Company Secretary

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join a highly motivated, multi-jurisdictional team. In this role you will provide a broad range of corporate secretariat / corporate governance services to Swiss Re legal entities located in Africa and the wider EMEA region.

About The Role

The successful candidate will:

• Convene and service annual general meetings (AGMs), Board and Board committee meetings (including producing agendas, drafting resolutions, coordinating pre-reading, taking minutes, tracking action items, handling meeting correspondence, etc.).
• Manage the annual corporate calendar.
• Manage corporate and regulatory filings and lodge required documents and annual returns.
• Maintain corporate documents, records and filings systems (physical and electronic).
• Work closely together with Legal Counsels to ensure Swiss Re companies comply with governance requirements.
• Monitor changes in relevant legislation and the regulatory environment.
• Keep Legal Entity Governance Framework up to date (e.g. annual review of company policies & guidelines and establishing of new policies & guidelines to the extent needed).
• Support Board Member Induction and Training Programs and processes for ongoing competence assessments (e.g. Board assessments and self-assessments).
• Develop, maintain and improve templates and standard procedures for corporate governance tasks.
• Contribute to projects and collaborate with other members of the Corporate Governance & Operations EMEA Team and the wider Legal & Compliance Division.

About The Team

This position is in the Corporate Governance & Operations team, part of the wider Legal P&C and L&H Reinsurance team in the Legal & Compliance Division. The position reports directly to the Head of Company Secretariat EMEA, who is based in Zrich. The broader team has colleagues (including lawyers, paralegals and company secretaries) in various locations around the world and provides shared corporate governance and secretariat services to legal entities across the Swiss Re Group. Our team culture is based on trust, ease of interaction and fun! We value continuous development and new opportunities. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.

About You

We are looking for a Company Secretary with a law degree and/or Company Secretarial Qualification with at least 3 to 5 years Post Qualification Experience in a similar role preferably in a re/insurance or financial services institution in South Africa. You must have excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and be a proficient user of MS Office products such as Outlook, Excel, Word, Power Point.

In addition, the successful candidate would ideally have the following skills & experience:

• You are familiar with corporate governance requirements applicable to regulated companies.
• You have excellent organizational and minutes drafting skills as well as an eye for details.
• You have practical knowledge of the South African Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) processes, the Corporate Governance and King IV Report and the Companies Act and its amendments (knowledge of the Insurance Act and Prudential Standards would be a plus).
• You are well-versed in handling Senior Management requests.
• You are confident in your ability to drive matters independently while balancing the need to collaborate and maintain an appropriate level of communication and coordination with the rest of your peers.
• You demonstrate accountability, resilience when facing challenges and you are fully reliable, responsive and display a high level of energy.
• You are recognized by clients for being a reliable person, your sense of urgency and commercial mindset, and by colleagues for being a pro-active teammate with excellent inter-personal skills.

You may occasionally be required to travel between Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Preference will be given to Employment Equity candidates.

About Swiss Re

Swiss Re is one of the worlds leading providers of reinsurance, insurance and other forms of insurance-based risk transfer, working to make the world more resilient. We anticipate and manage a wide variety of risks, from natural catastrophes and climate change to cybercrime. Combining experience with creative thinking and cutting-edge expertise, we create new opportunities and solutions for our clients. This is possible thanks to the collaboration of more than 14, 000 employees across the world.

Our success depends on our ability to build an inclusive culture encouraging fresh perspectives and innovative thinking. We embrace a workplace where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive and develop professionally regardless of their age, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, skillset, thought or other characteristics. In our inclusive and flexible environment everyone can bring their authentic selves to work and their passion for sustainability.

If you are an experienced professional returning to the workforce after a career break, we encourage you to apply for open positions that match your skills and experience.

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Reference Code: 130925