Senior Assistant Company Secretary

Location and flexible working: London

Job Type : Permanent

Salary : £90,000-£100,000 plus 30% bonus up to 60%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more

Job Contact : Tim Singh

Closing Date : 11th February 2024

We’re currently recruiting for a Senior Assistant Company Secretary (permanent) to join the Phoenix Group Company Secretariat, leading a team of two Company Secretariat professionals for the delivery of the Groups’ subsidiary governance as well as supporting the Deputy Company Secretary, Group Secretariat.

Who are we?

We want to be the best place that any of our 6,800 colleagues have ever worked.

We’re the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business. We offer our 12 million customers products across our market-leading brands, including Standard Life, SunLife and ReAssure, with c.£259 billion of assets under administration. We’re a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we’re not done yet.

The role:

• Leading, driving and delivering the Governance Simplification project and carrying out annual reviews and maintenance thereafter. The Governance Simplification Project is a combination of (a) a rationalisation of the Group entity structure and (b) simplification of our governance and decision-making frameworks across the Group.
• Acting as a figure head for the function, offering guidance and support to the wider business on what good subsidiary governance looks like, sharing best practice and helping business units to simplify decision making.
• Leading on the Governance section of the Phoenix Group Holdings plc Annual Report and oversight of the subsidiary accounts project.
• Deputise for the Deputy Company Secretary, Group when required.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide excellent corporate governance advisory support to Phoenix Group Holdings plc’s subsidiaries and regulated entities.
• Oversight of more junior members on continuing obligations, such as Market Abuse Regulations, Annual General Meeting documentation and share registration.
• Identify and lead on opportunities to promote the Company Secretary team across the organisation and external market.
• Manage all subsidiary statutory compliance, including all subsidiary accounts submissions to the Registrar.
• Manage and lead on Company Secretariat risk policies and agenda across the Company Secretariat team.
• Manage and develop a team consisting of two, including an Assistant Company Secretary and a Senior Company Secretariat Assistant, based in Edinburgh and London who are primarily responsible for subsidiary maintenance.
• Support the General Counsel Continuous Improvement agenda.
• Compliance with Wates Principles for subsidiaries and lead the production of S172 statements.
• Responsible for the Governance section and TCFD sections of the Annual Report for Phoenix Group Holdings plc.
• Provide support to the Bermuda team on the Group governance framework.
• Act as Secretary to the M&A Advisory Group, consisting of four Phoenix Group Holdings plc Non-Executive Directors.
• Mentor more junior members of the Group team (currently four in addition to your own reports)
• Support the Head of Share Plans if required.
• Input into the Directors Remuneration Report if required.
• Drafting process notes and finding continuous improvement to the team’s ways of working.
• Provide support to the Group company secretariat team and deputise for Deputy Company Secretary where required in areas such as continuing obligations.
Horizon scanning for related role updates.

What We’re Looking For

Essential

• Qualified governance or company secretariat professional through the CGI exam route with at least 5 years post qualified listed experience, preferably within a FTSE 100 or FTSE 250.
• Excellent knowledge of the Companies Act, Listing Rules, Disclosure, Guidance and Transparency Rules and UK Corporate Governance Code.
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal.
• Drafting of listed plc and subsidiary level annual reports.
Ability to build effective stakeholder relationships, enjoy teamwork and positively influence outcomes.

Desirable

• Financial Services or highly regulated industry experience
• Some management experience.
Share plans knowledge.

We want to hire the whole version of you.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

We believe in training you properly to be a best-in-class Company Secretary. There will be the opportunity to gain more breadth and depth as your knowledge of the business and confidence grows. The aim is for you to become a well-rounded Deputy Company Secretary in 3-5 years’ time.

Find out more about #LifeAtPhoenix

• Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
• Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us