Secretary to the Board and Head of Governance

Georgina Bailes is Director of Governance and Secretary to the Board at Northumbria

Georgina joined Northumbria University, Newcastle in October 2013 as Executive Officer to the Vice-Chancellor to provide strategic support and advice to the Vice-Chancellor and the University Executive.  This covered a wide range of University activities including matters of institutional governance, finance and the political environment.  Georgina joined the Business and Enterprise Service senior management team in December 2017 as Head of Programme Delivery leading on the delivery of the University’s knowledge exchange programme, with specific responsibility for CPD and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.  She then led the development of an international partnership and contributed to a number of strategic projects. In July 2019 she became Head of Change Management, setting up a new function within the University and developing a Change Management framework to underpin the University’s approach to delivering transformational projects.  

In March 2021 she became Head of Governance and Secretary to the Board of Governors. Georgina leads the University’s approach to governance to ensure it consistently meets regulatory requirements and sector standards. She has responsibility for the following functions; Secretariat for the Board of Governors and its Committees, support for the Chair of the Board and Governors, Governance Effectiveness, Internal Audit and Assurance, Risk Management, Safeguarding and Prevent, Business Continuity, Policy Management, Information Governance and acts as Company Secretary for the University’s subsidiary companies.

Prior to joining Northumbria, she has held a number of public sector roles including Regional Adviser for the Crime and Drugs Team at Government Office for the North East, Policy Adviser (Chief Executive’s Office) at North Tyneside Council and Communities Officer for the North Tyneside Drug Action Team. Georgina holds a BA (Hons) Criminal Justice from Liverpool John Moore’s University. 

Contact the Head of Governance

LinkedIn