Legal Secretary

Teya

Hello. We’re Teya. Teya was founded on a simple belief: local businesses deserve better. They are the cafés, restaurants, salons, shops and entrepreneurs that bring character to our high streets, create jobs and keep communities moving. Yet for too long, financial services has made life harder for them - with clunky tools, poor support and complexity that gets in the way of running a business. Teya exists to change that. We’re building a financial platform for local businesses across Europe - one built around simple tools, thoughtful design and real human support. Our Members rely on us to help them run their business with confidence, and that responsibility shapes the way we work. We move fast. We care about quality. We stay close to the detail. And we believe great performance and genuine hospitality should go hand in hand. If you want to build meaningful products, solve real problems and make a genuine difference for local businesses, we’d love to hear from you Your Mission: At Teya, we’re building the future of fintech for small businesses, and our Legal team is a key partner in enabling that growth. As Legal Secretary, you will support our legal and corporate governance work, with a focus on KYC, banking relationships, powers of attorney and day-to-day legal administration. You will work closely with the Legal, Company Secretary and Finance teams, as well as local advisers, to keep our entity, banking and documentation landscape organised and up to date. In this role, you will: * Support a solutions-driven legal team in building simple, efficient processes for KYC, banking and entity management. * Act as the main coordinator for KYC and banking documentation (answering due-diligence requests, assembling KYC packs, and supporting bank account openings and periodic reviews). * Maintain and update authorised signatory lists and standard authorisation documents (including powers of attorney), and coordinate their signing, notarisation / legalisation and filing. * Prepare and file statutory forms with Companies House (or relevant registry), including changes to directors, registered office, and share capital. * Liaise with external registrars, agents, and overseas counsel on routine corporate filings and document requests. * Maintain the entity management database and assist with group structure charts and subsidiary records. * Handle purchase orders and invoice approvals for external advisers, and help track and manage legal and corporate secretarial spend. * Help prepare and circulate board and committee packs, and note key actions from internal legal or governance meetings where needed. * Support the corporate governance team in preparing for and attending board meetings. * Draft and circulate board and committee papers, agendas, and minutes under the supervision of the Company Secretary or governance lawyers where needed. * Manage the governance team's calendar of board and committee meetings, AGMs, and key filing deadlines. * Coordinate signature processes for corporate and commercial documents (DocuSign and wet-ink), keeping simple trackers so nothing is missed. * Provide general administrative support to the Legal team (meetings, calendar invites, couriers, filing) and monitor the shared Legal mailbox, routing queries to the right people. * Support wider legal and corporate governance work as required, including basic drafting and formatting of documents, letters and presentations. Your Story Core Experience * Minimum of 2 years’ experience working as a Legal Secretary or in a similar legal administrative role * Proven experience supporting senior stakeholders, with the confidence and professionalism to interact at executive level * Experience operating in dynamic, cross-functional environments, collaborating effectively with legal, finance, and operational teams Key Skills & Attributes * Exceptional attention to detail, with a structured and methodical approach to work * Strong sense of ownership and accountability, with a track record of proactively driving tasks through to completion (including follow-ups and stakeholder coordination) * Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously * Proactive problem-solver, able to identify blockers early and take initiative to resolve issues independently * Clear and professional communication skills, both written and verbal Desirable (Nice to Have) * Experience supporting processes such as KYC, bank account openings, notarisation, or working closely with treasury or finance teams The Perks * We trust you, so we offer flexible working hours, as long it suits both you and your team; * Physical and mental health support through our partnership with GymPass giving free access to over 1,500 gyms in the UK, 1-1 therapy, meditation sessions, digital fitness and nutrition apps; * Our company offers extended and improved maternity and paternity leave choices, giving employees more flexibility and support; * Cycle-to-Work Scheme; * Health and Life Insurance; * Pension Scheme; * 25 days of Annual Leave (+ Bank Holidays); * Office snacks every day; * Friendly, comfortable and informal office environment in Central London. Teya is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or background can thrive and do their best work. We believe that a diverse team leads to better ideas, stronger outcomes, and a more supportive workplace for all. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process whether for interviews, assessments, or other parts of the application—we encourage you to let us know. We are committed to ensuring that every candidate has a fair and accessible experience with us.

Financial Times

About us The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere. Build a newsworthy career at the FT.   Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion  We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups.   The Role The Financial Times is recruiting for maternity cover for one of the commercial contracts lawyer roles based at our office in Belfast, Northern Ireland OR based fully remotely anywhere in the UKThis is a three month fixed term maternity cover position, and we are looking for someone available for an immediate start. This is a salaried position.  The FT’s highly regarded in-house legal team is based across offices in both London and Belfast. The Belfast team currently comprises four commercial lawyers who report into a Senior Legal Counsel (also based in Belfast) and the FT’s deputy company secretary. The Belfast legal team provides dedicated support to important business divisions within the Financial Times, including the FT corporate subscriptions and licensing business, the Financial Times Live global conferences and events business (http://www.ft-live.com), FT’s thought leadership business, FT Longitude, and the FT Specialist range of titles. This fixed term contract provides the opportunity to work either fully remotely from anywhere in the UK, or as hybrid working based at either our Belfast or London office.    Key responsibilities  * Advising the business on contracts with clients from a wide range of industries and jurisdictions * Engaging directly in negotiating contract terms with external customers * Providing highly responsive and commercial advice  * Managing contracts which are usually based on standard templates, but can be subject to extensive negotiation * Understanding how the templates reflect the FT’s business model and updating templates as required to meet changing business needs and product developments * Delivering training to business partners * Using leading legal AI tools to develop and implement agentic solutions that streamline workflows and enhance the delivery of high-quality legal advice    Required skills and experience  Essential * Solicitor qualified in the UK. * Excellent verbal and written communication skills * Strong commercial contract drafting skills and legal knowledge, with a good understanding of copyright, licensing, indemnity and liability issues * Demonstrates commercial awareness that takes strategic objectives into account * Highly organised, flexible and with the ability to prioritise and keep colleagues and managers informed * Can build effective relationships within the legal team and wider business Desirable * Previous in-house experience. * A forward-thinking approach to legal practice, with a strong interest in—or practical experience of—utilising advanced legal AI tools to design workflows and agentic solutions that improve efficiency.    What’s in it for you? Our benefits Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here. We currently operate a hybrid model which requires staff to work onsite 50% of the time, subject to role requirements & regular review. While flexible working requests will be considered, not all patterns are suitable for all roles. We believe this balanced approach supports flexibility and protects our culture, making collaboration and communication easier, building stronger relationships and team cohesion, and supporting peer learning.  We reserve discretion on reasonable notice to change this approach either generally or for specific individuals or teams.   Accessibility We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help.   Further information At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may leverage AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all. Please beware of fraudulent job postings and offers claiming to be from the Financial Times. All legitimate opportunities will direct you to apply through the official Financial Times careers site, and the FT will never ask for financial information, payments, or referrals to third parties during the hiring process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a job posting or suspect any scam activity, please contact talent@ft.com.  Interested in the FT but don’t see the right role yet? Join our Talent Community to receive exclusive updates, featured jobs, and insights into working at the FT.   #LI-NE1

Teya

Hello. We’re Teya. Teya was founded on a simple belief: local businesses deserve better. They are the cafés, restaurants, salons, shops and entrepreneurs that bring character to our high streets, create jobs and keep communities moving. Yet for too long, financial services has made life harder for them - with clunky tools, poor support and complexity that gets in the way of running a business. Teya exists to change that. We’re building a financial platform for local businesses across Europe - one built around simple tools, thoughtful design and real human support. Our Members rely on us to help them run their business with confidence, and that responsibility shapes the way we work. We move fast. We care about quality. We stay close to the detail. And we believe great performance and genuine hospitality should go hand in hand. If you want to build meaningful products, solve real problems and make a genuine difference for local businesses, we’d love to hear from you YOUR MISSION As our Company Secretary, you’ll help design, run and continuously improve Teya’s group-wide governance framework. You’ll play a key role in ensuring our Boards and committees are effective, well supported and aligned with company law, regulatory expectations and the needs of a fast-growing business. RESPONSIBILITIES Board and committee governance * Act as Company Secretary for key Teya entities and support company secretarial governance across the wider group. * Design and manage annual Board and committee calendars, forward plans, agendas and action logs in line with strategic and regulatory priorities. * Help teams prepare high-quality Board and committee materials that support strong decision-making. * Attend relevant Board and committee meetings, advising on governance processes, directors’ duties, conflicts of interest and decision-making mechanics. * Oversee the preparation, approval and safekeeping of minutes, resolutions and Board decisions, ensuring an accurate and timely record. * Support Chairs with Board and committee effectiveness reviews and follow through on agreed actions. Group governance and shareholder matters * Maintain clear governance frameworks across key entities, including Board composition, reserved matters and decision rights. * Coordinate Board and shareholder approvals, ensuring the right documentation is in place and executed on time. * Keep group corporate governance policies up to date and make sure they are implemented and monitored effectively. Board effectiveness and information flow * Support the design of Boards and committees that are fit for purpose, with the right mix of skills, independence, diversity and regulatory alignment. * Lead periodic Board and committee effectiveness reviews and drive the follow-up actions that improve structure, process and behaviour. * Establish efficient information flows between Boards, committees, management forums and regulated entities, with clear escalation and reporting. * Coordinate induction and ongoing training for directors, including governance and regulatory updates. Governance advisory and regulatory support * Act as a trusted adviser to senior leadership on governance, corporate structure and Board or shareholder processes. * Help embed a strong governance culture built on accountability, transparency and effective risk oversight. * Provide pragmatic governance input on strategic projects, M&A activity and new business or product initiatives. * Coordinate governance elements of regulatory submissions. REQUIREMENTS * Strong experience in company secretarial, corporate governance or legal governance roles, ideally in a regulated or multi-entity environment * A solid understanding of Board and committee governance, company law and governance best practices * Experience supporting senior stakeholders, including executives, Board members and committee Chairs * Confidence managing complex approval processes, governance documentation and competing priorities * Strong judgement, discretion and attention to detail * The ability to balance rigour with pragmatism in a fast-moving environment * Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the confidence to challenge constructively when needed * Experience working with regulated entities, banking licence programmes or SMCR-style governance structures would be a strong advantage WHY THIS ROLE MATTERS This role sits at the centre of how Teya makes important decisions as we scale. You’ll help ensure our governance is robust, effective and ready for the next stage of growth, while enabling leadership teams and Boards to operate with clarity, confidence and pace. THE PERKS * Flexible working hours built on trust and collaboration * Physical and mental health support through Wellhub, including access to 1,500+ gyms, 1-1 therapy, meditation, and wellbeing apps * Enhanced maternity and paternity leave * Cycle-to-Work Scheme * Health and Life Insurance * Pension Scheme * 25 days of annual leave (+ bank holidays) * Daily office snacks * Friendly, informal office environment in Central London Teya is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment where everyone regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or background can thrive and do their best work. We believe that a diverse team leads to better ideas, stronger outcomes, and a more supportive workplace for all. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process whether for interviews, assessments, or other parts of the application—we encourage you to let us know. We are committed to ensuring that every candidate has a fair and accessible experience with us.