Assistant Company Secretary

Marks and Spencer; City Of London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK retailer is seeking an Assistant Company Secretary to support governance and compliance across the organization. The role involves managing governance functions, ensuring adherence to UK Listing Rules, and preparing important corporate documents. Ideal candidates will be fully qualified Chartered Company Secretaries with 5+ years of UK listed company experience and strong organizational abilities. Join a dynamic team and contribute to enhancing corporate governance practices.

Benefits

20% colleague discount on products

Competitive holiday allowance

Discretionary bonus schemes

Strong pension and life assurance

Tailored induction and training

Wellbeing support services

Paid volunteer day

Qualifications

• 5+ years of UK listed company experience.
• Strong knowledge of UK Corporate Governance Code.
• Accuracy and attention to detail required.

Responsibilities

• Support governance and administrative functions.
• Ensure compliance with statutory requirements.
• Project manage Annual Report and AGM preparation.
• Drive improvement in governance processes.

Skills

Chartered Company Secretary

Knowledge of UK Listing Rules

Excellent organisational skills

Strong interpersonal skills

Proficient in Microsoft Office

Education

Qualified Chartered Company Secretary

Tools

Diligent Entities

Companies House E-filing

Job description

All the details

Summary

At Marks & Spencer, we're proud of our heritage as one of the UK's most iconic retailers, and we're looking for a talented Assistant Company Secretary to join our dynamic Governance team. This is a fantastic opportunity to play a key role in supporting the Board and senior leadership, ensuring that our corporate governance framework remains robust, transparent, and aligned with best practice.

Marks & Spencer has around 80 UK and overseas subsidiaries and approximately 145,000 shareholders, 9% of whom are private investors. As one of Britain's most trusted retailers, we place governance and compliance at the centre of our operations. Our Corporate Governance team plays a vital role in ensuring transparency, accountability, and best practice across the Group. At M&S, culture is shaped by consistent behaviours, collaboration, and a commitment to doing the right thing week in and week out.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

Due to high interest, this role may close earlier than advertised. We recommend applying as soon as possible.

What you'll do

Your key accountabilities will include:

• Support the Secretariat in a wide range of governance and administrative functions, including compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements across the Group, Board and Committee papers, and acting as secretary to committees and subsidiaries.
• Ensure compliance with Companies Act 2006, UK Listing Rules, DTRs, MAR, and the UK Corporate Governance Code, while preparing and releasing regulatory announcements to the London Stock Exchange.
• Project manage and support the preparation of the Annual Report and Annual General Meeting.
• Liaise with the registrar, Equiniti, on shareholder queries, statutory documentation for corporate events, and administration of share schemes including vestings and blocklistings.
• Drive continuous improvement in governance processes, horizon scan for regulatory developments, and support ad hoc corporate governance projects.

Who you are

Your skills and experience will include:

• Fully Qualified Chartered Company Secretary with 5+ years' UK listed company experience and strong knowledge of UK Listing Rules, DTRs, Companies Act 2006, and Governance Code.
• Excellent organisational, planning, and problem-solving skills with accuracy, attention to detail, and resilience under deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, able to build relationships across teams and cultures while maintaining discretion and professionalism.
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, with experience using Diligent Entities, Board Intelligence, Companies House E-filing, RNS Submit, and NSM facilities.
• Reliable, proactive, and committed to continuous improvement, with the ability to identify opportunities and adapt to evolving governance requirements.

What's in it for you?

Working at M&S means being part of something bigger - helping to deliver quality, value and service to millions of customers every day. We're inclusive, fast-moving and always evolving, with a strong sense of purpose and a focus on doing the right thing.

Here are just a few of the benefits that make working here even more rewarding:

• 20% colleague discount on all M&S products and many third-party brands for you and someone in your household, available once you've completed your probation
• Competitive holiday allowance with the option to buy more
• Discretionary bonus schemes linked to your performance and ours
• Strong pension and life assurance to help plan for the future
• Tailored induction and training to support your development from day one
• Exclusive perks and savings through our M&S Choices portal
• Market-leading family policies, including parental, adoption and neonatal leave
• 24/7 wellbeing support, including virtual GP access and mental health services
• One paid volunteer day a year to support a cause that matters to you

Everyone's welcome

We are ambitious about the future of retail. We're disrupting, innovating and leading the industry into a more conscientious, inspiring digital era. We're transforming how we work together and offering our most exciting opportunities yet. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. Join us and make change happen.

We are committed to building diverse and representative teams, where everyone can bring their whole selves to work and be at their best. We support each other and work together to win together.

If you feel you'd benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during any stage of the recruitment process, please don't hesitate to let us know when completing your application. This information will be picked up by our team, so we can try and put steps in place to help you be at your best through this process.