Company Secretary in Sydney

A global funds management group is looking for a Company Secretary to take on company secretarial and governance support across its Australian entities. This is a newly created role, and you'll be the Sydney-based go-to, working directly with boards, management and senior stakeholders. You'll run the function independently, reporting to the Head of Legal. That means owning the board and committee cycle, giving practical, commercially minded advice, and keeping statutory obligations and corporate records accurate and current. It's a hands-on role for someone who is confident working autonomously and wants to build the function.

Key responsibilities

• Own and lead the company secretarial function in Sydney as the primary point of contact for the group's Australian entities, keeping governance practices effective and consistent.
• Act as a trusted governance adviser to affiliate boards, senior management and other key stakeholders.
• Give practical, commercially minded advice on corporate governance, company secretarial requirements and related regulatory obligations.
• Support the implementation and continuous improvement of governance frameworks, policies, procedures and practices across the affiliate structure.
• Develop a strong understanding of each affiliate's business and its governance requirements.
• Coordinate board meeting schedules and calendars.
• Attend board and committee meetings and prepare accurate, clear and appropriately detailed minutes.
• Maintain registers of board and committee decisions, resolutions, actions and matters arising, following up with responsible stakeholders as needed.
• Prepare written resolutions and other governance documentation as required.
• Maintain accurate, complete corporate and statutory records for the relevant entities.
• Coordinate corporate filings so they're lodged on time.
• Liaise with external legal advisers, auditors, regulators and other external stakeholders where required.

Skills and experience

• Minimum of 5-8 years as a company secretary.
• Strong experience supporting boards and committees in a complex corporate and/or financial services environment (funds management experience is a plus).
• Confidence operating as a sole practitioner, with the ability to prioritise and manage your own workload without a team around you.
• Proven experience managing company secretarial activity across multiple entities and stakeholder groups.
• Experience coordinating board and committee processes, including agendas, board papers, minutes, resolutions and action tracking.
• The ability to build trusted relationships with directors and senior executives.
• Sound judgement and discretion when handling complex, confidential and sensitive governance matters.
• Strong organisation and planning, managing multiple board and committee cycles, deadlines and competing priorities.
• The ability to work autonomously while collaborating with Legal, Compliance and other business functions.
• Experience with Diligent, BoardPro or a similar board or governance management system (highly regarded).

Qualifications

• Governance or company secretarial professional qualification.
• Tertiary qualification in law, business, governance or a related field (highly regarded).