3698BWW Exclusive - Association Secretary - Guide DogsReading/RemotePermanentDeputy Company Secretary, Only Company SecretaryWe are very excited to be working with Guide Dogs in their search for an Association Secretary. Guide Dogs is the world’s largest assistance dog organisation and the only organisation to breed and train guide dogs in the UK. This is a great opportunity for someone looking to join a leading charity organisation and be part of supporting people through the challenges of sight loss.

The role is predominantly remote-based with occasional travel required to the office based in Hillfields, Reading. The full job description can be seen below, with further information available upon request.

Job Profile

Job Title: Association Secretary
Directorate: Office of the CEO
Reports To: Chair of Trustees (Governance matters & Performance)
                  CEO (Operational matters)
Disclosure Check Level: None
Location: Remote based with designated office of Hillfields, Reading

Overall Role Purpose

The Association Secretary helps people with sight loss to live the life they choose by ensuring that the charity remains compliant with company, charity and regulatory requirements, so that it can continue to provide services to the sight loss community. The association secretary ensures that Trustees are adequately advised in order to lead, govern and manage the organisation.

Key Responsibilities as Association Secretary

• The Association Secretary plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth operation of Guide Dog’s board and governance framework.
• The role involves advising the Chair and Trustees on relevant board and corporate governance matters, and supporting them to deliver effective Board papers and Board meetings. It also involves ensuring compliance with relevant Board-related statutory and regulatory requirements, including the Charity Commission, maintaining high standards of corporate governance, including identifying and implementing future governance and regulatory changes, and providing administrative support to the Board of Trustees.
• The Association Secretary supports the efficient implementation of decisions made by the Board of Trustees, ensuring Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and any subsidiary companies, and the Pension Trust, act in compliance with relevant legislation and the regulatory requirement of reporting and public accountability.
• Act as the formal named contact (in compliance with statutory requirements) to various regulatory bodies supporting the Chairman, Trustees and Chief Executive in developing and maintaining key external relationships for Guide Dogs, including, but not limited to: the Charity Commission, Companies House, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), the Information Commissioner.
• In collaboration with the Chair, prepare agendas and minutes for board meetings, committee meetings, and annual/other general meetings, distributing meeting notices and minutes in a timely manner.
• Prepare and publish meeting packs, working with the Executive team to deliver high quality Board and Committee meeting papers.
• Support the administration of the DB Pension Trust - including meeting preparation and ad hoc requests, particularly cash disinvestments
• Enable the proper conduct of meetings of the Board, the Annual General Meetings of the Members, and all other Committee meetings. This includes ensuring that all meetings meet the requirements of Guide Dogs’ charitable objects and Articles, providing assurance for the Chairman and Trustees that their decision making is at all times legitimate, sound and practicable, undertaking or overseeing agenda preparation, minute writing to the required standard and follow up of agreed actions for all Board and committee meetings.
• Act as membership secretary in relation to Guide Dogs formal membership to maintain and administer the register and all applications.
• Support the recruitment, training, appraisal of, and succession planning for, Trustees including the delivery of the annual Board Effectiveness evaluation.
• Maintain and complete Trustee attendance schedules for the annual report.
• Oversee maintenance of the statutory registers, and the completion and filing of all annual returns and other notifications to statutory bodies as required, bearing the accountability and liability for any failures to comply with statutory requirements.
• Provide legal and regulatory advice and support to the directors of the Pension Fund Trust and to manage their specialist external advisors.
• In partnership with the Communications team, ensure effective communication between the board and relevant third parties.
• Draft Board-related external communications for review and support their issue following approval.
• Manage and inspire an Assistant to the Association Secretary to support the effective performance of the Guide Dog’s board and governance framework.

Key Accountability as Whistleblowing Officer
 

• To serve as the point of contact for receiving whistleblowing reports, ensuring that complaints are managed confidentially and securely.
• To assess the nature and seriousness of the complaint to determine the appropriate course of action.
• To protect the identity of whistleblowers, especially in cases where anonymity is requested.
• To ensure that whistleblowers are protected from any form of retaliation or discrimination as a result of their disclosure.
• To oversee any independent investigation, ensuring it is thorough, impartial, and conducted within a reasonable time frame.
• To ensure that all aspects of the investigation are properly documented.
• To be responsible for reporting findings to the CEO and Chairman of Audit & Risk Committee or other relevant stakeholders within the organisation and where necessary, be responsible for reporting to external regulatory bodies or law enforcement agencies.
• Monitor the implementation of corrective actions or changes in policies based on the investigation’s findings.
• Develop and maintain the policy and procedure for whistleblowing; deliver training programs to educate employees about the whistleblowing process, including how to report misconduct and their rights as whistleblowers.
• To advocate for a positive ethical culture within the organization, encouraging open communication and ethical behaviour.

Guide Dogs is a learning organisation and we are committed to fostering a positive climate for continuous learning. We expect all our people to demonstrate commitment and actively participate in continuous professional development (CPD).

Breadth/Scope of Accountability

People Accountability

Number of Direct Reports: 1
Number of Indirect Reports: 0

Application of this Job Profile

All employees are required to carry out other such duties as may reasonably be required to fulfil their role and support functional and organisational objectives.
All employees must also:

• Comply with all organisational policies
• Promote the vision and values of the organisation
• Engage in continuous personal development

This job profile is accurate as at the date shown above. It does not form part of contractual terms and may be varied to reflect or anticipate changes to the role.

Working at Guide Dogs

As well as other services to enhance the lives of people who are blind and partially sighted, we breed and train guide dogs and companion dogs. Staff and volunteers in all our locations support this work. Therefore, all employees must be comfortable working in environments where dogs may be present.
Guide Dogs is a volunteer-involving organisation and as such all staff are required to support volunteers in their roles. This may or may not mean the direct supervision of volunteers but will require all staff to play a supporting role. From time to time you may be asked to support / volunteer your time at Guide Dogs events that take place outside of normal working hours. All employees will be expected to advocate for Guide Dogs at all times and be a fundraiser.
Guide Dogs is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children, young people and vulnerable adults with whom we work. We expect all of our employees and volunteers to demonstrate this commitment.
Guide Dogs will require proof of identity and the right to work in the UK.

Person Specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

• Fully qualified CGI practitioner, or qualified legal or financial practitioner with relevant extensive Company Secretarial experience.
• The jobholder will be expected to maintain membership of the relevant professional bodies and to demonstrate commitment and active participation in continuing professional development (CPD)

Job-Related Experience

Essential

• The technical content of the role is high, requiring substantial experience of working as a company secretary at a senior level. Sound knowledge and experience of effective corporate governance and best practice, legal and regulatory requirements including data protection.
• Proven track record of challenging and advising at Chair/Board/CEO level.

Knowledge

Essential

• Sound knowledge and practical application of Company Secretarial governance and compliance function.
• Experience of the application of Data Protection law into business processes

Desirable

• Knowledge of company secretarial governance and compliance function in the charitable sector.
• Pensions and investment funding.

 

Skills and Competencies

Essential

• Ability to influence and advise Trustees and senior managers, balancing legal and governance requirements against the practical application and implementation of strategic decisions, without compromising or undermining Guide Dog’s strategy.
• An ability to use personal judgement and influencing skills to highlight and challenge issues.
• Ability to work unsupervised, retaining high self-motivation, initiative, and drive, as well as working effectively in teams across all levels.
• Ability to communicate complex and technical information in an easy and accessible manner both verbal and written to others as detailed above, instilling confidence throughout.
• Ability to conduct whistleblowing/fraud/corruption investigations.
• Excellent committee support skills including minute writing.

Safeguarding

If the role does or may involve working with children, young people or vulnerable adults, or supervising those that do, we’ll also be assessing ‘safeguarding competencies’ as part of the process. These are:

• Appropriate motivation to work with vulnerable groups;
• Emotional awareness;
• Working within professional boundaries and self-awareness; and
• Ability to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and adults and protect from harm.

Mobility

Prepared to travel to other Guide Dog sites. Occasional overnight stays.
 

3684Interim Company Secretarial Assistant - 12 month FTCEast Croydon/remoteFixed TermCompany Secretarial AssistantOur client, an international management consultancy seeks a candidate with some previous experience to join the small company secretarial team to help support their day-to-day activities during a particularly busy time - due to some extra projects that need to be completed over the next 12 month period. The company secretarial team of 5 professionals is part of the wider legal team, based in East Croydon. This full time interim role can be offered on a hybrid basis, 2 days a week in the office, 3 from home.

This role involves supporting the varied workload of a busy Company Secretariat which provides advice and support to stakeholders in a large international group of companies. This position requires a company secretarial professional with strong communication skills.

Duties include:

- Document Execution Process – the handling of the daily workload of incoming contracts, deeds, licences, leases, sub-consultancy agreements etc. and processing them for execution by the directors. 
- Filing of executed Board Minutes, Resolutions, Bank Mandates etc. in Minute Books.
- Filing of executed PoAs and other legal documents in SharePoint digital folders.
- Processing of legal documents to be notarised, consularised and apostilled.
- Processing of purchase orders and invoices.
- Creation of Structure Charts.
- Ad-hoc core company secretarial duties, under supervision, e.g. annual compliance work, confirmation statements, drafting of board minutes and shareholder resolutions etc.
- Assisting with the filing of statutory changes, local appointments, changes to corporate structure of international subsidiaries, branches and similar.
- Preparation of powers of attorney based on standard in-house templates and the updating of non-standard powers of attorney, which have been prepared externally.
- Updating the Diligent Database and SharePoint filing system to record statutory changes.
- Provision of KYC/DD/AML documentation as may be requested


 

3697FTSE100 Assistant Company Secretary London EC1/HybridPermanentAssistant Company Secretary, Senior Assistant Company SecretaryOur FTSE 100 client now seeks to recruit a technically proficient and highly motivated Assistant Company Secretary to join them on a full time, permanent basis. Reporting directly to the General Counsel &  Company Secretary, this role is incredibly wide and varied, offering fantastic exposure to all aspects of  governance within a listed environment.

You'd be joining a highly professional legal and secretariat team within a very well performing FTSE 100 company, based in central London. Hybrid working is offered and the team tend to work 3-4 days a week in the office. The role would suit a CGI qualified candidate with UK listed company experience, including governance of global subsidiaries. A full job description is available on request.

Requirements 

• CGI qualified
• Technical and practical working knowledge of applicable regulatory requirements, Listing Rules and DTRs, and the UK Corporate Governance Code
• Responsibility for managing the secretariat aspects of overseas subsidiaries
• Proactive and solutions orientated, takes initiative and follows through. High level of organisational skills and very detail orientated
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills and ability to build credibility, and influence, and interact effectively, at all levels of the organisation

3696FTSE 250 Assistant SecretaryBath/HybridPermanentAssistant Company Secretary, Senior Assistant Company SecretaryOur FTSE 250 client seeks a highly motivated, proficient and capable Assistant Company Secretary. Reporting to the Deputy Company Secretary, this role is wide and varied, offering great exposure to all aspects of the governance profession within a listed environment.

This is a full-time, permanent role, offered on a hybrid basis 3 days in office/2 days from home. The role would suit a candidate with previous plc experience, including governance of global subsidiaries and the management and administration of share schemes. A full job description is available on request.

Skills/Attributes Required

• CGI qualified.
• Detailed technical knowledge of all aspects of the management and administration of international executive and all employee share plans.
• Good knowledge of the Companies Act 2006, the UK Listing Rules, UK Market Abuse Regime, the UK DTRs and the UK Corporate Governance Code.
• A capable and proactive self-starter, who can multi-task. The candidate needs to be highly organised, thorough, demonstrate excellent attention to detail, an appropriately persistent approach to follow-up with a rigorous attitude to data collection and protection.
• An ability to keep calm under pressure, remain organised and able to prioritise workload in accordance with business and function requirements.
• Personable, discreet, confident, articulate, able to establish strong relationships with individuals at all levels of seniority and build own internal networks.
• Experience of entity management software (Diligent Entities) essential and board paper portals (Diligent Boardbooks) advantageous.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and fluency with PowerPoint and Word.
• Strong communication skills.

3695Interim Assistant 3-6 months - immediate startRemoteFixed TermSenior Assistant Company Secretary, Assistant Company SecretaryOur international client is keen to get some interim support for 3-6 months FTC (PAYE) to help with an increased workload following a recent acquisition.

You would be working closely with the General Counsel, Deputy Secretary and another interim Assistant Secretary.  Between them, they manage the Board, Coms, AR, AGM, dividends and the CoSec function.  They’re looking for an additional all-rounder to come in and essentially blitz an entities project, they have inherited 140 entities from this transaction which need updating on Diligent. This role will be offered on a remote basis. Start - as soon as possible!

3694Private Equity Firm - Company Secretarial AssistantLondon SW1/HybridPermanentCompany Secretarial AssistantOur client is a leading international private equity firm, founded in 1977, with offices in London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Milan, New York, Paris, Guernsey and Luxembourg.
They now have a newly created Company Secretarial Assistant role which sits within the Company Secretarial part of the Legal and Compliance team in London. The team is responsible for overseeing the firm’s legal, regulatory, compliance and company secretarial matters and consists of professionals covering each area. This role will report into the Company Secretarial/Corporate Manager, the team is led by the General Counsel.

The successful candidate would be the second member of the Company Secretariat team and would primarily provide support to the Company Secretarial/Corporate Manager in providing a comprehensive range of company secretarial services to the group and offering ad hoc support to the Legal & Compliance team where required.

This role would suit a candidate with some previous company secretarial experience, ideally gained in a financial services environment, someone perhaps who wants to work in a smaller team environment and be able to feel closer to the business.
 

Principal Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:
 

• Assisting with the maintenance of the statutory records for Group companies and making sure that statutory filings for these entities are submitted on time
• Being part of a team responsible for developing and keeping the Diligent Entities database up to date; devising processes to extend its uses and using it to ensure accurate information is promptly available to relevant stakeholders
• Running directorship and other reports from Diligent Entities to support regulatory filings
• Drafting of routine board minutes and resolutions
• Arranging for the signing of board minutes, written resolutions and other legal documents
• Maintenance of minute books for Corporate entities and Committees
• Managing and maintaining signatory lists and powers of attorney
• Assist in updating records of Committee constitution and Terms of Reference
• Supporting and assisting in the preparation and review of the financial statements for group companies
• Keeping the group structure chart up to date
• Assisting the Compliance team with providing statutory information to support KYC/AML requests from advisors and other third parties relating to the group structure
• Support the Legal & Compliance team and group functions on ad hoc projects/matters as required.

 

Skills & Competencies

 

• CGI qualified or finalist
• Company secretarial experience
• Experience of working in the financial services sector an advantage
• Strong attention to detail
• Comfort with interacting with senior levels of management
• Knowledge and experience of the Diligent Entities database system
• Experience of limited partnership structures would be advantageous
• Strong organisational skills, an ability to prioritise workload, meet deadlines and work under pressure
• A flexible and positive attitude combined with a willingness to get involved with both routine tasks and ad-hoc projects

3692FTSE250 Deputy Company Secretary - LondonLondonPermanentDeputy Company Secretary, Senior Assistant Company SecretaryOur client, a global FTSE 250 company is now seeking to recruit a Deputy Company Secretary on a full time, permanent basis. Reporting to the Group Company Secretary, and with the help of a Company Secretarial Assistant and a Team Administrator, you will be responsible for providing a full range of governance and company secretarial services to the Group. This role assists in maintaining corporate records, preparing for Board and shareholder meetings, and advising leadership on governance matters, as well as leading on the management of the Group’s share plans.
 
The role would suit a candidate with the following skills and experience;

• Highly experienced member of the ICSA/Chartered Governance Institute with substantial professional experience gained in a FTSE-listed company.
• Demonstrable up-to-date technical knowledge with particular expertise in the requirements of the Corporate Governance Code, the UK Listing Rules, subsidiary governance (ideally multi-jurisdictional) and global share plans
• Able to interact successfully with people at all levels and be comfortable operating at Board level to ensure key stakeholders have full confidence
• Self-starter with excellent organisational skills who is able to perform the role proactively and independently, as well as be a high performing part of a team
• Be flexible, pragmatic, resilient and calm under pressure with a proven ability to operate effectively in a demanding and fast-moving environment
• Act with integrity and discretion at all times
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.
• A hands-on ‘can-do’ and solutions-driven attitude

This is a wonderful opportunity within a friendly and collaborative Secretariat team. A detailed job description is available on request - please do get in touch if you'd like to find out more. 


 

3693Part-Time Charity Company Secretary (3 days a week - Remote)Mainly remote - occasional London Board MeetingsPermanentOnly Company Secretary, Deputy Company SecretaryOur client is a charity, founded in 1967 employing over 1,600 staff. With over 80 services across England and Scotland, they provide support and advice to more than 100,000 people a year. It is now recruiting for an experienced Company Secretary, to join on a standalone, part-time, mainly remote basis to support their Board of Trustees and Executive team – reporting to the CEO. They’re looking to hear from tenacious and collaborative individuals, who will be the key liaison between the Board, Executive and wider organisation.

This role is offered on a permanent and part time basis, working 3 days per week. You will work mainly from home, with occasional travel as required. The office is based in Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R (Farringdon area) and some board meetings are face to face, so office attendance for those would be necessary on occasion. The salary being offered is in the range of £60,900 - 65,000 per annum FTE, (so pro rata that would be £36,540 – £39,000 for the 3 days work).

A full job description is available on request, but in a nutshell - The Company Secretary plays a vital role in ensuring corporate governance and compliance within the organisation. You will serve as a key advisor to the Trustee Board and Executive team, overseeing legal and regulatory compliance, corporate governance practices and company administration. In a regulatory environment that constantly evolves, the Company Secretary holds an essential role to help the Trustee Board and the organisation to navigate legal and regulatory complexities, uphold ethical standards and promote corporate sustainability and therefore requires meticulous attention to detail and a forward thinking approach.

The main responsibilities of this role will include:

• Ensuring that governance arrangements, processes and procedures are kept under periodic review to ensure the organisation operates best governance practice - including acting as a key point of contact in respect of governance with relevant external and regulatory bodies
• Providing sound, well researched and impartial advice and guidance to the Trustee Board and its Committees
• Ensuring the preparation of timely agendas, supporting reports and briefing papers for the Trustee Board and its Committees and the efficient management of electronic governance records
• Maintaining all Statutory and Regulatory administration
• Managing the Trustee Board’s succession and membership

They are looking for robust, demonstrable experience as a Company Secretary, where expert knowledge and clear, reasoned thinking are essential. You should be confident and effective in your communication with senior management and Board members and have an exceptional ability to build and sustain relationships with a range of stakeholders. As well as this, you will need:
 

• Experience in a complex, multi-sited organisation - previous experience working within the non-profit sector will be advantageous
• A good working knowledge of company and charity laws and applicable regulations
• A good understanding of regulatory environments
• A relevant Governance qualification and/or appropriate experience at a professional level e.g. law degree or other relevant experience
• The ability to work independently and handle confidential information with discretion

 

3691Company Secretarial Assistant - London/Hybrid London/HybridPermanentCompany Secretarial AssistantOur client is a Top 40 accountancy & advisory firm who is now looking for a Company Secretarial Assistant to join their team.

This role offers a unique chance to work with a diverse portfolio of clients across sectors such as real estate, professional services, technology, media, and family offices. The successful candidate will support high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, and owner-managed businesses, providing high-quality services in entity management, share transactions, and statutory compliance.

A full or part qualification with the Chartered Governance Institute (CGI) would be welcome but is not a requirement for the role. Ideally, candidates will have a strong background in entity management, ideally gained within a professional services firm. You will play a key role in ensuring the smooth and efficient management of governance and statutory compliance processes, including maintaining accurate corporate records, assisting with share transactions, and utilising Diligent Entities to deliver excellence. Strong organisational skills, experience using Diligent Entities, a collaborative mindset, and a proactive approach will be essential for success in this role.

This is a rewarding opportunity to develop your company secretarial career in a client-focused environment with exposure to a variety of sectors and industries. If this sounds like the right role for you, we encourage you to apply.

The role is based in London with a hybrid work structure in place and a competitive salary on offer. Full job description available on request
 

3690PLC Assistant SecretaryBirmingham/HybridPermanentAssistant Company SecretaryLeading financial services plc seeks to recruit an Assistant Secretary to join its stable and supportive team. A full job description is available on request. This team does not have a high turnover, so stability and a good team fit will be important to them. This role would suit a candidate who is ideally already CGI qualified, with a minimum of 2-3 years previous financial services experience.
The role will be offered on a hybrid basis, requiring the candidate to work 3 days in the Birmingham offices and the other two days could be from home. There would be occasional trips to London (c.3 times a year) for certain Board Meetings.
This is a visible role, and will require someone with a high degree of tact and discretion due to the level of work involved. You will support on a range of governance issues, largely Board, NED and meeting support, plus Annual Report and Accounts work, acting as named company secretary for a number of subsidiaries, and building strong relationships and engagement with stakeholders nationally and internationally as well as other duties.
Experience and skillset required;

• Qualified company secretary or lawyer with minimum 2-3 years’ experience in a fast paced, large and complex organisation.
• Financial services / UK regulatory experience is desirable but not essential.
• Strong knowledge of corporate governance principles, including driving high quality governance standards.
• Experience of ensuring applicable governance standards are met.
• Strong inter-personal, organisational, process management and verbal/ written skills.
• Proven ability to work well with all levels of management, handle confidential and sensitive information, work independently, under pressure and handle multiple tasks.
• Ability to think laterally to solve problems and drive continuous improvement.
• Proven ability to work well in a challenging and frequently changing environment.
• Ability to see and understand the bigger picture as well as have a keen eye for detail.

 

3685Governance Professional (Company Secretary) - 14month contractLondon EC2/RemoteFixed TermDeputy Company Secretary, Only Company Secretary, Senior Assistant Company SecretaryAn exciting contract opportunity has arisen within a highly regarded governance team of this global asset manager. This role is to be offered as a 14month contract on a full time basis (maternity cover with allowance for a handover at either end). This is a senior hire and you'll ideally have experience with investment fund structures with exposure to the asset management sector, although due consideration will still be given to those with experience gained outside of this sector. 
You will typically enjoy assuming responsibility for delivering high-quality work with minimal supervision and have the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative and challenging environment. Embedded in the heart of the business, you will have the opportunity to work closely with commercial colleagues by providing day-to-day company secretarial support to entities across Europe (including managing outsourced service providers, board support, annual compliance requirements, shareholder governance structures, Diligent Entities maintenance, the establishment of new entities / structures, D&O insurance, liquidations, etc.) You will also provide advice, support and guidance for the management of entities involved in transaction activity (including portfolio company acquisitions, joint ventures, divestments, refinancing and new fund establishments).
This is a role that will really appeal to someone who is seeking fantastic exposure and the opportunity to be heavily involved in a wide range of corporate transaction activity. 
A very competitive salary and remuneration package is on offer and the company have a hybrid working policy of three days in the office, two from home. This might fluctuate around particular busy periods of transactional activity. Please do get in touch if this is something you'd like to explore further. 

3686Professional Services - Manager or AssistantLondon EC3/RemotePermanentAssistant Company Secretary, Company Secretarial Assistant, Senior Assistant Company SecretaryThis brand new role offers a wonderful opportunity to join a truly collaborative and supportive company secretarial team, currently consisting of a team of five people. You'll be joining a very stable team, who collectively provide a full range of company secretarial services to a variety of UK based clients (private companies). With now complicated client ownership rules or timesheets to worry about, you can simply focus on the job in hand where you'll be assisted by all other members of the team. There are no ego's or political agendas to navigate through and the firm are simply keen to find a new member of their team who can slot nice and neatly into this way or working. 
There is a degree of flexibility as to the level of applicant who can take on this role and as such, depending on the experience level of the chosen individual, the role can either be offered at Manager level or slightly more junior. There focus is on finding the right person. 
There is of course a baseline level of experience required and to meet this you'll need to have good working experience of looking after UK entities and be familiar with the Diligent Entities package. You'll also ideally be CGI qualified. Aside from this, whether you're currently practicing in-house or in a services environment, whether you're operating at Company Secretarial Assistant or Assistant Company Secretary level, feel free to apply if this role sounds appealing to you. 
A full job description is available on request and the company offer hybrid working, split between their central London office and of course working remotely.