Assistant Company Secretary

Oceana Group Limited; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 400,000 - 600,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent seafood company in Cape Town is seeking a Company Secretary Assistant to support the Group Company Secretary in providing company secretarial services and ensuring compliance with corporate governance standards. The ideal candidate will have a relevant degree and possess excellent communication and organizational skills, with 3-5 years of experience in a corporate environment. This role offers a great opportunity for growth in corporate governance and company law.

Qualifications

• 3-5 years relevant experience in corporate commercial and secretarial environment.
• Experience in drafting minutes and resolutions is essential.
• A good understanding of company law, King IV Codes and JSE listing requirements.

Responsibilities

• Maintain company records in compliance with statutory requirements.
• Assist with planning and coordinating meetings.
• Draft minutes, resolutions, and general correspondence.

Skills

Excellent interpersonal skills

Attention to detail

Excellent communication

Ability to build relationships

Customer centric and service orientated

Education

Undergraduate degree and/or Paralegal Diploma

Qualification with CGISA

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Key focus area

The role will report into the Group Company Secretary. In the role, you will be responsible for assisting and supporting the Group Company Secretary with the provision of company secretarial services and the administration of the corporate entities forming part of the business. You will assist the Group Company Secretary to support the business in the proper administration of corporate entities that form part of the business. You will provide administration and company secretarial services to a group of companies under the direction of the Group Company Secretary, ensuring all relevant statutory obligations are met. The role would be suited to an individual with an interest in developing their knowledge in the fields of corporate governance and company law.

Key Responsibilities

Company Secretarial Duties

• Responsible for the maintenance of company records in accordance with legislative, internal compliance and other statutory requirements, including, but not limited to JSE listing requirements.
• Maintenance of databases.
• To assist the Group Company Secretary with planning and coordinating for board, sub-committee and subsidiary meetings in a listed and non-listed environment.
• Drafting of minutes, resolutions and general correspondence and arranging for various documents as required.
• Collate board packs using appropriate software.
• Ensure any changes to companies are appropriately approved and lodged.
• Submission of annual returns, regulatory submissions and ad-hoc statutory requests.
• Regular liaison with third parties including auditors and the CIPC.
• Building and maintaining sound stakeholder relationships.
• Keep abreast with new developments/legislation, pertaining to corporate entities including relevant tax legislation.
• Recording and communicating legislative changes.
• To assist the Group Company Secretary in providing advice to the board and management in relation to applicable legislative and other statutory requirements.
• Acting as first reviewer of work produced.
• Ensure that all statutory filing is completed in accordance with deadlines set out in relevant legislation.
• Ensure minute logs are maintained accurately and updated in a timely manner as required.
• Lead training sessions to management and senior leadership forums on topics relevant to executive management and senior management.
• Ensure statutory records (register of members, register of directors etc.) are accurately maintained at all times.
• Assist with coordinating full board meeting processes, from preparation of board packs through to timely signing of minutes and updates of action item logs.
• Support with meeting logistics for NED travel and related co-ordination for attendance at meetings, roadshows, site visits, inductions etc.
• Ensure actions noted in board meetings are completed in a timely manner.
• Ensure timely signing of minutes following meeting, in accordance with pre-agreed deadlines.
• Act in the best interests of the company by supporting the business impeccably.
• Support to the Company Secretary team, working independently as the key point of contact for the relevant subsidiary boards and support with the main listed Board.
• Organise and administer the co-ordination and related logistics for the smooth running of meetings, producing accurate minutes and resolutions for all subsidiary entities and trusts.
• Maintains statutory records, registers and lodges the necessary returns to ensure compliance with the Companies Act, Trust Property Control Act and related legislation.
• Support and Maintain the OGL and subsidiary Board Calendar and manage meeting invitations.
• Deep knowledge of the operation of CIPC to ensure the business remains compliant with applicable legislation and regulations.
• Support with the filing of Annual Returns process.
• Remain abreast of all changes in governance and regulatory environment in SA, Namibia and internationally - based on Group and subsidiary operations.
• Identify all amendments to legislation, draft legislation and new legislative that impact or could impact the governance universe.
• Provide technical input on proposed changes to relevant legislation.
• Report to and make recommendations regarding the development of policies and procedures to improve the governance function.
• Assist with audit requests, as required.
  
  

Reporting

• Assist with preparing and ancillary documents for the AGM and other corporate actions as required.
  
  

Registrar Interactions

• Assist with updating the corporate website for shareholder services.
• Liaise with Share Registry re: shareholder queries by email, post or telephone.
  
  

Corporate Website

• Conduct a regular audit of the website to ensure that the governance, Board members, Board Committee pages are up to date.
• Ensure that all SENS announcements are on the website and if any other pages need updating, information is supplied by relevant parties and updated by the Communications Team.
  
  

Other

• Lead Secretarial projects as requires, ensuring a relentless focus on simplicity, agility and strong risk management.
• Assist in identifying, analysing and reporting on the regulatory developments and best practice corporate governance.
• Support the company secretary team with reconciling budget and manage accounts.
  
  

Required Qualifications

• A suitable undergraduate degree and/or Paralegal Diploma
• An Admitted Attorney would be an added advantage with general corporate commercial, legal compliance and company secretarial experience.
• A Qualification with Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA) or similar would be an added advantage.
  
  

Experience And Skills

• 3-5 years relevant experience within a corporate commercial and corporate secretarial environment.
• Experience in drafting minutes and resolutions is essential.
• Proficient user of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, experience in supervising others preferable, but not essential.
• Experience operating in a team environment with appropriate maturity and emotional intelligence.
• Excellent attention to detail and high levels of accuracy.
• Excellent communication and organisation skills.
• A good understanding of company law, King IV Codes and JSE listing requirements.
• Motivated and driven with a good attitude to learning in a pressured environment.
  
  

Essential Behavioural Competencies

• Customer centric and service orientated
• Ability to build relationships
• Ability to think quickly and find alternate solutions
• Multi-tasking
• Attention to detail / Meticulous
• Good planning and organizational skills
• Good verbal & written communication skills
• Resilient with high stress tolerance
• Assertiveness