Senior Assistant Company Secretary, GHQ

Job description

Role Title: Senior Assistant Company Secretary, GHQ
Business: Global Company Secretaries
New or Existing Role? Existing 
Role Purpose
Global Company Secretaries vision statement. Driving Excellence in Governance
Global Company Secretaries mission statement: by developing our people, processes and systems, we drive the highest standards of corporate governance globally to support the delivery of Group strategy and to satisfy the expectations of our stakeholders.
 
Roles
To support the Deputy Group Company Secretary, GHQ in managing the Company Secretarial function.
To advise the members of the committees of which he/she is Secretary, through the respective Chairman on all corporate governance matters and provide direct support to the Committee members and senior management.
To provide support to the Assistant Group Company Secretary in their responsibilities as secretary to a Board committee.
To contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the GHQby ensuring that effective Company Secretarial support and advice is provided to all committees of which he/she is Secretary through an appropriate and consistent corporate governance framework.
To understand and act upon changes in legislation and regulations, with particular regard to the continuing obligations of HSBC Holdings plc.
To contribute to the development of the strategic and operational objectives of the Global Company Secretarial function .
To take a lead on ensuring appropriate oversight, review and effective operation of the Group’s corporate governance framework.
To support best practice corporate governance practices such as conducting corporate governance peer reviews / benchmarking and assessment of compliance with applicable corporate governance codes.
 
 
Key Accountabilities
Impact on the Business
Provide advice, guidance and support to the committee members and senior management on corporate governance and statutory, regulatory and governmental requirements as well as best practice requirements and standards.
Support the Group Company Secretary in the performance of his/her responsibilities.
  
Customers / Stakeholders
Committee members
Holdings Board of Directors
Provide advice, guidance and support to the Committees of which he/she is Secretary and the senior management of the Holding company.
Maintain and develop positive relationships with  senior management, functional team members and  colleagues in other key functional departments such as Finance, Legal, Compliance and Risk.
 
 
Leadership & Teamwork
Maintain and develop positive and professional working relationships with senior business managers within the business.
Contribute to an environment for the delivery of consistent performance measurement, training, career management and succession planning across the Department.
Promote staff engagement.
Contribute to the strategy for the coordination and promotion of initiatives that result in the sharing of company secretarial/ governance knowledge and best practice.
 
 
 
Operational Effectiveness & Control
Monitor the effectiveness and appropriateness of the corporate governance framework of the Group.
Assist in the regular assessment of operational and cost efficiency of the Company Secretarial function.
Re-engineer existing processes to deliver efficiencies within the Department.
 
 
Major Challenges
HSBC is an extremely diverse business which is constantly expanding both geographically and into new areas of business.  Such expansion is in an increasingly regulated and complex global environment with almost no consistency between laws, regulations and best practices in different jurisdictions.  There is a constantly evolving environment of corporate governance, statutory, regulatory, governmental and best practice requirements and standards.  In this context, it is the role of the Senior Assistant Company Secretary to support the Group Company Secretary, in establishing an appropriate Group corporate governance framework and to provide advice, guidance and support to the Holdings Board of Directors and members of its committees of which he/she is Secretary on corporate governance matters. 
 
 
Role Dimensions
HSBC Holdings has 17 Directors, comprising 4 executive Directors and 13 non-executive Directors. 
The market capitalisation of HSBC Holdings is approximately GBP110 billion.  HSBC Holdings shares are listed on the London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Bermuda stock exchanges.  There are over 220,000 HSBC Holdings shareholders and 80,000 registered holders of American Depositary Shares. 
HSBC Holdings' dividends are paid quarterly in three currencies and a scrip dividend alternative is offered on each occasion.  Over the last four quarters, cash dividends paid out totalled USD6 billion and over 250 million scrip dividend shares have been issued. There are two mailings to shareholders for each dividend.  In 2010, a further 25 million shares have been issued as a result of the exercise of employee share options
The Global SCY function comprises qualified company secretaries/ lawyers and support staff for the more than 1300 subsidiary companies in the Group. 
The role holder will typically seek guidance from the Assistant Group Company Secretary to whom they report on significant matters that arise which have implications for HSBC Holdings plc, its Directors or its subsidiary companies and from other members of the Holdings team on day to day matters.
 
 
Role Context
HSBC Holdings plc is listed on the London, Hong Kong, New York, Paris and Bermuda stock exchanges.  By market capitalisation, it is one of the largest listed companies in the world.  Shares in HSBC Holdings plc are held by about 200,000 shareholders in over 100 countries and territories.    It has 1,475 branches in the United Kingdom and operates through subsidiaries in France, Turkey, Germany , Malta, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Russia; and branches in Belgium; the Czech Republic, France, Poland, Greece, Hong Kong,  Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Spain.
The diversity of HSBC’s business and its geographic spread bring continual change both internally and externally.  As a result, the volume, complexity and diversity of matters, including confidential and commercially sensitive matters, which the Senior Assistant Company Secretary GHQ is required to manage and on which he/she is required to give advice, is very large and increasing.
The role requires a detailed knowledge of the HSBC Group and a clear understanding of its culture.  It is essential that the Senior Assistant Company Secretary, GHQ has a good working relationship with enior management and the members of the committees of which he/she is Secretary.
The role holder is responsible for providing support to the Assistant Group Company Secretary in delivering a high standard of support to the board and committees to the holding company and will liaise closely with the Directors, Executive, senior members of the Global Secretary’s Office and other Global functions and businesses.
 
 
Management of Risk
The Senior Assistant Company Secretary, GHQ, is responsible for ensuring that key governance/listing obligations/company secretarial matters are clearly identified, brought to the attention of the Group Company Secretary, and, as appropriate, recommended for inclusion in the Group Standards Manual or Company Secretarial Functional Instruction Manual.
 
Observation of Internal Controls
He/she maintains HSBC internal control standards, including timely implementation of internal and external audit points, together with any issues raised by external regulators, relating to corporate governance or company secretarial related matters.

Desired profile

Knowledge & Experience / Qualifications
Qualified company secretary or lawyer.
Detailed knowledge of the HSBC Group and a clear understanding of its corporate culture is desirable. 
Leadership, management and communication skills.
Lateral thinking/problem solving/creativity.
Communication and inter-personal skills including the ability to develop and maintain relationships. within the 
 
Capabilties (see Global Capability Framework):
Strengthening Customer Relationships …C
Commerciality ……………………...………C
Collaboration ……….………………………A
Managing & Leading ………………………B
Innovation & Idea Management  ………....B
 
 
 
 
We are an equal opportunity employer and are committed to creating a diverse environment.