Job purpose

The Secretarial Manager is responsible for leading the day-to-day operations of the company secretarial team, ensuring technical accuracy, compliance, and governance in all company secretarial processes, the delivery of high-quality, compliant, and efficient services to clients. This role combines technical governance expertise with people management, workflow oversight, and strategic input. The Secretarial Manager supports the Head of Secretarial, manages a portfolio of high-value clients, oversees a team of consultants, administrators, and assistants, manages a portfolio of clients, and acts as the primary escalation point for complex matters. The role requires strong leadership, proactive problem-solving, and a commitment to continuous improvement, with accountability for team performance and technical compliance, client satisfaction, billing recovery, and operational excellence.

Main responsibilities and accountabilities

The successful candidate will be required to handle (but is not limited to) the following:

• Provide strategic direction and oversight to the secretarial team.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Lead by example in professionalism, client service, and technical excellence.
• Drive alignment between team goals and firm-wide objectives.
• Oversee the daily and technical operations of the designated secretarial team, ensuring timely and accurate delivery of services.
• Monitor the designated team workloads and reallocate tasks as needed to meet deadlines and client expectations.
• Conduct daily stand-ups or check-ins to track progress and address blockers.
• Ensure all client instructions are logged, tracked, and completed in accordance with internal SLAs.
• Manage high-volume and complex client portfolios with multiple concurrent deliverables.
• Track and enforce deadlines for statutory filings, annual compliance, and client deliverables.
• Maintain oversight of the Jira Secretarial Portal and GreatSoft dashboards to ensure task visibility and accountability.
• Coordinate with other departments (e.g. Tax, Audit, Legal) on cross-functional projects.
• Act as the primary escalation point for client issues, technical queries, or internal bottlenecks.
• Resolve escalated matters promptly and professionally, involving the Head of Secretarial or Partners where necessary.
• Maintain a log of escalations and resolutions for continuous improvement and training purposes.
• Review and sign off on all high-risk or complex filings, resolutions, and governance documents.
• Approve client communications, compliance packs, and review support materials on the Secretarial Portal.
• Ensure quality control and consistency across all outputs from the designated secretarial team.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key clients, acting as a strategic advisor on governance and compliance matters.
• Conduct regular client check-ins and annual service reviews.
• Ensure client satisfaction through proactive communication, issue resolution, and value-added insights.
• Train the consultants and junior administrators in responding and reacting to client requests and escalations.
• Collaborate closely with Partners and Directors to align secretarial services with broader client strategies.
• Provide updates on client matters, team performance, and risk areas.
• Support Partners in business development efforts and client onboarding.
• Generate and analyse reports on team performance, SLA adherence, and compliance metrics.
• Present monthly dashboards to the Head of Secretarial and COO.
• Identify trends, risks, and opportunities for process improvement.
• Oversee billing processes for the secretarial team, ensuring accurate and timely invoicing.
• Review and approve fee estimates, engagement letters, and billing schedules.
• Liaise with the finance teams of the groups to resolve billing queries and monitor collections.
• Onboard new team members and provide ongoing training.
• Conduct monthly check-ins and team one-on-ones.
• Ensure continuous professional development and knowledge sharing within the team.
• Ensure technical company secretarial compliance is addressed in all processes followed by the secretarial team.
• Assist with technical queries and opinions, have an understanding of board support, and other technical responsibilities.
• Be the support for the Head of Secretarial.
• Manage technical aspects of CIPC, KING IV, Companies Act, FICA, etc.
• Contribute to policy development, template creation, or process improvement.
• Take ownership of defining problems, scoping with the Operations Teams, and implementing and testing solutions.
• Involved in risk management or internal audit preparation by raising risks and giving feedback to COO and Head of Secretarial.

Personal Competencies:

• Proactiveness: Anticipates client and team needs, taking initiative without waiting for direction.
• Problem Solving: Approaches challenges analytically and collaboratively, offering practical solutions.
• Life-Long Learning: Keeps abreast with legislative changes, governance trends, and professional development.
• Technology Adoption: Embraces and champions the use of digital tools (e.g. Jira, GreatSoft, DocuSign) to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Experience and Qualifications:

• At least 5 years of experience in a management role.
• At least 8 years of experience in Company Secretarial
• Experience in an audit firm will be an advantage
• A relevant degree or diploma in law, commerce, business administration, or corporate governance is often required.
• A Chartered Governance qualification through the Chartered Governance Institute of Southern Africa (CGISA).

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