Concerned with legal, financial and administration matters, the role of a Company Secretary is to work alongside a Company Director or Manager, with a view to ensuring standards are being adhered to. By law, a PLC is obliged to employ a Company Secretary and this has created a need for recruitment agencies to search for Secretarial candidates who are ready to join their list of clients.
Company Secretary salaries
The expected salary for a candidate looking to enter into a career as a Company Secretary in the UK is around £35K. This is considerably more than those who work in an Assistant role as these will usually earn in the region of £25K. With experience, salaries can prove to become quite lucrative - with senior Company Secretaries earning anywhere between £50K-£70K with those in FTSE 100 companies having the potential to earn £100K+. The job is predominantly office-based, with staff generally expected to work 30-40 hours a week over five days. Firms based in cities such as London tend to offer the most opportunity for high earnings - recruiting for some of the best paid jobs in this area.
Qualifications and skills in order to get recruited
Entry requirements to become a Company Secretary are high, with employers expecting a potential candidate to be degree-educated before applying for a vacancy. Qualifications in Law and Accountancy are some of the most sought after, although corporate experience within Banking, Insurance, and Management are also looked on favourably. Those applying to work for a public limited company must first become a member of the ICSA which is an international body for Secretaries and Administrators. This accreditation can be achieved through the Chartered Secretaries Qualifying Scheme (CSQS) or postgraduate study and will also aid applications to private limited companies. This should help consolidate knowledge in areas such as governance and compliance.
Other qualities that an applicant should cover in their CV includes awareness of legal practices, excellent organisational skills and the ability to work in a team. A recruiter or recruitment consultant is able to assess these attributes in order to effectively recruit for their clients' roles, whether they are permanent, temporary, or contract.