling. Her students arrive knowing the words and leave able to use them.
“Strategy is not about execution. It is about direction, intent, and asking the bigger questions.”
Steven Jones has spent his career making governance work where it matters most. As Deputy Director for Governance & Accountability at the Department of Health and Social Care, he leads the teams responsible for the governance of one of the UK’s largest government departments, supporting Ministers, the Departmental Board and senior leaders through periods of significant organisational change. His work spans corporate governance, board effectiveness, risk, accountability, public appointments and legal compliance, with responsibility for governance frameworks affecting millions of people.
Before joining DHSC, Steven led governance across some of government’s most complex programmes, including the UK’s border response during COVID-19, Brexit preparations at the Cabinet Office, and corporate governance for HM Revenue & Customs’ largest business group. Alongside his public service career, he founded Disability Connect Mentoring Scheme, advising organisations on disability inclusion and accessible leadership, and serves on Transport for London’s Independent Disability Advisory Group.
Steven teaches Company Law from the perspective of someone who uses it every day rather than someone who simply studies it. He believes the biggest misconception is that company law is about compliance alone. The rules matter, but the real question is why they exist, who they protect and what happens when the law reaches its limits. That is where judgement begins, and where governance professionals earn their value.
He describes governance simply: it is about who has power, how they are held to account, and what happens when they are not. Once students understand that, the legislation stops feeling like a collection of disconnected rules and starts making sense as part of a much bigger picture. His aim is for every student to leave not just knowing directors’ duties, but being able to explain them, apply them and use them confidently in practice.
Away from governance, Steven is a mentor, disability advocate and podcast host. He is also, somewhat unexpectedly, a partly qualified counsellor and the owner of a tortoise called Frank.
“People often think governance is just about board meetings. It is not. It is about who has power in an organisation, how they are held to account for using it, and what happens when they do not.”
Jamie Hunt is a barrister and a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute who has spent his career at the demanding edge of regulation, governance and risk. He is Director of Governance and Legal at the Royal Institute of British Architects, where he leads governance, legal, risk, data protection and procurement, advises the board, and serves as the organisation’s Designated Safeguarding Lead. He also advises Social Work England on complex fitness to practise matters. Before RIBA he was General Counsel at the Security Industry Authority and Head of Legal at the ACCA.
He earned his Chartered qualification through the Fast Track route and passed with distinction. He brings deep experience of risk to the module he teaches, having advised audit and risk committees and senior risk officers on operational, reputational and strategic risk across regulated organisations.
Jamie is also a natural teacher and examiner. He trains advocates for the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, lectures in advocacy at the University of Westminster, and serves as Lead Examiner for the Bar Standards Board professional ethics examination. He previously lectured in Corporate Governance and Boardroom Dynamics at Campbell’s College. Students gain an instructor who understands risk as a practitioner and knows exactly how to prepare a candidate for assessment.
John McLean is a chartered company secretary and a Fellow of the Chartered Governance Institute, currently Head of Governance and Company Secretary at Great Places Housing Group. He has built his career in complex regulated settings, advising chairs, boards and executives across corporate governance, risk, data protection, safeguarding and quality. Before housing he managed national programmes at NICE and led performance and compliance roles across local government.
He earned his Chartered qualification the recent and the hard way, completing the programme between 2023 and 2025 with distinctions in both Company Compliance and Administration and Boardroom Dynamics. He now tutors both at Campbell’s College.
John is a law graduate who fell for governance because, by his own admission, he is nosey. He likes to know how decisions really get made. He describes the work as less admin and more drama with a very good audit trail, full of personalities, politics with a small p, and the occasional plot twist. He teaches the human side of the boardroom as seriously as the rulebook, because he has watched perfectly compliant boards descend into chaos the moment nobody is willing to challenge anything.
There is one more thing. Out of university and in debt, John paid it down by winning more than fourteen thousand pounds across Weakest Link, Supermarket Sweep, Eggheads and The Chase. He has a gift for retaining information, much of it useless, all of it ready.
“If it is not written down properly, it did not happen. Or at least not in a way anyone can defend.”
Richard Poole is an accounting and finance specialist with more than twenty years spent teaching and marking the ICAEW, ACCA, ICAS and CIMA qualifications. As Managing Director of RJP Financial he lectures for providers worldwide, and he teaches financial reporting at Queen Mary University of London, where the PwC Flying Start programme he contributes to was named PQ Programme of the Year in 2025. He has helped write one of the most widely used taxation texts in higher education and built online courses now sold around the world.
He found financial accounting hard when he first learned it. That memory shapes how he teaches. He reassures students that there is no such thing as a silly question, and he uses plain explanations and real stories to make daunting ideas stick. He treats a set of accounts not as debits and credits, but as a story waiting to be understood.
His interest in governance came later, sharpened by hearing Erika Eliasson-Norris speak about her experience, which made him want to understand the field more deeply. Away from the classroom he is a lifelong sportsman who played semi professional football, and he draws his energy from team sport.
“Instead of seeing accounts as a series of debits and credits, think of them as a story waiting to be understood.”
Evon Chung is a Chartered Governance Fellow who has spent more than a decade bringing order to some of the most complex corporate structures in the world. As Manager of Global Corporate Services at Deel, she oversees the governance of around 350 entities across 125 jurisdictions, leading an international team of sixteen lawyers and governance professionals. Before Deel she held senior corporate secretarial roles at The Law Debenture Group and Eversheds Sutherland, running multi jurisdictional projects for FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 clients.
She has also sat on the other side of the exam paper. Some years ago, as a Subject Matter Expert for the Institute, she set and reviewed questions for the foundation level examination. She no longer does so, and her work with Campbell’s is purely as a tutor. The insight stays with her, and few tutors understand better what an examiner is looking for.
Evon came to governance by accident. An engineer by training, she joined a charity board of seventeen trustees, none of whom had a governance background, to help write the minutes. A few years later a law firm invited her into corporate secretarial work, and she never looked back. In a previous life she was a volunteer emergency ambulance technician, which taught her to stay calm under pressure, decide quickly on incomplete information, and know when to lead and when to hand over.
She teaches the Foundation Programme the way she would have wanted it taught to her — starting from first principles, building confidence early, and making sure no student feels out of their depth for long.
Marieclare Peter is a Chartered Governance Fellow who has built her career at the meeting point of governance, sustainability and financial services. She is Deputy Company Secretary of Monzo Europe, where she designs and runs governance frameworks for the board and its committees, and she advises senior leaders across banking on governance that keeps pace with a fast moving world. Her work spans board effectiveness reviews, transformation programmes and the thoughtful adoption of emerging technology, including AI.
She is twice a winner of the DMJ Governance Hot 100 as a Governance Trailblazer, and she won the ICSA Tom Morrison Essay Prize. Her MSc in Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, completed with distinction, included research into the experience of company secretaries, a role she believes is still widely misunderstood. She is also an examiner for the Institute in another subject, so she knows the standard from the other side of the exam paper as well as the front.
Marieclare arrived in governance by a well told accident. She learned early that she would not make a great lawyer, spotted a trainee company secretary role, and has stayed for nearly a decade. The film The Big Short sharpened her sense of why governance matters and how badly its absence can end.
Away from the boardroom she runs on curiosity. She once ran a cake business, plays piano and sings, is learning Spanish, cooks in a kitchen for people who are homeless, and is devoted to her two cats.
“Anything that is governed requires governance. And governance directly correlates to outcomes.”
