Director, Governance & Corporate Secretariat (1-year fixed contract - Maternity Cover)

Full-time OR Part-time (4 days a week)

About Realty Income

Realty Income (NYSE: O), an S&P 500 company, is a real estate partner to the world's leading companies. Founded in 1969, we invest in diversified commercial real estate and have a portfolio of 15,600 properties in all 50 U.S. states, the UK and six other countries in Europe, with a gross book value of $58bn. We are known as "The Monthly Dividend Company" and have a mission to deliver stockholders dependable monthly dividends that grow over time. Since our founding, we have declared 656 consecutive monthly dividends and are a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats index, having increased our dividend for the last 30 consecutive years. The European portfolio, including the UK, has grown significantly since our first international acquisition, a £429m 12-property portfolio from Sainsbury’s in 2019. In just five years the portfolio now includes investments of over €11bn, and 483 distinct properties.

A great in-house opportunity within one of the largest Real Estate Investment Trusts in the world as we rapidly expand into the European markets. In this challenging role you will gain a wide exposure to the company and the senior management, whilst facing unique challenges and new countries.

Position Overview:

The Director, Governance & Corporate Secretariat, Europe will build and lead our Governance and Corporate Secretariat function for the region as we continue to grow internationally. The role has the following key areas of focus:

• Manage internal secretariat team and manage and oversee the external secretariat team including identifying, managing and overseeing service providers for new jurisdictions as needed.
• Maintain governance best practices to support sustainable business expansion including the development of desktop procedures.
• Ensure alignment with Global Group Governance and Corporate Secretariat.
• Serve as a director of the statutory boards of directors of the European subsidiaries, as needed.
• Oversee Netherlands office management and manage Netherlands team assistant.
• Collaborate with global teams for the establishment of new EU offices and/or new country entry for investments.

As part of European leadership based in the Netherlands, the Director, Governance & Corporate Secretariat will help maintain and shape the overall strategy and capabilities to grow the business in Continental Europe and the United Kingdom. The Director, Governance & Corporate Secretariat will report into the Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary managing global corporate governance matters who is based out of the U.S. The position will work closely with the U.S. and European legal teams, U.S. and European leadership teams, and global Finance and tax teams.

Key Responsibilities:

• Instil the highest standards of integrity and professionalism.
• Build relationships across functional groups and geographies; work as “One Team.”
• Cultivate an inclusive, collegial, and high-performing culture.
• Push to decisions/conclusions amidst ambiguity.
• Manage internal secretariat team (including managing U.K.-based company secretary and legal analysts and Netherlands-based legal analysts).
• Manage and oversee the external secretariat team including identifying, managing and overseeing service providers for new jurisdictions as needed.
• Manage a corporate secretariat function for the Group’s European companies (including the United Kingdom) including internalising, as possible, the external corporate secretariat services.
• Maintain a secretariat that is cost-effective and scalable including the development of policies and procedures that can scale with the company and oversee the maintenance of the company’s global entity management database.
• Create and Maintain the budget for cosec related costs.
• Review and approve corporate invoices in Yardi.
• Develop further international corporate secretary function for new geographies in Europe.
• Assist in adopting and developing governance practices, policies, and procedures for the European region (including the UK region).
• Internal and external stakeholder management, including advisers, auditors, board members, notaries, lawyers, regulatory authorities.
• Advancing and managing corporate business including transaction planning and execution, document review, board and shareholder meetings, resolutions, reports, filings, etc.
• Monitor regulatory developments and manage regulatory relations.
• Organise and maintain (as well as oversee the organisation and maintenance) of corporate records.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• As needed, international travel (inclusive of overnight stays) will be required (up to 25%), including to the company’s London office, to attend board meetings and to visit new jurisdictions the company enters or considers entering.

Candidate Requirements:

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Must have for the role:

• Suitable corporate legal and company secretariat experience gained in either a Corporate Service Provider OR an International Law firm.
• International company secretariat experience working as a minimum within the Netherlands and UK jurisdictions, with the ability to cover new international markets, understanding their differences and nuances.
• Experience managing and coaching a team.
• University degree in law (civil, notary, or fiscal) (or equivalent work experience).
• Ability to effectively present information to Executive Management.
• Accurate, strong organisational skills, able to work independently and as a team.
• Fluent (spoken and written) in English.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

Desirable but not essential:

• Fluent in Dutch (spoken and written).
• Real estate industry experience.

Our Mission & Values

For more than 50 years, Realty Income has been guided by our mission to invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. We do this by nurturing long-term, meaningful relationships that enable people to achieve a better financial outlook. We understand that when individuals succeed financially, they are able to provide for their families, support local businesses and pursue their greatest ambitions, creating a lasting positive impact on communities. Realty Income is committed to diversity and inclusion and welcomes all applicants regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation or educational background.

What we offer:

Competitive compensation and benefits package. The opportunity to join a stable, successful organisation, AND make your mark on our European expansion currently in more of a “start-up” mode. The working hours and effort of our role will vary. We support work-life balance, with an understanding that the work of this role does not conform to a steady pace – there will be peaks and valleys to the amount of effort required for this role.

What to expect after you apply:

• First call: If your application matches the role, then it’s time to put a voice to the name! We’ll call you to set up a phone conversation with one of our Talent Partners.
• Manager Screen: You will have the opportunity to discuss the role and your qualifications with the direct hiring manager. In this interview, we want to know more about you - what excites you about joining Realty Income, and how can you help us solve global challenges.
• Second interview: You’ll meet with several of our team members at various levels. We'll dive into your potential role, showing you how you will fit into your team and contribute to our vision.
• The final decision: If you are the selected candidate, we will present you with an employment contract for your review and signature.
• Pre-Employment Screening: If you choose to sign the employment contract, this contract may be contingent upon successful completion of a VOG and other pre-employment screening checks by a third party as permitted by applicable law.