Head of Governance

To lead the Governance/Company Secretarial Team which is responsible for ensuring that all entities within the Pension Insurance Corporation Group are well governed and that the Group is able to take decisions quickly and in compliance with regulations and internal policies

To provide oversight of governance across the Group’s entities, embedding good practice and adherence to best company secretarial practice, ensuring that the committee structure is aligned to business needs and key stakeholder requirements

To ensure the Team support the Board and all its committees, as well as key management committees, and provide guidance and oversight to the operation of other management committees

To enable the Team to continue to manage a growing number of corporate entities and to be responsible for ensuring these are properly maintained, updated on Diligent (formerly Blueprint) and all filings are made on time.

Pension Insurance Corporation Group is a private company with four major shareholders and a significant number of smaller shareholders, mainly current or former employees. The Governance/Company Secretarial Team is responsible for ensuring that the share register is accurate and up to date and works closely with the HR Team to support internal liquidity events.

Our Company values are expected to be reflected in the delivery and performance of every role.

Specific accountabilities assigned to the role of Head of Governance within the Legal and Company Secretarial function:

• Lead and manage the Governance/Company Secretarial Team ensuring Governance activities are appropriately resourced with the correct knowledge and skillset to deliver the relevant and agreed outcomes for the function. Elevate talent to develop and enhance both technical and non-technical skills required to deliver a strong and purposeful Governance/Company Secretarial team.
• Develop a regular cadence of communication, both in written and verbal format, on Corporate Governance activities, risk levels, and incidents that can be easily transferred into management information packs for circulation to senior management, Committee meetings and Boards.
• Acts as a change agent leveraging a skilful understanding of persuasion and influence to key internal stakeholders knowing which techniques to deploy while remaining a trusted advisor to the Executive Committee and Board.
• Positively influence and support the effective servicing of the Boards, committees and associated meetings
• Takes ownership of effective and efficient record keeping and administration of all Group entities in compliance with the Companies Act and other applicable legislation and requirements including identifying areas for process improvement and automisation.
• Deals confidently with the SMCR process and in particular the maintenance of the Map of Responsibilities
• Accountable for the design/drafting/reviewing of the corporate governance and director’s report sections of the annual report and financial statements and other reporting, as required
• Responsible for the company secretarial aspects of shareholder related actions (e.g. pre-emption processes on share issues and transfers), shareholder queries and other shareholder communications
• Responsible for the company secretarial aspects of the administration of various share plans, including liaising with the employee benefit trust
• Takes ownership for their own learning and development in both technical (e.g. minute takings and legal requirements in respect of governance) and non-technical (self-insight and relationship management) skills of the Governance/Company Secretarial Team

Requirements

Knowledge

• Strong technical knowledge of Companies Act legislation and compliance requirements
• Strong knowledge of the Senior Manager & Certification Regime (SMCR)
• Competent user of Diligent entities (formerly Blueprint)/Diligent Boards company secretarial software
• Knowledge of share plans administration

Skills

• Attention to detail and strong organisational skills
• Strong communication skills
• Emotional intelligence and confidence required to deal with senior stakeholders
• Ability to persuade and influence both directly and indirectly
• Ability to manage people and other resources effectively
• Ability to organize work to meet deadlines
• Ability to build good working relationships with the business in an engaging and collaborative manner to add value and help teams understand and adhere to the governance process
• Good working knowledge of MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Word

Experience

• Recognised qualification or strong employment record in Corporate Governance and/or Company Secretariat roles
• ISCA qualified or finalist would be an advantage
• Proven track record of effective minute taking including demonstratable experience of supporting Boards and Committees
• Strong demonstrable experience of leading and developing teams
• Proven track record of advising Boards and senior management on corporate governance and technical matters
• Experience of share plan administration would be an advantage

Benefits

• 28 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays
• Pension
• Insurance for Travel, Private Medical, Critical Illness, Life Assurance and Income Protection
• Save As You Earn (SAYE)
• Bonus
• Flexible Working
• Dress for your Day
• Cycle to Work
• Fruit and snacks
• Company events

And more