Company Secretary — Founding Board

The opportunity

Maison des Femmes is recruiting the Company Secretary for its founding Board — one of the small number of seats, alongside Chair and Treasurer, that complete the legal minimum required to incorporate as a CLG.
This is a genuine co-founding role: the Company Secretary joining now helps build MDF's governance and compliance backbone from a blank page — the constitution, statutory registers and board processes the whole organisation will rely on — rather than stepping into an established set of systems.
 

Term and commitment
- Initial term: 12 months, renewable — a deliberately short first commitment, designed as a mutual trial period for both MDF and the Company Secretary, rather than a standard 3-year trustee term.
- Meeting load: quarterly Board meetings (approximately 4 across the year).
Location: Dublin, with remote/hybrid participation expected for some meetings.
- Remuneration: this is a voluntary role, in line with standard practice for an Irish charity Board.
 

Beyond the four formal quarterly meetings, it would be honest to say that MDF is, right now, very much in build mode — incorporating the CLG, shaping its governance, developing its network, and progressing funding and premises workstreams in parallel. In practice, the founding Company Secretary's involvement is likely to include informal exchanges between meetings too — advice, sounding-board conversations, and hands-on support putting the governance backbone in place — not just the four formal sessions.
 

What MDF is looking for is someone who believes in this project as much as its founder does, and who is willing to bring their energy, expertise and judgement to help build it — not simply attend meetings.
 

Key Responsibilities
 

Founding-phase priorities (Year 1)
- CLG incorporation — lead the drafting and filing of MDF's constitution and its CRO Form A1, working with the solicitor and founding directors.
- Statutory registers from day one — set up and maintain the registers of members, directors and secretaries, and of charges, from incorporation.
- Charities Regulator registration — prepare and file MDF's application for registration with the Charities Regulator once incorporated.
- Governance backbone — put in place Board meeting processes — notices, agendas, minute-taking — and support the Scheme of Delegation and Terms of Reference as the Board is built out.
 

Statutory responsibilities of the Company Secretary
As a founding Board officer of a CLG being registered with the Charities Regulator, the Company Secretary carries specific compliance responsibilities in addition to the general duties of any director. Under the Companies Act 2014 and the Charities Governance Code, these typically cover:
 

- Statutory filings — prepare and file the Annual Return (Form B1) and financial statements with the Companies Registration Office (CRO) within statutory deadlines.
- Statutory registers — maintain the company's registers (members, directors and secretaries, charges) and safeguard its statutory books.
- Board administration — issue notices, prepare agendas and keep accurate minutes of Board and general meetings.
- Compliance oversight — ensure MDF complies with the Companies Act 2014, its own constitution, and Charities Regulator requirements.
- Regulator liaison — act as MDF's main point of contact for correspondence with the Charities Regulator and the CRO.
- Advising the Board — keep directors informed of their legal duties and obligations as company directors and, once registered, charity trustees.

General governance duties 
- Ensure MDF complies with its governing document, company law and charity law.
- Ensure MDF pursues the objects set out in its governing document, and applies its resources accordingly.
- Contribute to strategic direction, policy-setting and performance evaluation as a Board member.
- Safeguard MDF's good name and values.
 

Person Specification
Hard skills — essential
- Qualified solicitor or barrister, or an equivalent corporate governance/compliance professional, with working knowledge of Irish company law.
- Meticulous attention to detail, and comfort with statutory process, deadlines and documentation.
- Confident drafting and reviewing governance documents — constitution, minutes, Board papers.
 

Hard skills — desirable
- Prior experience as Company Secretary or governance officer, for another company or charity.
- Familiarity with the Charities Governance Code and Charities Regulator reporting requirements.
 

Soft skills
- Discretion and rigour — comfortable being the Board's engine room, not its public face.
- Genuine motivation for MDF's mission — this is a founding role, built from a blank page, not a CV line.
- Comfortable with ambiguity and an early-stage, largely voluntary environment, as a collaborative Board-level partner to MDF's founder rather than a hands-on operator.
- Willing to open their professional network in service of MDF's governance and institutional credibility, and based in Ireland with working knowledge of Irish company and charity law.