Our Values
Effective and Empowering
We create solutions which are clear and effective today but also empower our clients to meet their future with confidence
People focused
We spend time to get to know our clients and to understand their reality. We care about the people we work with and the communities they serve and we build enduring relationships based on trust
Professional and Ethical
We adhere to the highest professional
and ethical standards in everything we do
About Governance & Legal
Governance & Legal is a consultancy company, which aims to deliver practical, effective, compliant and solution oriented governance and commercial advice to not-for-profit organisations, mainly in the social housing, charity and health and social care sectors.
Our principal consultant and founder, Jana Zacheva, is a qualified solicitor with over 17 years’ experience of working in the not-for-profit sector. In her career she has lead a number of functions, including governance, legal, data protection, risk, internl audit and policy for one of the largest social housing and care providers in the West Midlands and also for several other organisations in different parts of the country. This has provided her with a well-rounded understanding of the range of services required to be in place and working effectively to enable businesses to meet the needs of their customers.
Jana is also a senior consultant for the affordable hosuinng team in Savills.
She worked as an Associate in the Governance and Commercial team in Anthony Collins Solicitors. Her legal experience covers a wide variety of legal work, ranging from housing advice and litigation to a range of commercial contracts work. In more recent years Jana has advised clients on the delivery of major projects such as joint ventures, collaboration arrangements and business growth. Jana continues to be registered as a solicitor of England and Wales and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority
Currently Jana serves as a non-executive director on the Board and Remunerations and Nominations Committee of Nehemiah Housing Association and as a trustee on the board of Birmingham and Solihull Women's Aid.
As a governance practitioner and a non-excutive director of two organisations, Jana has the ability to see the issues from both perspectives - the executive and the non-executive and to find the most effective and workable balance for each of our clients.
Andrew Foster is an associate governance specialist with over 20 years of executive level experience and over 15 years of experience of working in a regulated environment. He is a qualified solicitor whose career started in a large corporate law firm. Andrew has acted in executive leadership roles for a significant period, with direct responsibility and leadership for a broad range of functions including corporate strategy, business planning, governance and company secretarial, risk and audit, legal services, procurement, health and safety, insurance and facilities management.
Following a successful executive level career in IT and housing, Andrew set up as a consultant in 2019 and has so far provided governance advice and support to over 50 organisations from the housing, charity and legal sectors.
Andrew’s work has been varied and includes governance reviews, development of risk frameworks, board and chair appraisals, board training and facilitation, coaching of company secretaries, corporate strategy development support, advise on improvements to governance documents, IDA preparation, governance code compliance reviews and consolidations of group structures to achieve governance efficiency.
Andrew has 12 years experience as a non-executive. He was previously Chair of the Community Housing Group and is currently Deputy Chair of Settle Housing Group.
Vikki Brooks is our values-led executive assistant who ensures that our services are delivered efficiently but also as effortlessly as possible and in line with our clients’ expectations. Vikki has strong values and ethics and her flexibility with clients provides confidence and reassurance. She builds effective working relationships, and her personable approach makes difficult tasks feel a lot easier.
Jana
“Our aim is to help our clients develop and implement governance systems, which are “right sized” to the shape and complexity of their organisations. We believe that simple and transparent organisational and governance models are generally most effective. At the same time we have good understanding of the importance of regulatory compliance and how an organisation needs to organise itself to both deliver and evidence this.
Our experience in working with executive and non-executive teams across the country has given us the ability to develop a multifaceted understanding of what good governance looks like, of what it should and what it should not be.
We enjoy working with our clients and aim to ensure that they feel supported in finding and implementing best governance models, which are sustainable, ensure compliance and support business strategy and development.”
Andrew
“I have a strong belief in the importance of good governance in providing the foundations for a well-run business, and for business success. My executive and non-executive experience has given me the knowledge and confidence to be able to identify a “right sized” approach to compliance and good governance, which ensures that such matters are given enough focus, whilst ensuring that the business is not impeded by bureaucracy or over-engineered processes. I always aim to provide my clients with rounded advice and to find solutions, which reflect understanding of the needs of both executives, non-executives and company secretaries.”
Vikki
"I am passionate about building strong working relationships with my clients. My 14 years working for a housing association as the primary support for the executive management team has provided me with wide ranging governance experience and an understanding of the challenges within the social housing sector.
Having also previously been a charity Trustee for six years and more recently Head of Operations for a charity client over the past five years, I have found my niche as an executive level business support specialist within the not-for-profit sector.