Trainee - Corporate Secretary and Governance

Description of the Business Line or Department

The UK Governance team is part of the CEO office and has been set up with the following mission, in all cases by establishing linkages to Group functions (e.g. GBIS/DIR, Regions, BUs/SUs) to enable two-way exchange of relevant best practices with the UK:

• Enhance Regulatory Engagement governance
• Drive Transversal Controls governance
• Enable sound Transaction governance
• Support CEO Office on governance
• Deliver on Corporate & SMF governance objectives, in coordination with Legal & Compliance within the 3LoD model, by creating scale, continuity and empowerment in the Governance team to achieve existing objectives, including the effective establishment, review, implementation and maintenance of key UK corporate governance, policies & procedures, committees, SMF best practices – these include: i) Corporate Secretariat – corporate secretarial services including oversight and supervision of the internal governance and corporate secretarial administration of SG’s UK subsidiaries; ii) Mandatory Normative Documentation (MND) review and management – comprehensive UK MND review, roll-out of the new ‘policy for MNDs’, automation and digital roadmap, UK Policies sharepoint; iii) Committees mapping and oversight/supervision – review of Terms of Reference (ToRs), clear escalation/delegation for sub-committees, rollout of new committees, automation and a digital roadmap; iv) Governance controls – MyGovernance roll-out and use for quality control, consistent templates and minimum standards for committees, effectiveness reviews; v) SMF governance – Handover Docs & SYSC attestation process management, UK organisation charts, process for update of MRM, SMF JDs, evidence pack controls and data retention, and implementation of SMCR-linked decisions.

Summary of the key purposes of the role

Support the Company Secretary and Senior Governance Officer and the UK Head of Corporate Governance and Conduct in:

• Company secretarial administration of UK subsidiaries;
• The effective running of all SGLB and SGIL executive and transversal committees;
• Senior Manager coordination within SGLB and SGIL; and
• Mandatory Normative Documentation Register and Policy on Mandatory Normative Documentation ownership.

Company Secretarial support for SG UK’s Investment Banking subsidiaries:

• Assist with the management of director appointments including collation of the necessary internal information for approval and/or renewal;
• Assist with the liquidation of dormant companies;
• Assist with the record keeping of UK Powers of Attorney and signatory lists for all SGLB and UK subsidiaries; and
• Update the SG UK organisation charts

UK statutory and regulatory requirements for SG Group and SG UK subsidiaries:  

• Work with the Company Secretary to ensure compliance with regulatory reporting information for the SG group in the UK. For example, make filings at Companies House, the FCA, the SWIFT KYC Registry and the London Stock Exchange;
• Work with the Company Secretary to ensure compliance with the Companies Act and related statutory company secretarial and governance requirements;
• Assist with the maintenance and provision of information concerning the UK group of companies in the Société Générale worldwide company secretarial database systems for core corporate information ("STP") and key documents ("E.doc");
• Assist with the production of statutory registers for the SG UK subsidiaries; and
• Assist with KYC queries for SGLB and SG UK subsidiaries.

Corporate Governance

• Overall oversight/supervision of the effective running of all SGLB and SGIL executive and transversal committees including:
• Assist with the inventory of committees;
• Assist with the coordination Role with Board and Committee Chairs ensuring ToRs remain up to date, reviewed within the review cycle and align with best practice guidance;
• Assist with the roll-out of MyGovernance (repository of committee and governance documentation); and
• Production of MI on the effectiveness of committees and UK governance.
• Assist the UK Head of Corporate Governance and Conduct in the wider responsibilities of the GBIS/UKI/GOV team such as the Senior Manager & Certification Regime coordination and Mandatory Normative Documentation management.

Mandatory Normative Documentation review and management

• Maintenance of the MND register for all local policies;
• Liaison with policy owners to ensure regular policy updates; and
• Production of MI to management.

Senior Manager Function Coordination

• Ensure consistency and coordinate the Senior Manager Functions governance in relation to:
• Templates
• Evidence Pack shared drive instructions
• Management of the SGLB and SGIL Management Responsibility Map
• Data Retention Procedure
• UK organisation charts
• Liaise with the Senior Managers and their COOs or Chiefs of Staff to ensure the above

Competencies

• All colleagues are expected to demonstrate the basic principles of the SG Leadership Model:
• Team Spirit: working with colleagues inside and outside of the team to achieve success;
• Innovation: demonstrating common sense, looking for simple, efficient solutions;
• Responsibility: having the courage to do the right thing and being aware of relevant risk (whether legal, conduct or other risk); and
• Commitment: being engaged, showing consideration of others and contributing to a positive attitude in the Legal Department.
• In addition, the role will require the following skills:
• The ideal candidate will hold a degree or equivalent in a Finance-related subject
• Excellent written skills
• High attention to detail
• Ability to handle multiple files together with a high level of accuracy
• Ability to treat sensitive information appropriately
• Capacity to act in a proactive manner in a demanding business
• Work in autonomy on certain everyday tasks
• Fluency in English essential
• French-speaking skills advantageous

People join for the impact they can have on us. They stay for the impact we have on them. A flatter structure offers visibility and exposure beyond that of our competitors, so you know our names, and we know yours. It's personable, human, and inspires success through passion. By encouraging open mindedness and a willingness to share ideas, we have adapted to market changes and thrived through innovation. Bringing words like “hard work” and “dedication” together with “community” and “respect” has enabled us to work collaboratively and build our future together. We call this Team Spirit and it's what makes us different. It's what makes you different.

If you feel you have the required experience and qualifications, then please apply to the SG Resourcing Team, and we will manage your application. At Société Générale, we believe our people are our strength and are core to the success of our business. As such, we search for, recruit and appoint the best available person on the basis of aptitude and ability, regardless of sex, marital or civil partnership status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, pregnancy, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief or gender identity.