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Company Secretary

The Role:
Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to build your Board experience and make an important contribution to Society? Are you a professional individual looking for a chance to provide your valuable knowledge and expertise to make a real difference to the people we serve?

Helplink Mental Health (www.helplink.ie) is looking to expand its Board of Directors. The Board roles are voluntary.  Members are required to become Directors of the Company and the commitment is to attend Board meetings throughout the year.

We are a transparent organisation and welcome active participation by our Board Members. We are seeking individuals with a keen interest in the field of mental health.

Ideally the candidate would be located in Galway, Mayo, or Roscommon area but we are happy to consider other suitably qualified candidates who are resident in Ireland.  

Responsibilities
As a Board Member, you will regularly attend Board meetings – sharing your knowledge and skill.
As a Board Member, you will be making a serious commitment to participate actively in committees including initiating and accepting strategic assignments, and will build effective relationships with other Board Members to ensure the successful operation of the Board.

Essential Skills/Experience 

We are seeking candidates for the role of Company Secretary to ensure that relevant rules and regulations of the Companies Act are complied with. 

The duties include:

  • Administration and compliance:
    • Maintaining the register of any members, the register of trustees / directors and secretaries, the register of trustees’ and secretary’s interests;
    • Being familiar with the charity’s governing document, the legal responsibilities of charities under the Charities Act 2009 and the charity’s internal governance rules;
    • Helping to ensure that charity trustees file all relevant statutory returns and information with the Charities Regulator (e.g. annual reports, changes to the charity’s details and/or trustees’ details);
    • Ensuring that the board of charity trustees are aware of the requirements to comply with the relevant codes such as the charity’s Code of Conduct for Charity Trustees and the Charities Governance Code; 
    • Ensuring that decisions and actions of the board of charity trustees are accurately recorded and implemented;
    •  Tracking progress with the charity’s risk register/ business plan/ strategic plan and making sure any correspondence for the charity trustees is brought to the attention of the board.
  • Preparing for board meetings:
    • Making sure the timetable of board meetings for the year ahead is agreed;
    • Sending out notification of board meetings to charity trustees (and others where applicable); Working with the Chairperson of the board to set each board meeting agenda, including the management of any agenda items received from other charity trustees;
    • Circulation of board papers/pack at least five days in advance of meetings;
    • Making sure the timetable of board meetings for the year ahead is agreed;
    • Sending out notification of board meetings to charity trustees (and others where applicable);
    • Working with the Chairperson of the board to set each board meeting agenda, including the management of any agenda items received from other charity trustees;
    • Circulation of board papers/pack at least five days in advance of meetings;
    • Dealing with any issues charity trustees have regarding board papers/pack;
    • Checking that a quorum1 is present (and that it is present throughout the meeting if required) and being aware of any proxy voting arrangements if allowed by the charity’s governing document;
    • Ensuring the venue/room is prepared appropriately for the meeting Dealing with any issues charity trustees have regarding board papers/pack;
    • Checking that a quorum1 is present (and that it is present throughout the meeting if required) and being aware of any proxy voting arrangements if allowed by the charity’s governing document;
    • Ensuring the venue/room is prepared appropriately for the meeting;
  • Taking meeting minutes.
    • Taking the minutes at board meetings and maintaining the records of all meeting minutes;
    • Keeping a record of all issues discussed, decisions taken and any actions required to implement a decision;
    • Working closely with the Chairperson to ensure that the draft minutes are accurate; 1 Your charity’s quorum is the minimum number of charity trustees required to participate in the meeting for the meeting to be a valid meeting of the board of a charity.  
    •  Issuing draft minutes to charity trustees for consideration after board meetings and dealing with any subsequent requests for corrections to be made before they are formally approved;
    • Ensuring that minutes are stored safely and are accessible by the Chairperson of the board and any other charity trustee if required.
  • Other meetings.
    • The secretary will normally play a support role in setting up and running any Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) where required. The secretary may delegate some or all of these duties, but responsibility for his or her performance remains with the secretary.

While no formal qualifications are required, some of the following Qualities and skills required would be a plus.

  • Knowledge of company and charity law
  • Understanding the role and responsibilities of the Board
  • A commitment to mental health,
  • Ability to play a strategic role to successfully effect change and meet objectives of the company
  • A background in Business/ Accounting / Finance
  • HR Management/ Legal skills and experience
  • Experience with PR/ Marketing/ Market Research
  • Experience with Governance in the voluntary & community sector
  • Well organised and an eye for detail.

The board is meeting 10 time a year + AGM.  Meeting are a mix of in-person and remote.

Previous board experience is a plus, but motivation and engagement toward the charity best interest is essential.

While the location is Galway, the board is well experienced in Virtual Meetings, and with our recent expansion in the West we would encourage any candidates with the relevant skills who are resident in Ireland to apply.

Company Secretary

Published on 12.03.2024

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