Legal and Governance Officer

Absa Bank Kenya PLC is a leading banking and financial services institution founded in 1916, operating from Nairobi, Kenya.

This position offers legal and company secretarial assistance to First Assurance Company Kenya and First Assurance Holdings. The incumbent will support the Company Secretary and Head of Legal in identifying and managing legal and governance risks, and in upholding effective corporate governance. The role involves facilitating the administration of the Board and its Committees, managing statutory and governance records, handling regulatory filings, and ensuring the implementation of governance requirements. It also provides essential legal support to FACL’s business and control functions. Operating under the guidance and approval of the Company Secretary, this role does not hold statutory Company Secretary responsibilities. Furthermore, the officer will serve as the main liaison between FACL, FAH's external legal advisors, and the outsourced Company Secretary, ensuring efficient communication, information flow, and record-keeping of advice and decisions.

1. Coordinate the annual Board and Board Committee calendar, including meeting logistics, notices, agendas, and paper circulation via the approved portal.
2. Prepare draft minutes, written resolutions, extracts, action trackers, and governance correspondence for review and approval.
3. Monitor the completion of approved actions and maintain accurate statutory registers, minute books, declarations, attendance records, and corporate documents for FACL.
4. Support the planning and administration of annual and special general meetings and other shareholder engagements, including documentation preparation and circulation.
5. Prepare statutory returns, regulatory notifications, and governance submissions for review and approval, and maintain a compliance calendar for tracking deadlines.
6. Support director and committee administration, covering appointments, resignations, declarations of interest, fit-and-proper documentation, induction, training, and record maintenance.
7. Monitor relevant company law, insurance-sector governance requirements, Group governance standards, and internal policies, assisting with the implementation of approved changes.
8. Compile governance information for Board and Group reporting, annual reports and accounts, regulatory engagements, governance assessments, and audits.
9. Maintain secure and readily retrievable governance filing systems and databases, ensuring the protection of confidential Board, director, shareholder, and corporate information.
10. Promptly escalate governance gaps, overdue actions, and potential non-compliance to the Company Secretary and support agreed remediation efforts.
11. Conduct legal research and prepare initial drafts of legal advice, governance papers, contracts, correspondence, and other documents for review.
12. Support the identification, recording, monitoring, and escalation of legal and governance risks arising from FACL's products, projects, operations, and third-party arrangements.
13. Monitor relevant legislative, regulatory, and industry developments affecting FACL and assist in preparing impact assessments, implementation plans, and stakeholder communications.
14. Support compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, the Enterprise-Wide Risk Management Framework, and relevant Absa policies and standards.
15. Coordinate instructions to external legal advisers where approved, tracking mandates, deliverables, costs, and supporting documentation.
16. Maintain accurate trackers and management information on Board and Committee actions, statutory obligations, legal matters, external counsel mandates, and governance deliverables.
17. Support budget monitoring, invoice verification, and reporting for legal and company secretarial expenditure.
18. Provide responsive support to the Board, senior management, business and control functions, Group Corporate Secretariat, regulators, auditors, and approved external advisers within the role’s authority.
19. Coordinate governance and legal information requests, maintain clear audit trails, and ensure matters are referred promptly to the appropriate decision-maker.
20. Maintain current knowledge of company law, insurance regulation, corporate governance, and relevant First Assurance policies.
21. Participate in relevant training and knowledge-sharing initiatives and contribute collaboratively to Legal and Governance team priorities and continuous improvement initiatives.

1. Minimum of 3 years of relevant experience.
2. Hold a Diploma qualification.
3. Possess a Further Education and Training Certificate (FETC) in Business, Commerce, and Management Studies.