Secretariat Lead

Position: Secretariat Lead — The Global Risks Forum (GRF) / Nexus Governance System
Type: Governance operations, records discipline, and convening delivery leadership role (non-executive governance leadership; strictly non-executing)
Board: Secretariat leaders may be considered for Board/Trustee nomination after serving in good standing (where permitted by governance rules and independence constraints)
Location: International (distributed, hybrid)
Term: 3 Years
Time commitment: ~25–45 hours per month (build-year cadence; surge periods around quarterly cycles, dispute deadlines, and major convenings)
Apply here: https://therisk.global/work/work/job/secretariat-lead-grf/

Context and Purpose

A standards-and-recognition system is only as credible as its operations: agendas that close, minutes that are accurate, decisions that are valid-by-record, disputes that run on time, and publications that match what was actually approved. Most governance institutions fail not because their principles are wrong, but because their secretariat function cannot sustain disciplined cadence, handling controls, and defensible documentation under pressure.

The Global Risks Forum (GRF) is the standards, assurance, and public legitimacy pillar of the Nexus governance system. It stewards the shared governance language—recognition states, conformance levels, evidence quality levels, claim rules, dispute clocks, and due-process discipline—so outputs across the ecosystem are auditable, correctionable, and safe for lawful reliance without collapsing governance into execution.

The Secretariat Lead / Secretariat Director is accountable for making GRF governable at scale: running the production system of governance—calendars, agendas, records, distribution, dispute clocks, publication, and the “no informal decisions” discipline. This role is operational governance leadership—not execution. It does not run programs, select vendors, steer procurement, provide regulated services, or imply endorsement; it ensures the governance machine produces valid, defensible outputs consistently.

Key Responsibilities

• Run the GRF governance production system: annual calendar, quarterly cycles, meeting schedules, agenda control, pre-reads, and closure discipline.
• Ensure decision validity: quorum verification, vote recording, recusal documentation, rationale capture, and action registers.
• Maintain the “no informal governance” rule: prevent side-channel commitments, unrecorded approvals, and ambiguous outcomes.
• Produce and steward the official record: minutes, decision records, resolutions, notices, and distribution logs; ensure artifacts are complete, consistent, and retrievable.
• Operate disciplined publication and distribution: what is public-safe, what is restricted, who receives what, and when—aligned to handling classes and due-process requirements.
• Ensure correction and supersession mechanics are executed reliably: version control, public notices, and traceable linkages between old and new artifacts.
• Operate dispute clocks and due-process workflows: notices, response windows, hearings/sessions, reasoned outcomes, and appeal routing; track deadlines and prevent procedural failure.
• Coordinate enforcement routing for misrepresentation and badge misuse (with appropriate officers/committees): intake, evidence handling, timelines, and outcome publication posture.
• Maintain protected participation channels and safe routing of concerns in coordination with safeguards/remedy functions.
• Maintain controlled convening posture: secure meeting operations, controlled sessions where required, least-privilege distribution, and disciplined draft management.
• Coordinate with handling/security and records officers to ensure confidential materials are protected and that inadvertent leakage risks are minimized (calendars, recordings, attachments, access permissions).
• Support crisis-tempo governance: rapid convening, emergency sessions, and fast publication of bounded, defensible decisions.
• Build the secretariat “kit” for scale: templates, checklists, onboarding guides, role SOPs, and performance dashboards (cycle time, backlog, defects, dispute SLA performance).
• Support membership growth and seat completion by ensuring onboarding is administratively smooth, participation is trackable, and governance load is supportable.
• Provide executive support to the President, Deputy, and council chairs: briefing packs, decision-ready drafting, and integrated schedule control.

Compensation, Remuneration, and Expenses

This role is designed to be trust-maximizing and capture-resistant.

• Governance authority is not paid. Compensation is never linked to votes, recognition outcomes, enforcement actions, dispute results, standards outcomes, market outcomes, or influence. No success fees. No pay-to-recognize.
• Operational workload may be compensated (where permitted). Secretariat delivery is operational work. Where compensation is provided, it must be scoped, time-bounded, deliverable-based, independently approved, and auditable, and must preserve independence and neutrality (no linkage to recognition outcomes or enforcement decisions).
• Expenses may be reimbursed. Reasonable, documented, pre-approved out-of-pocket expenses required for the role may be reimbursed in accordance with policy and handling requirements.
• Standing and independence apply. Continued service depends on remaining in good standing, meeting disclosure obligations, and maintaining neutrality and handling discipline.

Opportunities for Leaders to Join

• Build the operational backbone of a whole-of-society standards-and-recognition institution designed to survive scrutiny.
• Create governance production discipline—records, due process, publication, corrections—that many institutions aspire to but few execute well.
• Work with top-tier leaders across public authorities, science/research, operators, finance, civil society/media, and community/Indigenous governance.
• Strong performance positions leaders for senior governance stewardship roles (without implying entitlement).

Leaders Profile

We are seeking a senior governance operations leader, typically with 10–20+ years across one or more of:

• Secretariat leadership in standards bodies, multi-stakeholder councils, high-scrutiny boards/committees, or international forums.
• Records and governance production disciplines: minutes, resolutions, decision logs, notice procedures, and publication control.
• Due-process workflow administration: disputes, hearings, appeals, and time-bound procedural clocks.
• Controlled convening and handling discipline in environments with sensitive materials and reputational risk.

Capabilities and Mindset

• Records-first discipline: treats documentation as validity, not bureaucracy.
• Process excellence: builds repeatable systems, templates, checklists, and dashboards.
• High discretion and handling maturity: understands controlled materials and safe publication posture.
• Calm under pressure: can run crisis-tempo governance without losing procedural integrity.
• Strong drafting: produces decision-ready text, notices, and public-safe summaries with precision.

Eligibility, Membership, and Independence

• Holds a primary role outside the secretariat seat (unless otherwise permitted) and can commit sustained time at the expected cadence.
• Willing to fully disclose relevant interests and comply with conflict-of-interest and recusal requirements.
• Not placed in a situation where service creates unmanageable conflicts or compromises neutrality.
• Accepts strict confidentiality, handling discipline, and communications integrity expectations.
• Commits to remain in good standing (participation, disclosures, and applicable contribution obligations).