Trainee - Corporate Secretary and Governance

Description of the Business Line or Department

The UK Governance team is part of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) office and has been set up with the following mission, in all cases by establishing linkages to Group functions to enable two-way exchange of relevant best practices with the UK:

• Deliver on Corporate & Senior Manager Functions (SMF) governance objectives
• Support CEO office on governance
• Enhance Regulatory engagement governance
• Drive transversal controls governance
• Enable sound transaction governance

Whilst there will be opportunities to contribute on diverse topics within the GOV department, the present trainee role will align principally with first two objectives above.

Summary of the key purposes of the role

Support the UK Head of Corporate Governance & Conduct and the other members of the team in the:

• Mandatory Normative Documentation Register and Policy on Mandatory Normative Documentation ownership;
• SMFs coordination within Societe Generale London Branch (SGLB) and Societe Generale International Ltd (SGIL);
• Oversight and coordination of the effective running of all SGLB and SGIL executive and transversal committees; and
• Oversight of company secretarial administration of UK subsidiaries.

Summary of responsibilities

Assist the UK Head of Corporate Governance & Conduct in the responsibilities of the team.

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 SMF governance in relation to:

Templates;

• Evidence Pack instructions;
• Management of the SGLB and SGIL Management Responsibility Map;
• UK organisation charts; and
• Liaise with the SMFs and their COOs or Chiefs of Staff to ensure the above.

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 Terms of References 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.

Support the Company Secretary and Senior Governance Officer in:

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; and
• Assist with the record keeping of UK Powers of Attorney and signatory lists for all SGLB and UK subsidiaries.

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

• 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;
• 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.

Support any other members of the team in their responsibilities and in particular the Culture and Conduct coordination.

Competencies

All members of GBIS/UKI/GOV 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 be educated to degree level or equivalent.
• Excellent level of written and verbal English.
• French-speaking skills advantageous.
• 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.

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.