Assistant Company Secretary

C40 Cities; Johannesburg; On-site; ZAR 600,000 - 800,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading industrial group in South Africa is searching for an Assistant Company Secretary to oversee company secretarial duties across subsidiaries. The role requires strong knowledge of the Companies Act, compliance management, and corporate governance, along with at least four years of relevant experience. The successful candidate will support directors, prepare meeting agendas, and maintain statutory records, ensuring adherence to legal requirements.

Qualifications

• At least 4 years of experience as a Company Secretary.
• Strong knowledge of Companies Act and CIPC regulations.

Responsibilities

• Perform full range of company secretarial duties for subsidiaries.
• Provide support to directors and ensure compliance with legislation.
• Draft resolutions and manage statutory records.

Skills

Corporate governance

Compliance

Strong Companies Act knowledge

Job description

Our client is a JSE-listed industrial group, specializing in industrial, chemical, and logistics businesses. They operate across 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and employ over 17,000 people. They are currently looking for an Assistant Company Secretary. The successful candidate will have at least four years of experience as a Company Secretary, strong Companies Act knowledge, working knowledge of the CIPC, and excellent corporate governance skills.

The incumbent in this position is responsible for performing the full range of company secretarial duties for a portfolio of subsidiaries and associated joint ventures (private entities) within the Group. The individual will be accountable for ensuring that the companies in his/her portfolio comply with all applicable financial and legal requirements, as well as with all relevant best-practice codes, and to maintain a high standard of corporate governance. The individual must provide governance advice as needed and attend to the statutory records and other secretarial functions of the companies in his/her portfolio.

Duties include:

1. Prepare agendas and papers for board meetings and committees and publish these on the online system.
2. Provide comprehensive practical support to directors.
3. Attend board, audit, and other ad hoc committee meetings, take minutes, and manage the conduct of the meetings.
4. Provide directors with detailed guidance to properly discharge their responsibilities in the best interests of the company.
5. Ensure compliance with all applicable legislation, statutes, regulations, and relevant best practice codes.
6. Draft resolutions.
7. Lodge required statutory forms and annual returns.
8. Maintain electronic statutory records, including registers of members, directors, and secretaries.
9. Handle correspondence, collate information, write reports, communicate decisions to relevant stakeholders, and engage with management to ensure efficient management of the portfolio.
10. Attend to ad hoc assignments.
11. Handle queries relating to records of entities within the portfolio.
12. Undertake corporate actions (acquisitions/sales of entities) and assist with general mergers and takeover activities, including due diligence assessments.
13. Manage portfolio activities such as voluntary liquidations and trademarks.
14. Assist with statutory compliance of foreign subsidiaries.
15. Maintain the register of beneficial share-owners and monitor ownership changes for reporting to CIPC. Collaborate with colleagues to achieve the strategic goals of the Secretariat.