Assistant Company Secretary

Assistant Company Secretary

Location

Department Name

About Network Rail

Join Our Team at Network Rail!

Are you ready to make a difference in people's lives? At Network Rail, we connect passengers and freight customers, ensuring safe and efficient transportation across the country.

We're dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive organisation that reflects the passengers we serve. To achieve this, we're committed to becoming an open, diverse, and inclusive workplace, leveraging the skills and expertise of our talented workforce. Together, we strive to create a safe and accessible railway for everyone.

Investing in our people is key to enhancing the safety, reliability, and efficiency of our railway system. If you're passionate about making a meaningful impact, then this opportunity is for you!

Vacancy Details

Duration: Permanent

Location: This role is based in London Waterloo General Offices. This role is a full-time opportunity, flexible working patterns will be considered.

Band & Salary: Band 3C £55,596 - £63,797

Closing date: 23rd January. On occasions, we may need to close the advert early based upon application volumes. Late applications may not be accepted.

Next Steps: Interviews will be held W/C 3rd February, depending on business requirements.

Brief Description

Who are we looking for?
We’re looking for an experienced corporate governance professional (Chartered Company Secretary) with familiarity with Board and committee management, subsidiary governance and the UK Corporate Governance Code 2024. They should be able to build good working relationships with colleagues at all levels across the organisation and be happy to work as part of a team as well as autonomously. Our ideal candidate is someone who is proactive and accountable for delivering excellent board and committee governance, projects, and management within specified timeframes. They will be articulate and provide governance advice and high-quality meeting minutes while ensuring to act professionally and discretely.

About the role

About the team
At Network Rail, our Governance & Secretariat Team is at the forefront of excellence. Led by the Deputy Company Secretary, our team of experienced chartered secretaries provides unparalleled governance advice and comprehensive board and committee management services. We operate at both strategic and operational levels, ensuring the highest standards of governance across Network Rail.

What does the average day look like?
The purpose of this role is to deliver, as part of a team, Network Rail’s commitment to comply with relevant company law, regulation, and best practice corporate governance principles, particularly the UK Corporate Governance Code. This involves:

• Advising on corporate governance, ensuring Network Rail complies with the UK Corporate Governance Code and advising on its application.
• Managing, attending, and minuting a portfolio of board and committee meetings.
• Project managing and contributing to the group annual report and accounts.
• Working on other corporate governance and secretariat projects and tasks as required.

This involves:

• Monitoring and evaluating developments in UK company law, regulation, the UK Corporate Governance Code and corporate governance best practice. Where appropriate, recommending improvements to Governance & Secretariat policies and processes and implementing any agreed changes.
• Within the Network Rail governance framework, managing boards and committees including the preparation of agendas, meeting papers, use of the board portal, tracking and collating feedback on actions and attending and minuting meetings.
• Developing, supporting and implementing subsidiary governance oversight.
• Signing and sealing contracts in accordance with delegated authority approval policies.
• Working on the Network Rail Limited Annual Report and Accounts project, helping to deliver the project on time and to the necessary standard to lay the accounts before Parliament prior to publication.
• Identifying actual or potential risks from non-compliance with company law, regulation and/or corporate governance, and recommending actions to eliminate or mitigate those risks.
• Assisting and supporting the Deputy Company Secretary on corporate transactions and other projects or initiatives as required.
• Completing other company secretarial tasks that may include, but are not limited to, managing the trademarks portfolio; managing the portfolio of company secretariat owned risks.

Essential Criteria

• Member of the ICSA: The Governance Institute
• Experience of working at a senior level within a company secretarial function
• Articulate, numerate and well organised
• Extremely high level of attention to detail
• Knowledge and experience of Company Law and Combined Code requirements
• Discrete

Desirable Criteria

• Ability to work independently, using initiative and being proactive
• Ability to work under pressure to a high standard

How to apply