Company Secretary – UKIFS Ltd.

The Company Secretary is a senior governance leader responsible for ensuring that the organisation operates to the highest standards of corporate governance compliance and transparency. The postholder provides authoritative corporate governance advice to the Chair Board supports effective decision-making and leads the development of corporate governance culture and frameworks across the organisation. The role operates at a strategic level and represents it in matters of governance and regulatory engagement. You will be an Officer of the Company under the Companies Act appointed by the Board and personally accountable for ensuring statutory compliance with all relevant Company laws and regulations.

Accountability 1: Governance and Compliance Framework

• Develop and lead complex and/or cross-company corporate governance initiatives and special projects that are critical to the business on behalf of the Executive team.
• Brief the Executive Directors on key issues and emerging problems anticipating areas of scrutiny highlighting issues and potential solutions to enable effective outcomes.
• Accountability for the design development and continuous improvement of the organisations corporate governance and compliance framework ensuring alignment with statutory regulatory and industry standards (e.g. Companies Act UK Government corporate governance codes sector regulators).
• Identify and address training and development needs of board members and staff on governance compliance and ethical considerations.
• Provide expert and strategic advice on governance matters to the Board Non-Executive Directors CEO and Executive team.
• Ensure compliance with governance codes company law Articles of Association and HMG governance requirements.
• Provide regular governance updates to the UKIFS Board and interpret and apply complex legislation policy and regulatory changes advising the Board and senior leadership on their implications for the organisations strategic direction.
• Responsibility for governance content for annual reports quarterly board reports regulatory filings and communicating and effectively managing emerging governance issues.
• Drive strategic improvements across the UKIFS corporate governance framework to enable the organisation to fulfil its mission and operate efficiently and effectively. Develop implement monitor and continuously review UKIFS corporate governance policies and frameworks to align with best practice and regulatory standards.
• Act as the senior point of approval for corporate governance processes and compliance reporting.
• Promote a culture of integrity openness and accountability throughout the business to ensure effective corporate governance and compliance across the business.

Accountability 2: Board and Committee Operations

• Serve as principal governance adviser to the UKIFS Chair the Board and its sub-committees ensuring the highest standards of corporate conduct and effective decision-making.
• Act as lead support for the Chair in the effective functioning of the Board of Directors; ensuring systems are in place for the active management of the Board Agenda.
• Maintain the Board governance framework and Board/Committee terms of reference.
• Oversee the planning management and delivery of all Board and its sub-Committee operations including the annual governance cycle agenda setting forward planning and assurance reporting.
• Manage board evaluations onboarding and development for directors and succession planning for trustees and non-executives.
• Budget management for board costs.
• Ensure that Board and Committee papers minutes and actions meet the required quality and regulatory standards providing critical oversight and sign-off.

Accountability 3:  Advisory Liaison and Governance Culture

• Collaborate with senior management in the development and review of corporate policies and procedures.
• Act as trusted adviser to the Board Chief Executive and Executive Team on corporate governance ethics and regulatory compliance matters.
• Influence and shape organisational culture to embed governance principles across all business areas.
• Lead engagement with regulators auditors professional advisers and shareholders to represent the organisations corporate governance position externally.
• Participate in and contribute to external forums networks and industry groups sharing best practice and ensuring the organisation maintains a leadership position in governance standards.
• Coach and develop UKIFS senior management to improve corporate governance awareness and capability.
• Provide independent impartial guidance to the Chair Board executives and committees on corporate governance issues conflicts of interest legal liabilities and process best practices in order to support the Companys decision-making processes.
• Establish a wide-ranging network within the organisation to ensure an effective information flow to and from the Directorate.
• Establish and develop a strategic network outside UKIFS linking to relevant stakeholders.

Accountability 4:  Record keeping and Reporting

• Oversee the integrity of statutory records filings and disclosures ensuring legal and regulatory compliance at all times.
• Ensure accurate and timely production of governance and compliance reports to the Board Committees regulators and shareholders.
• Direct and quality-assure all statutory filings (Companies House regulatory submissions annual reports etc) ensuring the organisations external record is complete and compliant.
• Lead governance reporting processes defining measurable outcomes monitoring performance and implementing improvements in data quality and transparency.

Accountability 5:  Embody a Leadership Mindset

• Regardless of your formal position you embody a leadership mindset and a set of leadership behaviours.  You embrace and embody our organisations culture values and mission in all aspects of your work.
• Foster a positive and inclusive team environment that aligns with our cultural values.
• Contribute to maintaining a respectful and collaborative workplace valuing diversity and promoting teamwork.
• Act as a cultural ambassador representing our organisations values and professionalism in interactions with colleagues clients and stakeholders.
• Lead by example demonstrating integrity professionalism and ethical behaviour.
• Make informed decisions and solve problems effectively considering diverse perspectives and organisational goals

Qualifications :

Essential:

• Degree-level qualification.
• Candidates should be a Chartered Company Secretary / Chartered Governance Professional holding qualified ACIS/ACG status with the Chartered Governance Institute with proof of continuing professional development to maintain membership.
• Significant experience of working in a no.1 or no.2 role in an in-house company secretariat team in a large organisation.
• In-depth understanding of UK company law legislation and corporate governance requirements.
• Demonstrate initiative and drive to take on a wide variety of challenges at short notice together with the ability to pick up and learn new things very quickly linking various strands of work to see the big picture.
• Ability to write strategy policy management and business documents.
• Ability to interact influentially in multi-disciplinary multi-cultural multi-level environments including suitable methods of challenging the work of the organisation.
• Good networking skills with experience of building and maintaining stakeholder relationships to deliver organisational benefits.
• Ability to work autonomously and with discretion and accountability and prioritise effectively working well under pressure and to tight deadlines with capacity to deliver multiple major project workstreams in parallel.
• Excellent communication skills both written oral and social media and the ability to interact with and negotiate senior staff.
• Excellent analytical skills and the ability to analyse and interpret information quickly.
• Decisive and able to analyse and filter salient information with accurate attention to detail in order to inform action and respond quickly.
• Good understanding of the organisation including its mission and goals and aspects of organisational delivery.
• Confidence in building new relationships and connections at an Executive / Board level both internally and externally and acting as a bridge between the Board Shareholders Executives Senior Management and other Stakeholders. (This would include a track record of strong stakeholder management and an ability to influence).
• Have the ability to work calmly in a fast-paced collaborative and challenging environment.
• Must be able to demonstrate a commercial pragmatic approach to tasks and problem-solving able to put forward thoughtful recommendations.
• Operates to highest ethical standards and expectations of professional conduct and adopts an open honest and transparent approach.
• Discreet and always respects confidentiality.
• Ability to accurately minute complex and detailed discussions develop an in-depth understanding of company business and strategy with excellent drafting skills with close attention to detail.
• Ability to provide impartial and where necessary challenging specialist advice and support to the CEO Chair and Board of Directors on all matters relating to statutory and legislative compliance and interpretation.

Beneficial:

• Experience of working in a senior governance role in a public sector Arms Length Body organisation is preferred.

Additional Information :

We welcome applications from under-represented groups particularly women in STEM and individuals from British black and ethnic minority backgrounds and individuals with disabilities. Our Executive team supported by our Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Partner and Inclusion Ambassadors actively promotes EDI and takes steps to increase diversity within our organisation. We reinforce best practices in recruitment and selection and evaluate approaches to remove barriers to success.

UKIFS is committed to being accessible. Please email if you have any questions or require help or adjustments to compete on a fair basis for example changes to the way we interview or share information.

This role requires employees to complete an online Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) including the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) checks for criminal convictions. Whilst not required at this time there is a possibility of an SC Clearance being required in the future. If a candidate already holds an SC clearance that clearance can be transferred to UKIFS.

For applicants applying from outside the United Kingdom or those who have spent time outside the UK in the last five years please visit the following link for information on criminal records checks: If your country of residence or previous residence is not listed on the website or if the UK Government does not have information on obtaining a criminal records check from that state we regret to inform you that we cannot process your application.

Please note that vacancies are generally advertised for 4 weeks but may close earlier if we receive a large number of applications. We may consider your application for future positions or similar positions within the organisation.

We have a number of exceptional opportunities available at the moment to view them all please visit Careers - STEP.

Remote Work :

No

Employment Type :

Full-time