Assistant Company Secretary

Hilton Foods; Huntingdon; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Hilton Foods is seeking a Company Secretarial professional to provide governance support at UK listed-company level and manage multi-jurisdictional governance processes under the Deputy Company Secretary. You will ensure compliance with legal, regulatory, listing and disclosure obligations, and build relationships with directors, senior management and advisers across geographies.

The role covers maintaining statutory registers, board meeting administration, share scheme oversight, AGM support

Qualifications

• Relevant company secretarial or governance experience ideally in a listed, or complex international organisation.
• Experience of preparing high-quality meeting minutes and supporting the meeting administration process.
• Experience of subsidiary governance, regulatory filings across more than one jurisdiction.
• Practical experience of share scheme administration desirable.
• Strong written and verbal communication with senior stakeholders and external advisers.

Responsibilities

• Maintain statutory registers and corporate records, ensuring information is accurate, complete and current.
• Manage the day-to-day governance of a multi-jurisdictional subsidiary portfolio, coordinating statutory approvals, corporate changes, records, compliance and local filings under the oversight of the Deputy Company Secretary.
• Maintain the Entity Management Platform and drive improvements in the accuracy, consistency and accessibility of Group entity information.
• Lead the end-to-end administration of Board and Executive level Committee meetings, including forward planning, agendas, paper collation, governance advice, action tracking and the preparation of comprehensive, accurate minutes suitable for formal approval.
• Draft and coordinate regulatory announcements, maintaining appropriate review and approval processes and supporting compliance with applicable disclosure obligations.
• Support with the Annual Report process, including drafting and editing content, coordinating contributors and supporting verification.
• Manage day-to-day share scheme administration, including grant and maturity processes, exercises, employee communications, record maintenance and adviser liaison.
• Support with AGM administration.
• Manage elements of the dividend process, including timetable coordination, approvals and the drafting of intercompany dividend minutes and supporting documentation.
• Maintain governance and regulatory content on the investor section of the Hilton Foods corporate website.
• Lead or contribute to governance and compliance projects, including policy reviews, horizon scanning and process improvements.

Skills

Company secretarial experience

Governance

Stakeholder management

Meeting minutes

Regulatory filings

Education

CGI part-qualified or qualified

Equivalent legal/governance/finance qualification

Job description

Hilton Foods is a leading international multi-category food producer, serving customers and retail partners across the world with high-quality meat, seafood, vegan and vegetarian foods and meals. We are a business of over 7,300 employees, operating from 21 technologically advanced food processing, packing and logistics facilities that serve over 19 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. For over thirty years, our business has been built on long-term partnerships with our customers and suppliers, many forged over several decades, and together we target long-term, sustainable growth and shared value.

Purpose of role

• To provide high-quality company secretarial support at UK listed-company level and independently manage key governance processes across the Group, including matters relating to the Board, its Committees and the Company’s public-market obligations.
• To help ensure Group-wide compliance with legal, regulatory, listing and governance requirements, applying sound judgement and escalating matters appropriately.
• To build effective relationships with directors, senior management, advisers and colleagues across multiple geographies, supporting a Group-wide governance framework.

Reports to: Deputy Company Secretary

Department: Legal & Secretariat

Key accountabilities

• Maintain statutory registers and corporate records, ensuring information is accurate, complete and current.
• Manage the day-to-day governance of a multi-jurisdictional subsidiary portfolio, coordinating statutory approvals, corporate changes, records, compliance and local filings under the oversight of the Deputy Company Secretary.
• Maintain the Entity Management Platform and drive improvements in the accuracy, consistency and accessibility of Group entity information.
• Lead the end-to-end administration of Board and Executive level Committee meetings, including forward planning, agendas, paper collation, governance advice, action tracking and the preparation of comprehensive, accurate minutes suitable for formal approval.
• Draft and coordinate regulatory announcements, maintaining appropriate review and approval processes and supporting compliance with applicable disclosure obligations.
• Support with the Annual Report process, including drafting and editing content, coordinating contributors and supporting verification.
• Manage day-to-day share scheme administration, including grant and maturity processes, exercises, employee communications, record maintenance and adviser liaison.
• Support with AGM administration.
• Manage elements of the dividend process, including timetable coordination, approvals and the drafting of intercompany dividend minutes and supporting documentation.
• Maintain governance and regulatory content on the investor section of the Hilton Foods corporate website.
• Lead or contribute to governance and compliance projects, including policy reviews, horizon scanning and process improvements.

Qualifications and experience

• Relevant company secretarial or governance experience ideally in a listed, or complex international organisation.
• Experience of preparing high-quality meeting minutes and supporting the meeting administration process.
• Experience of subsidiary governance, statutory compliance and filings, ideally across more than one jurisdiction.
• Practical experience of share scheme administration is desirable.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with a professional attitude to engaging with senior stakeholders and external advisers.
• High levels of professionalism, integrity and discretion when handling confidential and price-sensitive information.
• Excellent attention to detail, sound judgement and the ability to resolve issues and escalating appropriately.
• CGI part-qualified or qualified, or holding an equivalent legal, governance or finance qualification, with a commitment to continuing professional development.