Head of Secretariat

The role will focus on ensuring the corporate goverance framework and processes are understood across the Group, effective and appropriately applied and adhered to, as well as proactively identifying and implementing continuous improvements to those processes to improve the efficiency of the team and the wider business.

The role involves working closely with and supporting the Group and Regulated Boards, Committees and senior management and requires well developed interpersonal skills to build and maintain relationships across the organisation.

This is what you'll be doing:

• Manage and develop a team of governance professionals to provide high quality governance processes across the Group.
• Drive and manage team performance through coaching, support and strategic priority alignment.
• Maintain a positive focus on colleague wellbeing and DEI
• Role model and set standards of behaviour and conduct aligned to the company beliefs.
• Effectively and efficiently prioritise team deliverables, balancing long-term and immediate business requirements.
• Pro-actively engage with key stakeholders including senior executives and business leaders on governance matters.
• Work with stakeholders to embed governance processes, driving consistency of approach to deliver effective and informed decision-making by the Board and supporting committees.
• Play a key role in shaping and continually reviewing governance processes and departmental workload plans, embedding a culture of continuous improvement across the team.
• Work collaboratively at a strategic level across all business functions to ensure governance processes support the delivery of the strategic priorities and deliver value for stakeholders and the business.
• Regularly review and test control measures in place to deliver effective governance processes, including procedure documents, departmental RCSA, meetings and action trackers.
• Act as a point of escalation for all colleagues as needed to support the resolution of cross-functional governance challenges and coach the team to develop their capabiltty in this respect.
• Act in a consultative manner to provide guidance and advice where a different approach to governance may be required to ensure effective and informed decision-making, without compromising the integrity of corporate governance.
• Support the Company Secretary in periodic reviews of governance processes, to establish whether they remain fit for purpose and appropriate and whether improvements should be made.
• Management and support of Board and Board-level committee meetings, including arranging meetings, agenda planning, attendance at meetings and taking minutes and actions where necessary.
• Monitor the quality of Board and Committee papers and processes and identify, recommend and implement improvements, providing feedback to report writers.
• Ensure that existing policies are updated or amended where appropriate in response to changes in guidelines, legislation or regulation.
• Provide support to other teams across the Group in respect of reorganisations or ad-hoc projects.
• Manage relationships with any external service and system providers.
• Escalate to the Company Secretary to any matter where the Board may be in breach of corporate governance processes.
• Faciliate the effective and efficient flow of information between Board Committees and the Board as well as other key stakeholders.

Qualifications

Candidates with some of the following skills will be highly regarded:

• Strong experience in people management, leading and developing a high performing team
• Strong organisational skills, able to prioritise and allocate workloads amongst a team
• Excellent communication and influencing skills at all levels of seniority
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to recognise the importance of collaborative working relationships to achieve shared goals
• Effective at prioritising competing interests and responsibility, always acting with diplomacy
• Able to work well under pressure, meet deadlines and adopt a pragmatic approach
• Analytical, with an excellent attention to detail and problem-solving.

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