Assistant Company Secretary

Purpose of the Role

The Santam Group of companies has a position available for a seasoned Assistant Company Secretary who will be based in Tygervalley, Cape Town.

 The successful incumbent will provide company secretarial support services to the Santam Group of companies by assisting the Group Company Secretary with ensuring compliance will all applicable statutory regulations and corporate governance practices.

 He/she will be an integral part of Santam’s Group governance functionaries and will liaise closely with the Boards of directors, executive management, senior management representatives and the heads of control functions by providing strategic input, organizing and facilitating meetings, preparing and distributing meeting packs as well as maintaining meticulous and accurate company records.

 The successful incumbent will, furthermore, be required to assist the Group Company Secretary with maintaining the Santam Group’s statutory records, draft and manage regulatory submissions, coordinate statutory audits as well as facilitate effective communication between key stakeholders.

Overview of Role Responsibilities (Level 1-13)

Legal- Level 7 - Optimisation
Design, develop, and deliver the organization's legal service with guidance from senior colleagues.

Corporate Representation- Level 7 - Optimisation
Represent the organization or institution in a variety of industry, institutional, and/or professional forums, boards, and committees, in order to promote the company or institution brand or efforts. Focus is on their own expertise. May involve preparation of presentations and materials for professional partnering meetings, seminars, and conferences.

Information and Business Advice- Level 7 - Optimisation
Provide specialist advice on the interpretation and application of policies and procedures, resolving complex or contentious queries and issues and enabling others to take appropriate actions.

Board Relationship- Level 10 - Creation
Develop and improve relationships with board members, identifying priorities, issues, and strategic challenges and preparing them for discussion. Work is focused on a significant function or equivalent area of the business.

Corporate Governance- Level 7 - Optimisation
Manage specific segments of corporate governance, implementing effective practices, enforcing financial reporting, risk management, and compliance standards.

Required Skills

Policy and Regulation - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to interpret and apply knowledge of laws, regulations and policies in area of expertise. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

Presentation Skills - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to communicate and deliver information verbally in a clear, concise and compelling manner to other people. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

Legal Communication - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to communicate effectively on legal matters. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

Written Communication - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to express ideas, request actions, formulate plans, and policies by means of clear and effective writing. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

Legal Compliance and Procedures - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to ensure adherence to relevant laws, regulations, and internal policies within legal proceedings and documentation. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

Document Management - Advanced
Works at an advanced level to use document management tools to manage, view, organize, and store documents. Typically works independently and provides guidance.

General Experience

The successful incumbent’s duties will include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The maintenance, administration and legal entity management of the companies within the Santam Group, by ensuring compliance with applicable local and international regulatory requirements. This includes drafting and managing legal and statutory filings as well as overseeing the Group of companies’ annual returns and CIPC administration; 
• Prepare, coordinate and distribute Board submissions and meeting packs effectively and within the agreed timelines (including drafting agendas, the minutes of meetings and related Board papers in a concise and accurate manner); 
• Ensure that the Company’s governance framework is appropriately developed, embedded, maintained and communicated to key stakeholders; 
• Assist with the administration of Santam’s Board evaluations and statutory and/or corporate governance audits; 
• Keep abreast of regulatory and statutory changes and policies that might affect the Santam Group of companies. This includes reviewing all amendments to, or regulations and practice notes issued under the auspices of the Companies Act, insurance legislation and/or corporate governance related regulatory requirements;
• Assist the Group Company Secretary with ensuring compliance with the Companies Act and other related regulatory requirements and governance standards as well as the Debt and Specialist Securities Listings Requirements of the JSE Limited. This includes drafting and coordinating SENS announcements as and when required;
• Assist with the maintenance of share registers, shareholder communication and coordinating the processing and payment of dividends;
• Maintain and organise Company records (both physical and digital) by applying document control. This includes drafting and reviewing legal, contractual and/or compliance related documentation as and when required;
• Maintain and safeguard the confidentiality of all company secretarial, statutory records and other corporate documents in the best interest of Santam and its key stakeholders;
• Assist with the induction, orientation, the ongoing training and empowerment of directors, including assessing the specific training needs of the Board and executive management that are associated with their fiduciary and/or other governance responsibilities;
• Provide assistance and company secretarial support services to the Group Company Secretary as and when required;
• Assist with the safekeeping and updating of Company records, regulatory filings, share certificates, share registers and ancillary governance related registers (e.g. directors and other key person’s declaration of interest registers, Fit and Proper Registers, KYC information etc); and
• Assist with and support ad hoc projects to improve company secretarial processes, compliance, corporate governance related aspects and/or investor relations.

Managerial Experience

Experience of general supervision of more junior colleagues

Education

Required Behavioural Competencies