Assistant Company Secretary at Robert Walters

• Role Objective: As the Assistant Group Company Secretary, you will play a critical role in supporting the Chief Legal Officer in managing company secretarial responsibilities including corporate governance and legal and regulatory compliance matters.

Key Responsibilities:

Governance, Legal, and Regulatory Compliance:

• Timeously arrange board and board committee meetings for the Group. Ensure timely preparation and distribution of meeting agendas, collate information from various departments and prepare and distribute packs timeously. Draft, finalize and distribute minutes for board and board committee meetings within 1 week following conclusion of meetings.
• Coordinate meeting logistics including travel, accommodation, scheduling, venue arrangements, refreshments and necessary IT and audio-visual support.
• Facilitate transparent and effective communication with the Board of Directors and Shareholder Representatives on all relevant matters, managing expectations and maintaining confidentiality.
• Ensure information dissemination, in accordance with Board approval, for the execution of the Group.
• Enable proper management and oversight of Board matters such as the payment of Board member fees, access to software and subscriptions etc.
• Draft, implement and review board and committee terms of reference.
• Develop, implement and adhere to business processes for the efficient functioning of the company secretariat department, including adherence to applicable SOPs.
• Review, update and maintain the Group structure, including entity management, shareholding changes, and directorship updates.
• Maintain, manage and update statutory records across the Group and provide same for the purposes of transactions such as mergers and acquisitions and where applicable, to relevant stakeholders such as auditors, bankers and the Group consolidation team.
• Ensure annual maintenance of business licenses for entities based in the different jurisdictions including Mauritius and UAE.
• Draft, review, and circulate relevant documents such as resolutions ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and shareholder agreements, coordinating with stakeholders across business units.
• Provide legal opinion/ support in respect of inter alia mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic transactions such as debt-equity infusions and loan agreements and corporate governance, legal and regulatory compliance matters.
• Provide guidance and advice in respect of corporate actions.
• Oversee/Contribute to the process of annual reporting.
• Manage the company secretariat department’s external service providers to ensure effective and efficient support to the Group at cost sensitive rates.
• Participate in the preparation of and planning, during the budget approval cycle for the company secretariat department.
• In compliance with company policy or directives, administer funds in accordance with approved budgets and report accordingly.
• Monitor team expenditure and adjust or respond appropriately.
• Lead or support on ad hoc matters / issues as required.

Stakeholder Relationship Management:

• Leverage key relationships to enhance operational efficiency and build long-term networks.
• Ensure the company secretariat function upholds a high standard of service, confidentiality and maintains a strong reputation.
• Maintain relationships with external service providers, optimizing cost-effectiveness through strategic partnerships.

Team Support and Development:

• Monitor and review the company secretary team performance to ensure timely and satisfactory outputs.
• Address business conflicts to prioritize and efficiently deliver services to stakeholders.

UBOs and Trusts Management:

• Manage company secretarial matters related to Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) and Trusts, including document dissemination and relationship management with agents and trustees.

Experience & Qualifications:

• Formal Education: Bachelors degree in Law – admitted attorney.
• Certifications: Chartered Company Secretary or similar.
• Relevant Experience (Years): + 10 years extensive experience in a global organisation or similar, as a company secretary or an assistant company secretary.

Job Related Skills and Competencies:

• Polished, mature professional with a high EQ who exhibits gravitas and inspires strong team performance.
• Intellectual rigor – appropriate guidance in board debates.
• Boardroom suite presence – not merely a “scribe”.
• Understanding of board dynamics.
• Always demonstrates integrity and manages confidential information with utmost discretion.
• An excellent communicator both verbal and written with all relevant stakeholders (including shareholders, directors, executives) across different cultures and across all levels.
• Excellent drafting skills including minute taking.
• Methodical, analytical, common-sense approach, detail-orientated & accurate.
• Demonstrate commercial astuteness at a strategic level incorporating good business judgement and problem-solving abilities to reach sound decision-making.
• Results driven; deadline & business solution focused with a keen sense of urgency.
• Be flexible, perform under pressure and maintain a positive attitude in all circum-stances.
• Ability to prioritize, plan and manage time effectively and efficiently with a high atten-tion to detail.
• Knowledgeable in Excel, PowerPoint, Word as well as board pack related software.