Recruiting a Listed Company Secretary means finding someone who can operate confidently with the board while handling the governance, reporting and regulatory demands of a listed environment.
The underlying role is still that of a Company Secretary. What changes is the setting. Listed businesses can bring more complex reporting requirements, shareholder activity, regulatory timetables and board processes.
Previous listed-company experience can therefore carry considerable weight. A strong Company Secretary from a private business may have excellent governance credentials but little direct experience of the pressures that come with working in a listed environment.
Listed Company Secretary Recruitment at a Glance
| Area | What to Consider |
|---|---|
| Board experience | Direct experience supporting a listed-company board and its committees |
| Governance | Experience of the governance framework relevant to the organisation |
| Regulation | Familiarity with applicable UK Listing Rules and continuing obligations |
| Reporting | Experience contributing to annual reports and governance disclosures |
| Shareholders | AGM and shareholder governance experience |
| Leadership | Ability to lead a company secretarial or governance team where required |
| Judgement | Confidence advising Chairs, directors and senior executives |
| Recruitment approach | Search may be appropriate for senior or confidential appointments |
What Is a Listed Company Secretary?
“Listed Company Secretary” is not a separate legal category of Company Secretary. The term is generally used to describe a Company Secretary working in a company with securities admitted to the FCA’s Official List.
Many of the core responsibilities remain familiar: supporting the board and committees, maintaining statutory records, coordinating governance processes and advising directors.
The listed environment can add responsibilities around corporate reporting, shareholder meetings, governance disclosures, market announcement processes and the company’s wider regulatory timetable.
Our guide to the Listed Company Secretary role looks at the position in more detail.
Why Listed Company Secretary Recruitment Is Different
Listed-company experience is not simply another line on a CV.
The person may be working closely with the Chair, committee chairs, General Counsel, finance, investor relations, external advisers and senior executives, often around fixed reporting and regulatory deadlines.
The precise requirements vary according to the company, its listing category and the securities involved. The FCA’s UK Listing Rules set out the relevant listing framework and continuing requirements for companies within their scope.
That makes practical experience particularly useful. A candidate needs to understand not only the governance framework but how the different parts of a listed organisation work together when an issue is sensitive, time-critical or requires board involvement.
What Should You Look for in a Listed Company Secretary?
There is no standard profile that suits every listed company.
The scale of the business, board structure, sector, governance team and scope of the vacancy will all affect the brief.
Several areas, however, usually deserve close attention.
Listed-Company Board Experience
Find out what the candidate actually did with the board rather than relying on their job title.
Useful areas to explore include:
- boards and committees they supported;
- whether they worked directly with the Chair and committee chairs;
- responsibility for agendas, papers and minutes;
- governance advice provided to directors;
- involvement in board evaluations;
- responsibility for the annual board and committee calendar.
Someone who has worked inside a listed company may still have had relatively limited exposure to its board. For a senior appointment, the nature of that experience matters.
Listed-Company Governance Experience
Candidates should understand the governance framework that applies to the organisation they are joining.
Where the UK Corporate Governance Code applies, practical experience of working with it can be particularly valuable.
That may include board and committee structure, governance reporting, board effectiveness work and preparing or coordinating disclosures.
The useful distinction at interview is between someone who understands the framework in theory and someone who has worked with it as part of the annual governance cycle.
Corporate Reporting
Annual and interim reporting can involve significant input from the governance function.
Depending on the organisation, the Company Secretary may coordinate contributions from directors, committees, finance, legal and external advisers, as well as manage the approvals needed from the board.
Relevant experience can include:
- governance sections of the annual report;
- committee reports;
- board approvals;
- governance disclosures;
- reporting timetables.
For someone moving into their first listed-company role, this can be one of the areas where there is the most to learn.
Shareholder and AGM Experience
The AGM is another area worth examining closely.
A candidate may have experience preparing notices and resolutions, coordinating shareholder documentation, working with registrars, supporting voting arrangements and preparing the Chair and board for the meeting.
Again, the level of involvement matters. It is worth establishing what the candidate personally managed rather than assuming experience from the organisation they worked for.
Market Announcements and Disclosure Processes
The Company Secretary will not necessarily decide whether information should be announced to the market. Disclosure decisions may involve directors, senior executives, legal advisers, finance and other specialists.
The role can, however, be closely involved in the governance process around announcements and disclosure obligations.
A good candidate should be able to explain how they have handled sensitive information, escalation, board approvals and coordination with colleagues responsible for regulatory announcements.
That tells you more about their judgement than a purely technical question about the rules.
How Senior Does the Role Need to Be?
Listed companies organise their governance functions in different ways.
A smaller listed business may have a Company Secretary who handles much of the work personally. A larger group may have a Group Company Secretary supported by a Deputy, Assistant Company Secretaries and a wider governance team.
Before going to market, establish what the vacancy actually involves.
In particular:
- Is the individual the named Company Secretary?
- Who will they report to?
- Will they lead a team?
- How much subsidiary governance is involved?
- Which committees will they support?
- What involvement will they have in corporate reporting?
- Will they support shareholder and disclosure processes?
- Is this a replacement, succession appointment or newly created role?
These details make a substantial difference to the candidate pool.
Does a Listed Company Secretary Need to Be Qualified?
For a UK public company, the secretary must meet statutory qualification or experience requirements.
Professional governance qualifications are therefore often relevant, particularly for senior appointments, but qualifications alone do not establish whether someone is ready for a particular listed-company role.
The brief should distinguish between what is legally required, what the company regards as essential and what is simply preferred.
For many appointments, direct experience of boards, reporting cycles, shareholder matters and the relevant governance environment will be just as important when assessing candidates.
Writing the Listed Company Secretary Job Description
A job description that simply says “listed-company experience required” does not tell candidates enough.
The brief should explain the board structure, reporting line, team, committees supported and the areas of the listed-company governance cycle that sit within the role.
Our Listed Company Secretary Job Description can be used as a starting point. It covers board and committee responsibilities, listed-company governance, reporting, shareholder matters, skills and experience.
It should then be adapted to the organisation rather than used unchanged.
Interviewing Listed Company Secretary Candidates
The interview is where the difference between theoretical knowledge and practical experience becomes much clearer.
Rather than asking candidates only to talk through their career history, use situations they are likely to encounter in the role.
Useful areas to test include:
- listed-company board and committee experience;
- UK Listing Rules and continuing obligations;
- annual report governance;
- shareholder meetings;
- disclosure processes;
- handling confidential board information;
- challenging directors appropriately;
- working with senior stakeholders under pressure.
Our Listed Company Secretary Interview Questions resource includes a structured set of questions, points to look for and an interview assessment checklist.
Advertised Recruitment or Search?
Advertising may be enough where there is a broad pool of suitable candidates and the organisation is comfortable recruiting from active applicants.
A senior or specialist listed-company appointment can require a different approach.
The number of candidates with the exact combination of board exposure, listed-company experience, sector knowledge and seniority may be limited. Some will not be actively looking for another role.
Confidentiality can also affect the approach, particularly where a succession or departure has not yet been announced.
A specialist Company Secretary Recruitment Agency can combine advertised recruitment with direct approaches, market research and existing governance networks.
The important question is whether the recruiter understands the brief well enough to distinguish relevant listed-company experience from a CV that simply contains the right terminology.
Assessing Experience Beyond the Job Title
Company secretarial job titles are not particularly reliable indicators of scope.
Two people called Company Secretary can have very different jobs.
One may be the principal governance adviser to the Chair of a listed group. Another may work primarily on statutory administration with limited board contact.
Look behind the title at:
- the complexity of the organisations they have worked in;
- board and committee exposure;
- reporting lines;
- listed-company experience;
- corporate reporting responsibilities;
- shareholder work;
- team leadership;
- regulatory environment;
- involvement in transactions or periods of significant change.
Communication also matters.
A senior Company Secretary may need to raise an uncomfortable issue, challenge a proposed process or explain why something needs to be handled differently. Technical knowledge without the confidence and judgement to do that is unlikely to be enough.
Listed Company Secretary Salary
There is no single salary level for a Listed Company Secretary.
Remuneration varies with the size and complexity of the organisation, seniority, sector, location, team responsibility and breadth of the role.
A Group Company Secretary leading governance across a large listed group is therefore a different proposition from a Company Secretary working within a smaller listed business or reporting into a more senior governance leader.
Our Company Secretary Salary Guide looks at remuneration in more detail.
Permanent, Interim or Fixed-Term?
A permanent hire may be the long-term objective without being the immediate answer.
An unexpected resignation, prolonged absence, transaction or period of corporate change can create an urgent need for experienced governance cover.
In a listed business, important board, reporting and shareholder deadlines continue while a permanent search is underway.
Interim or fixed-term support can provide continuity without forcing the organisation to rush a permanent appointment.
Recruiting the Right Listed Company Secretary
A good search starts with a clear brief.
The organisation needs to know what the person will own, how closely they will work with the board, which parts of the governance calendar they will support and which experience is genuinely essential.
That makes it easier to assess candidates on the work they have actually done rather than on job titles or broad claims of listed-company experience.
Ingen Partners specialises in Company Secretarial Recruitment for listed companies, regulated organisations and complex businesses. We support permanent, interim and senior governance appointments, helping organisations identify candidates with the experience, judgement and board-level credibility required for the role.
Listed Company Secretary Recruitment Frequently Asked Questions
What is Listed Company Secretary recruitment?
Listed Company Secretary recruitment is the process of identifying and appointing governance professionals with the experience required to support the board and governance function of a listed company.
What experience should a Listed Company Secretary have?
Relevant experience may include supporting listed-company boards and committees, corporate reporting, shareholder meetings, governance disclosures, listing requirements and working with senior directors and advisers.
Does a Listed Company Secretary need previous listed-company experience?
Not every appointment will require exactly the same background, but previous listed-company experience can be particularly valuable where the role involves complex reporting, shareholder, regulatory or disclosure responsibilities.
How do you recruit a Listed Company Secretary?
Employers should first define the scope and seniority of the role, prepare a clear job description and decide whether to advertise directly or use a specialist recruiter to approach suitable candidates in the governance market.
What should employers ask at a Listed Company Secretary interview?
Questions should test listed-company governance experience, board exposure, corporate reporting, shareholder matters, regulatory knowledge, professional judgement and the candidate’s ability to influence senior stakeholders.
When should a company use a specialist recruiter for a Listed Company Secretary?
Specialist recruitment can be useful when the appointment is senior, confidential, difficult to fill or requires specific listed-company experience that may not be readily available through advertised applications.
