Senior Assistant Company Secretary - UK Bank

Starling Bank; London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

An innovative bank is seeking a Senior Assistant Company Secretary to enhance its corporate governance. In this pivotal role, you'll ensure compliance with regulatory standards and support the board's governance framework. Your expertise in UK company law and governance practices will be key as you manage relationships with senior stakeholders and lead a dedicated team. With a commitment to excellence and continuous improvement, you'll contribute to a collaborative environment that values diversity and inclusion. This is an exciting opportunity to be part of a forward-thinking organization reshaping the banking landscape.

Benefits

25 days holiday

Extra day for birthday

Annual leave increase with service

16 hours paid volunteering

Company enhanced pension scheme

Life insurance at 4x salary

Private Medical Insurance

Generous family-friendly policies

Perkbox membership

Cycle to Work initiative

Qualifications

• Qualified chartered secretary with 3-5 years in regulated financial services.
• Strong knowledge of UK company law and governance best practices.

Responsibilities

• Support corporate governance framework and compliance with regulations.
• Provide company secretarial support to board committees and manage processes.

Skills

Governance

Minute-taking

Communication

Organizational skills

Relationship management

Attention to detail

Adaptability

Education

Chartered Secretary (ACG or FCG)

Legal / Governance Qualification

Tools

BoardVantage

Job description

Senior Assistant Company Secretary - UK Bank

Hello, we're Starling. We built a new kind of bank because we knew technology had the power to help people save, spend and manage their money in a new and transformative way. We're a fully licensed UK bank with the culture and spirit of a fast-moving, disruptive tech company. We're a bank, but better: fairer, easier to use and designed to demystify money for everyone. We employ more than 3,500 people across our London, Southampton, Cardiff and Manchester offices.

Role Overview:

We are seeking an enthusiastic and experienced Senior Assistant Company Secretary to join a dedicated team focused on delivering high-quality corporate governance and company secretarial services to Starling Bank. We are looking for someone who is passionate about governance, continuously seeking improvement and interested in working in a fast-paced environment as part of a collaborative team. Reporting to the Director of Governance (UK Bank), you will play a key role in supporting the effective running of the Bank's board and committee governance framework, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and best practice, and frequently interacting with board directors and members of the senior management team.

The successful candidate will lead by example and demonstrate a commitment to excellence. As a skilled communicator, with a track record of ensuring alignment and common purpose, you will be able to manage and build relationships with senior stakeholders, ensuring a clear focus on our strategic agenda. You will have strong financial services (ideally regulated) and/or banking experience. The Senior Assistant Company Secretary will have two direct reports.

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting the management of the Bank's corporate governance framework, ensuring compliance with the Companies Act 2006, FCA and PRA regulations, and relevant governance codes.
• Providing high-quality company secretarial and governance support to the Starling Bank Board Audit Committee and Executive Risk Committee, managing end to end processes, including preparing agendas, collating and distributing papers, drafting high-quality minutes, and maintaining timely information flows with senior management.
• Managing direct reports responsible for end to end governance support for the Bank's key executive level risk committees, fostering a culture of high-performance, excellence, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Overseeing the production of timely and accurate minutes for executive level risk committees, providing quality assurance reviews and ensuring alignment with Group standards.
• Assisting in the development and implementation of governance policies, frameworks and procedures to support best practice.
• Supporting director onboarding, training, and ongoing development to enhance board effectiveness.
• Monitoring governance and regulatory developments, providing insight and recommendations to senior stakeholders.
• Supporting the annual production of the Bank's Corporate Governance Statement.
• Overseeing Secretariat input for KYC, internal and external audit, assurance and regulatory information requests and ensuring timely responses thereto.
• Making suggestions for improvements and efficiencies to provide optimal support to the business, board and executive committee structures.

Requirements

Qualifications:

• A qualified chartered secretary (ACG or FCG) or equivalent legal / governance qualification.
• Minimum 3-5 years' proven experience in a regulated financial services environment, ideally within banking.

Experience:

• Strong technical knowledge of UK company law, governance best practices, and regulatory requirements.
• Exceptional minute-taking skills with an ability to write concise and accurate minutes in short order.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to engage confidently with board members and senior stakeholders.
• Experience of supervising and managing direct reports.
• Ability to operate at pace and adapt to a fast changing environment.
• Experience of using board portal software (BoardVantage preferred).

Skills and Competencies:

• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including minute-taking and drafting.
• Attention to detail, with a commitment to excellence and maintaining high standards of accuracy.
• Sound judgement and discretion in handling sensitive and confidential information.
• Able to influence and drive governance improvements.

Key Behaviours:

• Proactive and solution-oriented, with a focus on continuous improvement.
• Collaborative, able to build strong relationships across diverse teams.
• Resilient and adaptable to changing priorities and regulatory environments.

Benefits

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you).
• An extra day's holiday for your birthday.
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off.
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year.
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme.
• Life insurance at 4x your salary.
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr & Mrs Smith and Peloton.
• Generous family-friendly policies.
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks.
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships.

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can't accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren't sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We're on a mission to radically reshape banking - and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we're proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we're proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Administrative
• Industries
• IT Services and IT Consulting