Assistant Company Secretary – Fibre Networks

Octopus Investments Published: February 19, 2021
Location
London, United Kingdom
Job Type

Description

Company Description
Octopus is a group of companies which invests in the people, ideas and industries that will help to change the world.

We believe that the companies serving two of our most important needs - our financial wellbeing and our planet's future - are failing. And we want that to change. We want everything we do, whether that's in financial services or energy supply, to have a positive impact on the people it touches.

In our financial services business, we care as much about the impact our investments have, as we do about the returns that we generate for our investors. We manage more than £9.1 billion* on behalf of retail and institutional investors, specialising in renewable energy, real estate, smaller company and venture capital investing.

Our energy supply business - Octopus Energy, is one of the fastest growing companies in the UK. It has grown from start-up to more than 1.7 million customers over the last four years and is now the #1 rated UK energy supply business, and the only one to be recommended by Which? three years in a row.

Octopus Energy, Octopus Giving, Octopus Investments, Octopus Renewables, Octopus Real Estate, Octopus Ventures, Seccl Technology and Octopus Wealth are all part of Octopus Group. Visit octopusgroup.com.

Job Description
The Brand:

The Company Secretariat team sits within the Octopus Investments division of Octopus and provides corporate compliance and governance services to Octopus group companies and Octopus managed funds. The team look after a variety of companies ranging from listed VCTs, FCA regulated entities, LLPs etc. that invests in renewable energy, healthcare, property and are exposed to a wide range of activities undertaken in these entities.

About the role:

Due to recent acquisitions in the portfolio, we are now looking for an Assistant Company Secretary to work within the Company Secretariat team reporting to the Portfolio lead to assist them in managing a growing portfolio of companies operating in the fibre network sector. The role will provide a varied exposure to all aspects of a Company's lifecycle and would be of particular interest to those who enjoy providing governance support to boards. The individual will be responsible for looking after the fibre network companies in the portfolio (currently 16 entities including 4 active boards with more to onboard in the coming months).

Deliverables:

  • Statutory compliance
    • reviewing annual Report and accounts and reviewing or completing Companies House filings: Confirmation Statement filings/directors appointments and resignations/maintaining statutory registers/SAIL addresses etc., that have been prepared by the Company Secretarial Assistant
  • Corporate Actions
    • drafting and reviewing the relevant documentation, forms and cover emails for group distributions, allotments and loan drawdowns
  • Corporate transactions:
    • following training, manage M&A transactions within the fibre portfolio including: liaising with external lawyers on the steps plan, reviewing documents prepared by the external lawyers, preparing internal funding paperwork, carrying out post-completion filings and onboarding the new entities.
  • Board support for 4 boards
    • drafting board meeting agendas
    • overseeing the Company Secretarial Assistant/Administrator in preparing and publishing the board packs and managing preparations for board meetings
    • minute taking at the board meetings
    • writing up post-board meeting follow up actions
    • advising the boards on corporate governance matters
  • Team tasks
    • keeping procedures and precedents up to date and in line with current regulatory requirements
    • maintaining the structure charts for the fibre portfolio
  • Assisting with ad hoc group restructures, strike offs and projects outside the fibre portfolio if the team require additional assistance
  • Updating Diligent Entities and the statutory registers with any company changes
  • Train and support junior members in the team

Qualifications
Ideally, you'll have some or all of the following qualifications, skills and job-related experience

  • ICSA qualified (at least ACG)
  • Experience working in a Company Secretariat team preferably in professional services and/or in a fund/investment firm.
  • Excellent minute taking skills
  • Experience in supporting in corporate transaction work such as M&A's and group restructures
  • Proficient in using technology and leveraging digital applications and media platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Office 365, board pack software (such as Board Intelligence) and entity management software (such as Diligent).

And to really stand out from the crowd, you will display the following qualities and characteristics:

  • Self-motivated with the ability to work in a fast-paced environment
  • Good analytical and numerical skills
  • Positive, helpful and enthusiastic attitude
  • Must be curious and seek to learn and improve

Additional Information
Our Values and DNA

At Octopus we don't just focus on what we do but also how we do it. Everyone shares our values of being straightforward, helpful and bold. And while these are the principles that guide us as an organisation, our DNA goes even further, by revealing our inner strengths:

We are loyal: we fully buy-in to the company's vision and believe in everything that Octopus stands for.

We are respectful: we live and breathe the Octopus values of being helpful, straightforward and bold.

We are resilient: we have an inner strength that means we never give in.

We are intellectually curious: we seek to understand how the world works and were always learning, adapting and improving.

We understand who our customers are: and because we know them really well, we always give them our very best.

What we offer Octopus has built an exciting and inclusive high-performance culture where employees feel empowered. This means we welcome discussions around flexible working hours. We also understand the value of diversity, and we have a team dedicated to promoting gender, ethnic, socio-economic, LGBT and disability equality, to make sure we back up our words with actions. All Octopus employees are given the opportunity to develop new skills, aim higher and accelerate their careers.

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