Overview
Senior Legal Secretary / Paralegal Jobs in City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa at Allied Talent Partners
Title: Senior Legal Secretary / Paralegal
Company: Allied Talent Partners
Location: City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Allied Talent Partners (ATP), a Three Cairns Group initiative, is a mission-driven, not-for-profit talent marketplace focused on solving the human capital bottlenecks slowing down sustainable development efforts in emerging economies, with an initial focus on Africa. ATP connects vetted, experienced, context-relevant professionals to high-impact opportunities in energy access and sustainable development – strengthening local capacity and fuelling economic vitality. We specialize in fixed-term, deliverable-driven engagements – from interim leadership and generalist projects to niche technical expertise – handling project scoping, talent vetting and matching, contracting, payroll, and compliance so that our clients can focus on impact.
High Level Overview
The client is seeking a Senior Legal Secretary / Paralegal to provide legal administrative and operational support to its South Africa business and the incoming Head of Legal. The role will be responsible for maintaining visibility and control across legal matters, contracts, governance records, legal repositories, and external counsel engagements while supporting the continued development of local legal processes and standards. Reporting initially to the Chief of Staff and working closely with the Head of Legal upon appointment, the successful candidate will ensure legal information is organised, accessible, and effectively managed. The ideal candidate will bring strong legal secretarial or paralegal experience, excellent organisational capability, and the ability to operate independently within a dynamic corporate environment.
Role & Responsibilities
Role: Senior Legal Secretary / Paralegal
Direct Report: Head of Legal
Candidates required: 1
Deliverables:
- Maintain and administer a central register of legal matters, ensuring accurate tracking of status, ownership, deadlines, risks, and required actions.
- Maintain and update a comprehensive contract register, including key commercial terms, obligations, approvals, renewal dates, and supporting documentation.
- Organise, consolidate, and maintain legal document repositories, filing structures, and records management processes to establish a reliable single source of truth.
- Support the administration of Delegations of Authority, approval workflows, legal templates, standards, and contractual deviation records.
- Coordinate external legal counsel engagements, including instructions, matter tracking, spend monitoring, invoice management, and reporting.
- Prepare legal reports, correspondence, meeting packs, governance documentation, and briefing materials for internal stakeholders and the Head of Legal.
- Provide ad hoc legal administrative and coordination support while ensuring all legal records and activities are appropriately documented and maintained.
Requirements
Experience required:
- Demonstrated experience as a legal secretary, senior legal administrator, paralegal, or similar legal support professional.
- Experience supporting in-house legal teams, General Counsel, Heads of Legal, or senior legal executives.
- Experience maintaining legal matter registers, contract databases, legal repositories, and governance records.
- Experience administering contracts and coordinating legal processes across multiple stakeholders.
- Experience working within corporate, infrastructure, renewable energy, engineering, or project-based environments preferred.
- Proven ability to manage confidential information and high volumes of documentation accurately within deadline-driven environments.
Technical requirements:
- Strong legal administration and document management capability.
- Ability to organise, track, and maintain complex legal and contractual information with a high degree of accuracy.
- Working knowledge of contract administration, legal matter management, governance processes, and records management practices.
- Ability to support Delegations of Authority processes, approval tracking, legal standards, and compliance-related documentation.
- Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office and document management or repository platforms.
- Ability to identify gaps in legal records, documentation, and tracking processes and implement practical administrative improvements.
Soft skills:
- Highly organised and detail-oriented with exceptional administrative discipline.
- Professional, discreet, and trustworthy when handling confidential legal and commercial information.
- Strong written communication skills with the ability to prepare clear, accurate, and professional documentation.
- Ability to work independently while exercising sound judgment regarding escalation and prioritisation.
- Strong stakeholder coordination skills and the ability to manage competing priorities effectively.
- Reliable, proactive, and comfortable operating in a developing legal function.
Additional information about desired profiles:
- The preferred candidate will bring a mature legal secretarial or paralegal background and be comfortable acting as the central coordination point for legal administration activities.
- Experience within renewable energy, infrastructure, engineering, or other project-based industries would be advantageous.
- The role is administrative and coordination-focused and does not carry decision-making authority.
Working arrangement
Location: Cape Town, South Africa (Hybrid or Remote)
Travel requirements:
- On-site presence required for the first 2–3 weeks for system access and handover walkthroughs.
- Hybrid/remote work possible thereafter.
Terms of agreement
Required start date: June 2026 (immediate availability required)
Contracting period: 8–12 weeks, extendable by agreement
