The opportunity
We are seeking a proactive and highly organised Assistant Company Secretary to support the delivery of first‑class governance across our group and funds under management. This role is ideal for an ambitious governance professional looking to broaden their exposure within a dynamic investment fund manager looking for direct exposure to the board, senior leadership team and external service providers. This role will report into Legal Director and offers a pathway to grow into a more senior governance advisor as the business grows.
In this role, you will be an integral part of the Core Functions team, which includes Operations, Risk & Compliance, Legal, HR, Tax and Finance. The team works broadly across the commercial operations of the business.
You will be responsible for the corporate governance for the Climate Asset Management and Fund companies (and other associated entities as required) ensuring they are administered in an efficient way, particularly with regard to ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The role will be responsible for ensuring a high level of governance exists by assisting the Legal Director and Chief Operations Officer across the corporate group and leading the governance of the fund entities that Climate Asset Management manages including oversight of the service providers for the funds' entities.
This role also provides support and guidance to the Climate Asset Management Board, the C-Suite and various Funds' entities' Directors/Boards and Climate Asset Management Committees (including Investment & Asset Management Committees, Valuations and Risk & Compliance Committees) in ensuring that meetings are scheduled, agendas set, any decisions taken are recorded and actions implemented appropriately, with reference to principles of good governance at all times.
You will act as custodian of minute/statutory books, records and registers of the Climate Asset Management group and manage the implementation of share registrations, company strike-offs or liquidations, working with the Core Functions team.
Responsibilities
Statutory duties and responsibilities:
* Responsible for the coordination, preparation and delivery of UK board and committee meetings including agenda planning, collating papers, minute-taking and follow up on post-meeting actions. The Assistant Company Secretary will be responsible for the Climate Asset Management Board, Risk & Compliance Committee, Investment Committees, Valuation Committees, Asset Management Committees and Fund Advisory Boards.
* Oversight and liaison with the external service providers to support governance processes for the funds and fund entities.
* Maintaining the secretarial procedures to reflect the changing business and regulations and assisting the business in the development and maintenance of robust control procedures.
* Acting as Climate Asset Management's data protection officer, maintain the HLC of the Climate Asset Management global business.
* Ensuring that all ongoing statutory reporting deadlines are met for the Climate Asset Management and Funds' entities including preparing and filing forms to Companies House.
* Maintaining and updating Climate Asset Management and the funds' corporate structure
* Maintaining IT systems and the library of all fund and corporate documentation that is stored in Minute Box and in SharePoint.
* Completing all statutory compliance related to the Climate Asset Management group including updating director changes, address changes, share allotments.
* Assist the Corporate and Fund Finance teams with internal and external audits in a timely manner in providing company information and documentation.
* Responsible for monitoring developments in corporate law and ensuring timely communication and integration of relevant changes into Climate Asset Management and fund documentation in collaboration with the Legal team, while working closely with Risk & Compliance to ensure governance and risk processes are adhered to and recommending strengthened controls where any weaknesses are identified.
* Maintaining the KYC/AML records for Climate Asset Management directors and fund entity directors and to provide KYC/AML documentation to external parties when requested.
* Timely implementation of new standards or changes to corporate law across the businesses in collaboration with the Climate Asset Management Legal team.
* Ensure risk processes are being respected and recommend enhanced controls if any weaknesses are identified in collaboration with Risk & Compliance team.
* Assisting Risk & Compliance team with relevant regulatory
Advisory duties and responsibilities:
* Assisting the Finance and Asset Management teams in the governance process for funds flow up and down stream including drafting intra-group loan documentation, drawdown notices, liaising with service providers to prepare relevant local documentation for equity increases.
* Providing practical guidance on the proper application and interpretation of corporate law in respect of constitution, formation, and performance of the business in collaboration with the Legal team and external legal advisors.
* Providing deal support to the legal and investment teams on areas of corporate governance and obtaining the relevant board approvals.
* Running the approval process for where matters are required to be approved by the Climate Asset Management Board, Committees and managed fund entities including drafting board minutes, resolutions and arranging for wet ink and electronic signatures.
* Supporting the Capital Solutions team with the Investor Advisory Boards, investor consents and document execution.
* Creation of a training plan and practical guidance on the role of the director in collaboration with respective service providers.
* Provision of technical training to Climate Asset Management staff to enhance strong Corporate
* Promoting good corporate governance across Climate Asset Management and at the fund management
Oversight and supervision responsibilities:
* Supporting the Climate Asset Management Company Secretary to supervise the UK third party service
* Supervision of third-party providers for overseas fund entities, including Luxembourg and project level
About us
Climate Asset Management is an independent investment firm co-owned by HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) and Pollination. HSBC AM is the asset management arm of HSBC, one the world's leading and most respected international financial institutions. Pollination is a climate change advisory and investment firm, solely focused on accelerating the transition to a net zero, climate resilient future and a world leader in finance, investment, technology, business, law, and policy.
Climate Asset Management is a purpose-oriented investment firm, unbound by legacy, which has established a series of natural capital funds, investing in a diverse range of activities that value, preserve, protect, and enhance nature over the long-term, helping to address climate change, while delivering commercial risk- adjusted returns to investors. We aim to unlock natural capital investment opportunities at scale. Through our shareholders we leverage HSBC's experience as the world's leading bank for sustainable finance and Pollination's deep, global expertise in natural capital, mainstreaming natural capital as an asset class.
Our Purpose
Our purpose is to secure a more climate-resilient, nature-positive, and inclusive world through bold, scalable nature-based investment solutions.
Our Values
We have assembled, and continue to grow a highly motivated, multinational, and multilingual team. We aim to reflect our four core values in everything we do:
Passion: both in helping our clients achieve their objectives and in using our collective energy and expertise to help solve the big issues of the day
Integrity: both in doing the right thing and in holding ourselves accountable
Ambition: both in our optimism and our drive, aspiring to the highest quality standards and seeking to evolve and improve continually
Inclusiveness: where we prioritise diversity, equality, and inclusion, collaborating widely and connecting thoughts with technological innovation for breakthrough ideas and systemic change
Our Product Offer
We have three active investment product offerings, including:
1. A Natural Capital Fund, investing in sustainable agriculture, forestry, and environmental assets in developed economies, seeking to optimise landscapes for production and ecosystem services.
2. A Nature Based Carbon Fund, offering investors access to global nature-based carbon projects at scale in developing economies that generate high integrity carbon credits.
3. Our Carbon Nature Fund which we manage on behalf of Apple's Restore Fund, which is a unique blended strategy that combines the financial returns of the Natural Capital Fund with the impact of the Nature Based Carbon Fund.
We are continuing to fundraise for these strategies while deploying funds into projects around the world.
We will be developing second vintages and launching new investment strategies that continue to help our investors and stakeholders meet their net zero commitments while helping protect the planet from land degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change.
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Location
London (Hybrid)
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Employment Type
Full-Time
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