Deputy Company Secretary in London

Deputy Company Secretary

Location: Hybrid working at our office in Wimbledon.

Salary: 6 month fixed term contract

Contract: Full Time

We have an exciting opportunity for Deputy Company Secretary to join our Legal team here at Domestic & General. This role plays a critical leadership role in a small but high-performing Secretariat function. It will have day-to-day responsibility for managing the global company secretarial operations of the Group, working autonomously to ensure high standards of governance and compliance across a complex international structure.

It will also act as a key advisor on corporate governance matters, manages critical stakeholder relationships, and leads in the delivery of board and committee support, corporate transactions, and strategic governance initiatives.

This role is central to maintaining the Group’s corporate integrity, supporting effective decision-making, and embedding best practices across the business.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Responsibilities

• Act as the senior point of contact and subject matter expert within the Secretariat for corporate governance and company secretarial matters across the Group, ensuring the General Counsel & Company Secretary is kept appraised of key developments.

• Provide trusted advice on corporate and board governance to stakeholders, particularly in relation to legal entities, board operations, and regulatory expectations.

• Operate within a regulated group structure, including UK-regulated and German-regulated insurance subsidiaries, supporting compliance with relevant governance frameworks and regulatory oversight.

• Manage governance elements of institutional investor relationships, including obtaining investor consents under the Investment Agreement, responding to stop notices and information requests, and supporting related reporting and assurance exercises.

• Lead on governance aspects of group sustainability reporting, including contributions to the UN Global Compact and investor-driven frameworks such as CVC’s sustainability disclosures.

• Maintain key group governance policies such as the Board Conflicts of Interest Policy, Board Diversity & Inclusion Policy, and Levels of Authority Policy, and ensure these are reviewed and approved at appropriate intervals.

• Maintain and oversee the Group Delegated Authority Matrix, supporting the business’s internal control environment and ensuring robust delegation of authority across jurisdictions.

Board and Committee Governance

• Lead the end-to-end delivery of ~60 Board and Committee meetings annually across Group and subsidiary structures.

• Attend and take accurate minutes of the UK regulated subsidiary Board and Audit & Risk Committee, the German regulated subsidiary Management Board and Supervisory Board, and US Boards.

• Deputise for the General Counsel & Company Secretary as required.

• Maintain governance frameworks including forward planners, action logs, Terms of Reference, and annual meeting calendars.

• Manage the coordination of board and committee papers, minutes, approvals, and follow-ups.

• Support the Chair and General Counsel & Company Secretary in delivering board effectiveness reviews and implementing resulting recommendations.

• Lead on director onboarding and induction.

Corporate Governance and Advisory

• Advise on corporate governance requirements and best practice, including the Wates Corporate Governance Principles for Large Private Companies, while aligning with the spirit of the UK Corporate Governance Code in key areas where appropriate.

• Draft the corporate governance section of the Annual Report and Accounts.

• Support and advise on the Management Responsibilities Map and broader SM&CR framework; member of the SM&CR Forum and working group.

• Advise on governance enhancements, including advising on and implementing changes to board composition, cadence, and independence.

Corporate Transactions

• Act as Secretariat lead on corporate transactions including M&A, refinancings and entity restructures.

• Participate in core deal teams, coordinating all company secretarial deliverables such as:
  – Due diligence and data room materials.
  – Review and drafting of governance/company secretarial related content within offering Memoranda.
  – Board/shareholder approvals and signatory coordination.
  – Liaison with external counsel.

Entity Management and Compliance

• Oversee statutory compliance of ~36 entities across multiple jurisdictions, coordinating with local service providers as appropriate.

• Manage formations, dissolutions, and entity rationalisation.

• Ensure maintenance of statutory registers and corporate records.

• Oversee ad hoc approvals such as bank signatory updates and issuing/revoking powers of attorney.

Sustainability and Regulatory Reporting

• Lead governance and company secretarial input into sustainability-related reporting (e.g. UN Global Compact, CVC sustainability reporting)

• Draft and release regulatory announcements, including TISE filings.

Other Responsibilities

• Oversight of the Group’s insurance renewal process

• Support internal governance and executive management committees

• Supervise and develop the CoSec Assistant.

Skills and experience required:

• Proven experience within an international group.

• Excellent knowledge of UK corporate governance.

• Corporate transaction and external advisor liaison experience.

• Strong drafting, minute-taking, and communication skills.

• Able to manage multiple priorities autonomously.

• Confident advising senior stakeholders.

• Cross-border entity compliance experience with local providers.

• Experience with FCA/PRA regulated entities and awareness of SM&CR.

• Familiarity with TISE requirements

We offer lots of great benefits! Some of which include:

• Competitive salary and annual discretionary bonus

• 25 days annual leave plus bank/public holidays, as well as an annual option to buy up to 5 additional days of annual leave

• Training opportunities as well as clearly defined career progression

• Health cash plan – employer funded cover to enable you to claim money back on essential healthcare costs, including dental, optical, physiotherapy and many more. Cover also includes unlimited access to a 24/7 virtual GP service

• Attractive company pension scheme

• Life assurance – employer funded cover of 4x basic salary

• Dedicated online benefit portal offering access to saving and lending facilities, financial wellbeing and support services:

• Salary Finance – access to savings and borrowing through payroll

• Car Leasing – access to a carbon neutral salary sacrifice car leasing scheme, with an all-inclusive monthly cost covering all charge, taxes, insurance, repairs and maintenance on a range of brand-new vehicles

• Travel Loans – interest free loans to help spread the cost of annual travel tickets

• Cycle to Work – tax efficient bike and cycling equipment worth up to £1,000

• Health & Wellbeing – discounted gym membership, online virtual workout sessions, online culinary classes

• OnHand – Giving you the opportunity to be an Eco & Social volunteer via a handy app. Volunteer individually or in groups to get involved in Youth Mentoring, Food Poverty, Homelessness & Elderly help.

• Employee Assistance Programme – specialist advice and support on issues such as finance, relationships, illness and family issues

• Free Domestic & General protection plan – one free plan each year with access to discounted rates of up to 50% on additional plans, including referrals for family and friends

• Employee discounts – with a range of discounts for 100s of online and high street retailers

Domestic & General are an equal opportunities employer which means we treat people fairly. We welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of their gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status.

Please note that we have a thorough referencing process, which includes criminal record checks.

At Domestic & General, we are proud of our 100-year legacy and excited about our future growth plans. We are expanding our horizons, entering new markets and territories internationally and we need your expertise to help us on the journey.