Assistant Company Secretary

Flexible – Herdus House, West Cumbria, Hinton House, Warrington;
London or Harwell, Oxfordshire. Hybrid working available with 40% of time in an NDA office and some travel to Board and Committee meetings.

Contract Type:
Permanent

Salary: £44,455 - £52,300 dependent on skills and experience

We are seeking a dedicated individual to join our Corporate Governance team on a permanent basis. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to expand their governance expertise within a supportive environment and contribute to the evolution of the team.

• Ensuring effective forward planning and coordination of meetings and other NDA Board and Committee events and overseeing the logistical preparations for those meetings.
• Management of Board and Committee meeting processes including scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, reviewing paper submissions, assembling meeting packs, attending certain meetings and generating and communicating meeting outputs, including drafting minutes.
• Acting as the company secretarial lead for certain NDA committees and board forums.
• Supporting the governance processes for certain group subsidiaries including providing company secretarial support to their boards, ensuring adherence to the UK Companies Act, handling statutory filings at Companies House, and ensuring that company books and other records are up to date.

• Supporting and maintaining governance frameworks, processes and record keeping within the NDA and across the group.
• Supporting the implementation of group-wide governance changes as part of an ongoing project.
• Supporting and facilitating procedures to help directors discharge their statutory duties.
• Supporting the activities and responsibilities of the Corporate Governance team including but not limited to:
  Board and Committee effectiveness reviews, the induction of new Board Members and their continued training and development thereafter, preparation of key sections of the NDA Annual Report and Accounts, reviews of constitutional documents e.g., Terms of Reference, maintaining the governance elements of the external website including the process to post redacted versions of minutes of NDA Board meetings, responding to information requests, and coordinating with key stakeholders across the NDA and NDA group.
• Monitoring and advising on developments in corporate governance legislation, regulation and best practice including the UK Corporate Governance Code and sharing learnings in the team.
• Helping to improve the team’s processes and embracing new technologies including AI-driven solutions.

• Shares and demonstrates the NDA values of, respect, openness, collaboration, performance and creativity.
• 3+ years company secretarial / corporate governance experience.
• Demonstrated ability to support Board/Committee activities.
• Knowledge of relevant areas of company law and corporate governance practice.
• Knowledge of how the principles of best practice in corporate governance apply to the public sector (desirable).
• Excellent organisational, planning and coordination skills, high attention to detail, with the ability to proactively follow-up with colleagues to deliver desired business outcomes and results.
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and facilitation skills required to develop and maintain constructive working relationships; ability to liaise with and at times advise senior staff effectively.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills, with demonstrable experience in writing accurate and concise minutes, reports, and briefings, and drafting standard company secretarial documents.
• Ability to work independently as well as part of a team, and to prioritise complex and competing demands.

• Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme – part or fully qualified.
• Degree or equivalent (Law preferred)
• Experience of using company secretarial and governance software e.g., Board Intelligence

While formal qualifications are desirable, we also welcome candidates who can demonstrate relevant experience, the right skills, attitude, and a keen interest in…