Company Secretary

Role Title: Company Secretary
Salary: £52,266 to £54,554 (Pro-Rata)
Location: London-Hybrid
Tenure: Part time, permanent (3 days)

ActionAid UK is a member of the ActionAid Federation, an international charity that works with women and girls living in poverty. We work with our partners and dedicated staff in 43 countries to end violence and fight poverty so that all women, everywhere, can create the future they want

Are you a UK experienced Company Secretary with a strong track record of providing strategic context for governance and pragmatic, best practice advice?

Can you bring a broad range of  experience from a range of organisations, including the charity sector, to help AAUK evolve best practice across your various stakeholder groups?

Do you enjoy driving through change and self-managing a complex and varied workload?

Are you comfortable in a standalone, 360 role where you will be responsible for the full range of activities from meeting minutes to Trustee recruitment and appraisal to providing advise on legal matters?

ActionAid UK is seeking a dynamic and highly skilled Company Secretary to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our governance and ensuring our mission to fight for the rights of women and girls remains steadfast.

This role involves a variety of responsibilities aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of compliance, legal, and company secretarial functions across our organisation.

As a company secretary, you'll need to ensure a company complies with financial and legal requirements, as well as maintaining its high standards of corporate governance. You'll hold a strategic position at the heart of governance operations within the organisation. A key part of your role will be to act as a point of communication between the board, CEO office and company shareholders, and  organisation's executive management team.

The successful candidate will have unique insight into all aspects of Charity Strategy, key priorities, and governance.

As the Company Secretary, you’ll work closely with our Chair of Trustees, Board of Trustees, and Co-CEOs to provide expert governance support and advice. You’ll manage and streamline the flow of information between key stakeholders, ensuring effective communication and seamless planning. This role isn’t just about maintaining governance structures – it’s about driving forward our commitment to excellence and fostering a collaborative, feminist-led organisational culture.

Why this role matters:

In this position, you’ll be at the heart of a global movement dedicated to social justice. You’ll oversee the critical production of the Trustees Annual Report and Accounts, lead governance reviews aligned with the Charity Governance Code, and act as the primary point of contact for regulatory bodies like the Charity Commission. Your contributions will directly support our efforts to create a world where all women and girls can enjoy their rights and live free from poverty.

What makes this role exciting?

• Leadership Impact: You’ll work alongside a dedicated team to implement governance best practices and support our global partnerships, including representing ActionAid UK in the ActionAid Federation Global Assembly.

• Creative Problem-Solving: From trustee recruitment and induction to navigating complex legal and regulatory landscapes, you’ll have the opportunity to innovate and make tangible contributions to our organisational effectiveness.

• Mission-Driven Work: This is a unique chance to contribute to ActionAid UK’s bold vision, championing feminist principles and working towards becoming an anti-racist, decolonised organisation.

• Professional Growth: You’ll gain unparalleled experience in charity governance, leadership, and project management, while being supported to develop your own skills and expertise.

Who we’re looking for:

We need someone with exceptional organisational and interpersonal skills, a keen eye for detail, and a strong understanding of governance in charitable organisations. You should be ready to navigate a complex global organisation and collaborate

Due to the nature of this role, the successful candidate will be asked to participate in criminal records checks at the point of offer.

Then we'd love to hear from you!

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Additional information

Diversity, equality, inclusion and belonging:

Diversity, inclusion and belonging are key to our organisational culture. We are on a journey to become not only an anti-racist organisation but one that proudly celebrates the diversity of all applicants and employees. We look forward to you bringing your full self to work, proudly sharing your unique perspective and helping us to shape our combined future. We especially welcome applications from those from under-represented/marginalised communities.

AAUK is a Disability Confident Committed organisation and as such any candidate that declares a disability will be shortlisted for interview if they meet the essential criteria for the role.

Referencing and safeguarding:

All offers of employment will be subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks, which can include Misconduct Disclosure Scheme, safeguarding, criminal records and terrorism finance checks. By submitting an application the job applicant confirms their understanding of these recruitment procedures. 

ActionAid UK is committed to preventing any form of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse (including child abuse and adult at-risk abuse) and responding robustly when these harms take place. We expect all ActionAid UK staff and ActionAid UK representatives to share this commitment. We will not tolerate our staff or other representatives carrying out any form of sexual harassment, exploitation or abuse towards anyone we come into contact with through our work. 

Working practices:

ActionAid is committed to supporting flexible working. If you would like to discuss flexible working options, including the possibility of a job share for this role, there will be space to do so during the interview process.

ActionAid UK has a hybrid working policy for many of our roles. The requirement will vary from team to team and the responsibilities of individual roles. As a minimum, all colleagues are expected to attend the office 12 days per year, plus additional time for induction, training, and company connection days. Some roles may require in-office attendance on all days and if so, these will clearly be marked as in-office roles.

Please note that ActionAid UK does not offer fully remote working options. We encourage you to discuss hybrid working expectations at interview.

Recruitment processes:

Please note that ActionAid UK may review, shortlist and interview candidates prior to the closing date so we encourage all candidates to apply as soon as possible. If we receive a very high response, we may close the vacancy early and will not accept further submissions. Vacancies close at 23:55pm 

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