Gowling WLG
Company Secretary Manager (Birmingham based)
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Job Description
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Company Secretary (or a lawyer with a corporate background seeking a more balanced work/life balance) to help take on the management of our Company Secretarial Team and help drive its growth.
The Company Secretarial Team comprises specialists who assist and advise our clients on a comprehensive range of company secretarial issues from company (and other entity) formations; dissolutions; drafting board/shareholder resolutions (to address various situations); managing client's registers and filings at Companies House; advising on governance and boardroom best practice; and working closely with and supporting our international award-winning corporate team.
The Company Secretary Manager will help to manage the firm’s Company Secretarial function, delivering a high-quality, compliant, and commercially focused service to a wide portfolio range of UK and international clients. This role combines management of the team, technical governance expertise, client management, and strategic development of the firm’s CoSec offering. Recent developments in the law, including the implementation of the ECCTA and a continued focus on ESG by clients make this a perfect opportunity to take forward the growth of our team.
Main Duties and Responsibilities:
- Manage, mentor, and help to develop the CoSec team and support the strategic development and growth of the Company Secretarial service and contribute to business planning initiatives.
- Oversee allocation of work to ensure a cost-effective and efficient service, assigning matters based on complexity and expertise required.
- Foster a collaborative, supportive, and client-focused culture within the team; with relevant training being secured.
- Embrace the use of technology in the future plans for the team. Identify opportunities to expand service lines, improve efficiency, and adopt legal technology to streamline delivery.
- Manage key client relationships, ensuring high-quality service delivery and identifying opportunities to expand existing client engagements.
- Support partners on business development opportunities and pitches.
- Provide expert advice and assistance on governance matters such as director duties, managing conflicts of interest; the impact of the ECCTA; amendments to governance policies; delegation frameworks and reporting requirements.
- Work closely with internal legal teams (i.e. corporate, commercial, employment, real estate) to provide relevant advice and support.
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Key Skills and Experience:
Essential
- Experience in a company secretarial or governance leadership role (or corporate legal team), ideally within a law firm or professional services environment.
- Technical knowledge of the Companies Act 2006, ECCTA, statutory compliance requirements, and UK corporate governance frameworks.
- Demonstrable experience of managing complex governance matters such as advising on director conflicts and board meetings; drafting or updating Policies and governance frameworks; and advising on more complicated company secretarial matters such as complex PSC enquiries; or the interpretation of poorly drafted articles of association; or reconstructing statutory registers; or drafting intra-group agreements (and advising on the issues that can arise with regard to the same).
- Experience supervising a team and allocating work effectively.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with proven ability to advise senior stakeholders.
- High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and organizational capability.
- Commercial acumen. Experience of issuing fee proposals and work scopes that secure an appropriate return for the team. Managing the team's financial performance more generally and using technology to help and streamline (i.e. the issue of invoices; managing wip; ensuring that outstanding
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Desirable
- ICSA/CGI qualification (or equivalent) or law degree.
- Experience advising listed or large international groups on corporate governance.
- Familiarity with governance tools.
What We Can Offer You:
The opportunity to work for a firm that has been recognized as one of the best places to work in the UK and has been ranked by Great Place to Work® for 26 consecutive years.
Excellent benefits, including:
- A hybrid approach to office and remote working.
- 25 days annual leave, with the option to buy up to a week's extra annual leave
- Private medical insurance, and the option to add family members
- A generous pension allowance
- Life assurance covering four times your annual salary
- Maternity, paternity, and adoption leave schemes
- A range of health and wellbeing programmes
- State of the art offices, by London Bridge station, with an onsite restaurant
- Opportunities to flourish in your role through training and personal development
Equal Opportunities:
Gowling WLG is committed both to promoting equality and diversity in the firm and to Equal Opportunities in employment. The firm believes in equality of opportunity regardless of race or racial group (including color, nationality, ethnicity, national origins), religion or belief, age, disability, sexual orientation, sex, gender re-assignment and gender identity, marriage and civil partnership, and pregnancy, maternity, and paternity. This also includes any incidents of perceptive or associative discrimination and harassment.
At Gowling WLG, we seek to attract and retain talented people from a diverse range of backgrounds and cultures, to create an exciting and rewarding place to work. Our aim is to fulfil everyone's potential and together to achieve personal and business goals.
If you have any queries in relation to this position or would like to see a full job description, please contact Nana Panti-Amoa: Nana.Panti-Amoa@uk.gowlingwlg.com
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