About the position
Assistant Company Secretary
Umhlanga, KwaZulu Natal
The Assistant Company Secretary provides hands-on support across the organisation's governance and statutory compliance activities. The role works closely with the Company Secretary, Board, Board Committees and senior leadership to ensure that governance processes are accurate, timely and aligned with applicable legislation, regulatory expectations and recognised corporate governance standards.
Key responsibilities
Corporate governance
• Assist with the design, implementation and ongoing review of the corporate governance framework.
• Track legislative, regulatory and governance developments and help assess their impact on the organisation, its Board and management.
• Coordinate governance content and disclosures required for the annual report.
• Maintain Board and management committee charters, governance frameworks and policy registers, ensuring that documents are reviewed and approved within the required cycles.
• Work with business functions to develop new policies and align them with local regulatory obligations and group standards.
• Manage the annual governance calendar and monitor Board, committee, shareholder and regulatory deliverables.
• Coordinate Board, committee and director effectiveness evaluations and support the implementation of agreed actions.
• Promote governance practices consistent with the Companies Act, Banks Act, King IV, Prudential Authority expectations and relevant group requirements.
Board committee and shareholder administration
• Coordinate the full meeting cycle for the Board and its committees, including calendars, agendas, annual workplans, submissions, meeting packs and secure portal administration.
• Review Board and committee papers for completeness, quality and governance compliance, and follow up on late or outstanding submissions.
• Attend Board, Board Committee and relevant management committee meetings and prepare accurate minutes, resolutions and action schedules.
• Ensure approved minutes and resolutions are signed, securely retained and entered into the appropriate statutory or minute records.
• Arrange induction programmes for newly appointed directors and coordinate ongoing director development and mandatory governance training.
• Maintain director declarations, independence reviews and fit-and-proper records.
• Support director appointment processes, succession planning and related governance administration.
• Provide practical guidance to the Board and individual directors regarding their governance duties and responsibilities.
• Assist with the planning and administration of the Annual General Meeting and other shareholder meetings.
Statutory and regulatory compliance
• Coordinate statutory filings and submissions to CIPC, the FSCA and other relevant regulatory authorities.
• Maintain accurate statutory registers and records for directors, prescribed officers, shareholders and Board Committees.
• Prepare and submit annual returns and other statutory documentation within prescribed deadlines.
• Maintain a central compliance tracker for governance obligations, approvals, filings and renewals.
• Monitor governance requirements applicable to prescribed officers and other key persons.
Risk ethics and compliance support
• Assist the Board and relevant committees with oversight of ethics and compliance programmes.
• Provide governance support to risk management and assurance processes.
• Maintain conflict-of-interest, declaration and related governance registers.
• Support the Social, Ethics and Conduct Committee in meeting its statutory and governance responsibilities.
Qualifications and experience
• Bachelor's degree in Law, Corporate Governance, Commerce, Business Administration or a related discipline.
• A Chartered Governance Professional qualification through CGISA or CGI, or active progress towards the qualification, will be advantageous.
• Five to eight years of relevant company secretarial or corporate governance experience.
• Previous experience supporting Boards and Board Committees in banking, financial services or a listed organisation.
• Strong working knowledge of the Companies Act, Banks Act, Prudential Authority requirements, FSCA regulations and King IV principles.
• Demonstrated ability to draft clear, accurate Board and committee minutes and resolutions.
Desired Skills:
- Corporate Governance
- Board
- Committees
- legislative
- governance frameworks
- policy
- committee charters
