Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at ABSA Bank

Legal Counsel and Company Secretary at ABSA Bank

Legal Counsel and Company Secretary 

ABSA Bank

Empowering Africa’s tomorrow, together…one story at a time.

With over 100 years of rich history and strongly positioned as a local bank with regional and international expertise, a career with our family offers the opportunity to be part of this exciting growth journey, to reset our future and shape our destiny as a proudly African group.

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Job Summary

Accountability: Legal Duties

• Manage Legal and Regulatory Risks (referred to below as ‘Legal & Regulatory’)
• Ensure that the Bank has effective Legal & Regulatory risk control frameworks and processes in accordance with the Absa Group Board Governance Standards.
• Support all business areas and functions in relation to their Legal risks and issues and provide services required to achieve their business and functional objectives.
• In particular, support Compliance with legal advice in relation to regulatory compliance, sanctions, financial crime and money laundering
• Manage relationships with external lawyers using best supplier management practices
• Manage external legal expenditure.
• Accountability: Oversight of the Company Secretarial Matters
• Ensure that the Company Secretary operates effectively and efficiently as the key liaison between the
• Board, Management of the Bank and the Absa Group on all Company Secretarial related matters including:
• Ensuring compliance with the Group Governance Framework and ensure that Corporate Governance standards are maintained/improved in the Bank and the Board.
• Implementing the Group company secretarial objectives, as communicated by Group Secretariat from time to time.
• Assisting with audits (governance/legal or otherwise) of the Bank which occur from time to time and ensure the timeous closure of Board related audit issues and remediation of findings.
• Ensuring that financial statements and company registry filings are filed within the statutory deadlines.
• Facilitating submission of regulatory and health & safety issues at board meetings, together with any action plans.
• Providing support to Finance to ensure that the Board approves the Integrated Plans by the due dates.
• Keeping up to date all Board related governance documentation.
• distributing and receiving information critical to the Bank, as it relates to the company secretarial function.
• Formulating and adopting policies within Tanzania for the Function and embedding in the Business.
• Organisation and coordination of Board & Board Committee meetings.
• Preparation of Board Minutes, Resolutions, Powers of Attorney etc timely.
• Maintenance of statutory records.
• Organisation and coordination of general meetings and special general meetings.
• Preparation of minutes of general meetings and special general meetings minutes timeously.
• Filing of Statutory Returns and Procurement of required Licences, required from the function.
• Board Management including induction, training and development of Directors.
• Provision of company secretarial services and advice to senior management within the business.
•  Responsibility for processing of notifications to the regulatory authorities, pertaining to the function.
•  Monitoring and implementing appropriate Corporate Governance, regulatory and statutory developments and ensuring compliance.
•  Managing the Company Secretarial budget for the Bank.

Job Description

Main Accountabilities

Commercial Focus

• Proactive approach to identifying, managing and reporting of legal risks and issues.
• Can apply legal principles to the business environment and challenges to find solutions and mitigate legal risk.
• Positively adapts to change and adjusts approach to provide solutions
• Develops strong networks across the organization to get things done.
• Exhibits ability to negotiate and influence people to achieve positive outcomes.
• Clear and confident communicator who tailors message according to audience

Customer Focus

• Understanding of customers stated needs
• Offers insightful service provision in response to business issues.
• Develops professional relationships with key business areas and maintains relationships in testing situations

Technical Skills and Knowledge

Has a clear logical approach to the issues and provides easy to follow commercial advice

Solution Focus

Takes ownership of problems and fixes what is not right with personal accountability for high quality outputs
Gets involved in projects in the team and across the function to share knowledge and learn new skills

Team Working

Shows enthusiasm for new ideas and contributes to implementation.
Works with others to improve and seeks coaching/ mentoring for self
Involves team members when developing recommendations and utilizes resource to the best effect
Makes the team a fun place to work, supports others to make a success of the team and function and encourages collaborative working.
Gives observable and honest feedback in a timely manner.
Work on team and Function wide initiatives to make Absa a better place

Risk and Control Objectives

In the event of major issues in the business unit, act as crisis coordinator and allocate tasks to the crisis teams.
Review the risk and Legal profiles of the business unit on a regular basis and provide consultative support to the Head of Compliance & Legal on changes that are required to rebalance risk and reward where required.
Understanding of own role in the end-to-end processes in which you play a part, including applicable risks and controls.
Adhere to Absa’s policies and procedures applicable to own role, demonstrating sound judgment and responsible risk management.
Keep up to date on all legal and regulatory changes and have the ability to articulate the impact to the Business, be well informed on the industry thinking.
All mandatory training completed to deadline.

Technical skills / Competencies

Strong legal analytical skills.
Strong written and spoken English including legal terminology.
Strong conversational English
Ability to work with figures confidently and to construct and use excel spreadsheets confidently
Computer literate – comfortable user of usual office software packages

Experience, qualifications and other requirements specific to the role

Essentials
Law degree
Admitted as an Advocate.
Preferred
Qualified legal experience (private practice or in-house) dealing with banking and/or commercial issues/clients.

Knowledge and Expertise

Essential
Banking Law
Financial Services Compliance Frameworks
Anti-Money Laundering Frameworks
Retail financial services contractual drafting of terms & conditions / products terms etc.
Commercial banking facility terms and standard security documentation
Sourcing contractual relationships and drafting
HR & Industrial relations knowledge
Civil Litigation knowledge

Absa Purpose Values & Behaviours

Absa’s Values and Behaviors represent the set of standards which governs the actions of all of us who work for the bank and against which the performance of every one of us in Absa are being assessed and rewarded:

Trust
Resourceful
Stewardship
Inclusive
Courage

Education

Bachelor Honours Degree: Law, Military Science and Security (Required)

How to Apply:

CLICK HERE TO APPLY