Company Secretary - Entertainment Industry

Job Purpose:

The company secretary ensures that an organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities. To represent company name on legal documents, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operate within the law. Their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends are paid and to maintain company records, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts.

Key Responsibilities:

- Report to the chairman and often liaise with board members

- Prepare agendas and papers for board meetings, committees and annual general meetings (AGMs) and follow up on action points

- Take minutes, draft resolutions, and lodge required forms and annual returns with Companies House, the UK's registrar of companies

- Ensure policies are kept up to date and approved by the committee

- maintain statutory books, including registers of members, directors and secretaries

- Deal with correspondence, collate information and write reports, communicate decisions to relevant company stakeholders

- Contribute to meeting discussions, and when required advise members of the legal, governance, accounting and tax departments of the implications of proposed policies

- Monitor changes in relevant legislation and the regulatory environment and take appropriate action

- liaise with external regulators and advisers, such as lawyers and auditors

- Take responsibility for the health and safety of employees and manage matters related to insurance and property

- Develop and oversee the systems that ensure the company complies with all applicable codes, in addition to its legal and statutory requirements

- Pay dividends and manage share option schemes and take a role in share issues, mergers and takeovers

- Maintain the register of shareholders and monitor changes in share ownership of the company - in a publicly listed company

- Monitor the administration of the company's pension scheme - this may be a requirement in some smaller companies

- Enter into contractual agreements with suppliers and customers

- Manage the office space and deal with personnel administration and insurance for employees, equipment and premises

- Oversee PR relating to aspects of financial management.

Candidate Attributes:

- Good knowledge of interpretation of law.

- Impeccable understanding of business.

- Good to excellent communication skills.

- Networking skills.

- Interpersonal skills.

- Readiness to work for long hours.