Assistant Corporate Secretary

Assistant Corporate Secretary

The opportunity

The Assistant Corporate Secretary will be responsible for managing the board secretariat team and overseeing all board administration processes, including regular and special board and committee meetings, on boarding and offboarding board members, board orientation, board succession and board education.  They will also provide support and assistance to the Corporate Secretary, including project support as the need arises. They will also keep abreast of legal and governance trends and provide advice on corporate governance matters and related issues. 

Who you'll work with

You will work with internal and external contacts at all levels.  Contacts will include: Board members, Executive Team, Senior Leaders; other OTPP staff; Plan sponsors and assistants; other external contacts such as senior leaders at other pension plans.

What you'll do

Board Administration:

• Oversee the Board and various Committee meetings processes

  • Approve annual calendar for board meetings, posting deadlines for drafts and finals

  • Manage development of Board and Committee workplans, agendas and materials

  • Oversee the management of the Benefits Adjudication Committee processes performed by the Board Governance Coordinator including general meetings and hearings.  Ensure all required deadlines are met as per the hearing procedures.  Support the appeal hearing process as required

  • Organize and ensure accurate recording of the activities of the Board and Committees and draft minutes as required for regular and special Board and Committee meetings

  • Draft resolutions for Board and Committee meetings working with both the business contacts and Corporate Secretary

• Oversee preparation of other governance material including Governance Committee material and governance content in Annual Report

• Manage Board renewal and succession practices and activities, as well as Director onboarding, offboarding, orientation and education

• Provide staff resources to the Governance Committee and the Benefits Adjudication Committee of the board and work closely with the Chairs of such committees.

• Recommend and direct continuous improvement and enhancement of  (i) the board member experience generally; (ii) board orientation and education through various mediums (including on-line content, internal training, guest speakers, external training courses, and board travel ), (iii) Board communication and updates between meetings; (iv) Board meeting agendas to allow for greater time for strategic planning and oversight; (v) Board materials generally and (vi) action plans and follows up to Board effectiveness, feedback and meeting requests, including centralization of such activities.

• Liaison between board members and Executive Team to advance board effectiveness

• Responsible for overseeing maintenance of board records and electronic minute book.

Monitor emerging legal and governance trends and compliance with governing legislation and by laws:

• Ensure compliance with governing legislation, by-law and Committee Terms of Reference and that board-related policies and procedures are updated, relevant and followed

• Monitor emerging standards and legal developments in corporate governance for pension plans and corporations generally and recommend and implement industry standard processes to improve Board and organizational governance

• Management of the Board Specialists and Board Governance Co-ordinator

• Provide orientation and training to new Board members

• Provide legal advice regarding corporate governance matters

• Must be able to make independent decisions using sound business judgment.

• Ability to co-ordinate multiple tasks with a high level of initiative and ability to work well with minimum direction ensuring deadlines are met. Recognize opportunities and/or issues and proactively exercise judgment

• Ability to work with minimum supervision and under pressure in a fast-changing environment

What you'll need

• University degree in Law and an active member of a Bar Association of any Canadian provinces or territories.

• Detailed knowledge of Board processes and practices

• Demonstrate a good understanding of the role and responsibilities of the Board and its Committees

• Familiarity with Diligent BoardBooks

• MS Office skills: Word, Excel, PowerPoint;

• Ability to communicate and represent the organization in a highly professional manner with tact and diplomacy

• Results oriented, with the ability to rank priorities and deliver key initiatives.

• Strong organizational and interpersonal skills 

• Excellent written, oral and proofreading skills.

• Meticulous attention to detail

• Ability to recognize and react to confidential situations and the use of judgement in these instances

• Manage multiple tasks in a fast-moving environment.

• Ability to be flexible and respond quickly to changes.

• Establish priorities quickly and balance competing priorities on an ongoing basis

• Must be able to communicate complex matters in a concise and simplified way

• Demonstrated experience supporting and advising corporate boards of directors

• Demonstrated experience advising on corporate governance matters and general corporate law 

• Experience managing a team of board governance professionals

• Must have good judgement, strong analytical skills, think abstractly, have high standard of professional conduct

#LI-OTPP, #LI-VN, #LI-Hybrid

What we’re offering

• Pay-for-performance environment that offers competitive salary and incentive

• Numerous opportunities for professional growth and development

• Comprehensive employer paid benefits coverage

• Retirement income through a defined benefit pension plan

• The opportunity to invest back into the fund through our Deferred Incentive Program

• A flexible/hybrid work environment combining in office collaboration and remote working

• Competitive time off

• Our Flexible Travel Program gives you the option to work abroad in another region/country for up to a month each year

• Employee discount programs including Edvantage and Perkopolis

• Degreed: a digital platform that helps you quickly and easily discover, share, and track various learning resources — from courses to videos to articles and more

At Ontario Teachers', diversity is one of our core strengths. We take pride in ensuring that the people we hire and the culture we create, reflect and embrace diversity of thought, background and experience. Through our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy and our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), we celebrate diversity and foster inclusion through events for colleagues to connect for professional development, networking & mentoring.  We are building an inclusive and equitable workplace where our talent is respected, accepted and empowered to be themselves.  To learn more about our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, check out Life at Teachers'.

How to apply

Are you ready to pursue new challenges and take your career to the next level? Apply today! You may be invited to complete a pre-recorded digital interview as part of your application.

Accommodations are available upon request (peopleandculture@otpp.com) for candidates with a disability taking part in the recruitment process and once hired.

Candidates must be legally entitled to work in the country where this role is located.

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