Assistant Secretary

Assistant Secretary
£47,000 - £53,000 plus great benefits (Work level 5)
Manchester City Centre – We’re now working in a hybrid way, with colleagues dividing their time between home/remote working and the office typically 1-2 days per week, this role also requires occasional weeknight and weekend work.

We’re looking for an Assistant Secretary to join our Board Secretariat team, supporting the smooth operation of key Board and Committee meetings and delivering high-quality corporate governance support and advice.

In this role, you will work closely with the Deputy Secretary to ensure the effective delivery of Secretariat services, supporting compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements, corporate governance best practices, and Co-op Rules. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced governance professional to contribute to our organisation's governance structure while gaining valuable experience in high-level governance and regulatory compliance.

What you’ll do

1. Provide oversight to ensure compliance with UK statutory, regulatory, corporate governance and Co-op Rules requirements.
2. Act as the named secretary for Co-op subsidiary boards and committees, being responsible for the annual cycle of events, attending meetings and giving governance advice to Directors.
3. Plan and prioritise the allocation of secretariat work to other team members.
4. Lead key projects such as restructuring activity.
5. Work as part of a team to deliver the AGM and related activities.
6. Work with other Board Secretariat colleagues to develop and implement processes and procedures that meet governance, statutory and Co-op Rule requirements.
7. Conduct Board Effectiveness Reviews and manage director inductions and training.
8. Horizon scan to identify governance trends and emerging issues.

This will suit people who have

1. Previous experience in supporting Boards and Committees, including minute writing and managing related activities.
2. Experience and technical expertise in a company secretary or governance role, with a strong ability to interpret and apply rules and regulations.
3. CGI qualified or holding other relevant governance qualifications. Part-qualified candidates will be considered if you can demonstrate relevant company secretarial experience at a senior level.
4. In-depth knowledge of UK corporate governance principles and compliance requirements.

Why Co-op?

As a Co-op colleague, we can offer you a competitive salary and great benefits package which includes 30% off Co-op branded products in our food stores (as well as other discounts on Co-op products and services). You’ll also get:

• Private healthcare.
• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance).
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays.
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions.
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ).
• Coaching and training to support your career development.
• Wagestream – a money management app that gives you access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it.

Building a diverse environment

We’re actively building diverse teams and we welcome applications from everyone. If you have a disability, we can make reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process according to your needs.

We're also part of the Disability Confident scheme, meaning we'll always offer an interview to disabled candidates who apply through the scheme if they meet the minimum criteria for a job.

We'll ask whether you’d like to be considered under the Disability Confident scheme when you apply.

If we invite you to take part in the recruitment process for any of our jobs, we’ll ask you if you need any reasonable adjustments to enable you to participate.

You can find out more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process.

You can find out more about the Disability Confident scheme and all our commitments to diversity and inclusion at colleagues.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion-and-wellbeing.

As part of your application, you'll need to complete an online assessment. This assessment typically takes between 45-60 minutes. If you're a current Co-op colleague, this does not need to be completed.