Company Secretarial Officer - Cape Town, Western Cape

Job Advert Summary · We are a specialist tax advisory consulting team, providing tax structuring, transactional and advisory services to corporate and high-net-worth clients. We are seeking a detail-oriented, proactive Company Secretarial Officer / Paralegal to support the team w ...

Job description

Job Advert Summary

We are a specialist tax advisory consulting team, providing tax structuring, transactional and advisory services to corporate and high-net-worth clients. We are seeking a detail-oriented, proactive Company Secretarial Officer / Paralegal to support the team with company secretarial, administration and transactional implementation functions.

The successful candidate will play a critical role in ensuring that restructures, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactions are implemented correctly from a corporate governance and legal perspective, and that client and internal compliance processes are efficiently managed.

Why Join Us

• Exposure to complex and high-value corporate transactions
• Opportunity to work closely with senior tax advisors and directors
• A collaborative, professional environment with meaningful learning and development opportunities

Growth opportunities

As part of the specialist tax advisory team, you will have the opportunity to participate in:

• Drafting basic legal and commercial agreements to implement tax restructures and transactions, including:
• • Sale of shares agreements
• Subscription agreements
• Intra-group loan agreements
• Implementation and step-plan agreements
• Assisting tax consultants with the execution of M&A transactions
• Supporting tax due diligence engagements by collating, reviewing and organising corporate documentation
• Attending client meetings and preparing clear, concise and accurate meeting notes and summaries
• Assisting with Companies Act and corporate governance compliance reviews, particularly as part of restructures and tax due diligence engagements
• Supporting risk management and quality control by ensuring alignment between tax opinions, agreements, corporate records and statutory filings

Minimum Requirements

Qualifications and Experience

• Relevant qualification in company secretarial practice, paralegal studies, or a related field
• At least 3–5 years' experience in a corporate secretarial and professional services environment
• Practical experience dealing with the CIPC and the Companies Act
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Outlook, Word and Excel
• Exposure to corporate restructures, mergers and acquisitions will be advantageous

Key Competencies and Skills

• Strong attention to detail and high levels of accuracy
• Excellent drafting and written communication skills
• Strong organisational and time-management abilities, with the capacity to manage multiple matters simultaneously
• Professional and confident communication with clients and internal stakeholders
• Ability to work independently and as part of a high-performing tax advisory team
• Ability to take ownership of personal deadlines and proactively escalate when support is needed
• Ability to conduct self-reviews before submitting work to ensure accuracy and completeness
• Comfortable liaising with senior professionals including board members and legal advisors
• Willingness to learn
• Actively contribute to a positive, respectful, and collaborative team culture
• Remain adaptable and solutions-oriented in a dynamic working environment
• Participate in continuous improvement initiatives by providing suggestions for process enhancements
• Collaborate across departments to ensure seamless service delivery and efficient workflows

Duties and Responsibilities

Main Purpose of the Position

• Tending to the implementation of transactions and restructures from a company secretarial perspective (issuing share certificates, updating share registers, drafting resolutions and simple agreements, registering and deregistering companies, liaising with the tax compliance department to submit dividends tax and securities transfer tax returns, etc.); and
• Assisting with the business administration behind our "tax advisory business" (i.e., preparing fee proposals, tending to the KYC/FICA and onboarding of new clients, and assisting with other admin-related matters).

Key Responsibilities

Company Secretarial and Corporate Governance

• Incorporation of companies with the CIPC
• Preparation, review and filing of statutory documents with the CIPC, including:
• • Director and shareholder changes
• Amendments to Memoranda of Incorporation (MOIs)
• Share issuances, transfers and reorganisations
• Drafting, reviewing and updating:
• • Memoranda of Incorporation (MOIs)
• Share registers and share certificates
• Drafting and maintaining board and shareholder resolutions in relation to the implementation of transactions
• Ensuring that restructures, group reorganisations and transactions are correctly implemented from a company secretarial and governance perspective, including tracking timelines and deliverables
• Coordination of information required for the submission of dividends tax and securities transfer tax returns by our tax compliance department
• Liaising with internal departments within the firm (including tax compliance, accounting, audit and trust teams) to ensure coordinated service delivery
• Preparing and maintaining group structure diagrams
• Maintaining and updating a precedent library of company secretarial documents, resolutions and agreements
• Compiling documents for signature and managing the signing process through platforms such as DocuSign

Client Take-on, Compliance, Internal Liaison and Administration

• Managing KYC and AML processes for new clients, including full client take-ons
• Assisting partners with administration-related matters
• Assisting with the drafting of proposals and letters of engagement
• Ensuring compliance with the firm's quality control policies and procedures