Head of Operations - Internal Audit

Job Description:

Job Role:

·         Lead and coordinate strategic corporate and business planning processes, including the preparation of strategic plans, corporate plans, annual reports, and internal/external communication strategies.

·         Take a strategic view of priorities and risks, lead the preparation of the NIA budget, and lead on NIA financial and performance reporting.

·         Demonstrate strategic understanding of organizational context through thorough understanding of internal and external issues that can impact the organization and its objectives.

·         Ensure effective investigation and thorough understanding of audit finding root causes, and their subsequent use as the basis for determining remediation activities and assessing their effectiveness.

·         Ensure that NIA teams cultivate big-picture perspectives by considering the context of processes, and accounting principles being audited.

·         Drive departmental pursuit of opportunities for enhanced quality or efficiencies as well as challenges or considerations of implementing automation, analytics, and AI across the function.

·         Ensure that NIA Management keeps abreast of significant audit issues as and when they arise, and that audit findings and next steps are agreed with stakeholders before circulation.

·         Drive regular self-assessment and quality control to ensure audit reports and other deliverables are of sufficient quality when presented to stakeholders and/or NIA Management for review.

·         Work closely with colleagues to formulate long-term planning and corporate reporting, setting the scene for organizational and cultural change to become a world-class audit organization.

·         Play a key leadership role in ensuring that the NIA Executive Team performs effectively, achieving a culture where colleagues are motivated, developed, and empowered to perform effectively.

·         Actively manage key relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and other partners across the NEOM ecosystem to ensure that collaboration is appropriate, effective, and efficient.

·         Ensure that NIA teams can demonstrate understanding of auditee perspectives, to “stand in their shoes” and be more aware of the challenges stakeholders face and demonstrate empathy.

·         Exemplify a wide range of hard and soft skills, including but not limited to high attention to detail, financial and business acumen, and immense integrity.

·         Ensure appropriate ownership of audit reporting and other deliverables to ensure delivery on time and on budget.

·         Monitor and control assigned budgets to ensure that expenditure does not exceed allocated amounts.

·         Drive efficient and effective delivery of services and support activities at pace, and the production of outputs when confronted by obstacles, delays, competing priorities, and tight deadlines.

·         Keep teams, partners, and stakeholders focused on delivery requirements, managing expectations, removing blockers, and delivering on time and to expected quality.

·         Ensure effective monitoring and management of timelines, milestones, and quality of audit deliverables with clear escalation criteria and processes.

·         Support the CIAO and AC to ensure that NIA achieves its vision to be a world-class audit function which operates efficiently and effectively.

·         Actively develop and protect the reputation of NIA, creating a sense of pride and passion for the services it delivers.

·         Maintain and enhance the capability of NIA to achieve its vision and objectives.

·         Drive NIA corporate leadership through membership of the NIA Executive Team, and the provision of strategic direction, performance guidance, and leadership of NIA’s people.

·         Role model NEOM Values demonstrating effective leadership to all, acting in ways that are highly visible, inspirational, and credible at the most senior levels across and outside of NIA.

·         Demonstrate awareness and appropriate application of existing and emerging digital technologies, capabilities, practices, and strategies, and ensure possession of relevant digital skills across the function.

·         Ensure that all NIA team members can demonstrate appropriate and relevant technical skills, ethics, and abilities to perform to defined standards consistently, while maintaining the highest standards of integrity, independence, and skepticism.

·         Demonstrate functional vision and the ability to anticipate future trends accurately using foresight and encourage the expansion of professional knowledge through innovative thinking.

Job Requirements:

·         Graduate Degree

·         Professional qualification in Internal Audit or Accountancy

·         15+ years of experience in internal audit, including 3 years as an Audit Delivery Director

·         10+ years in line finance or other non-audit business unit

·         Expert knowledge of GAAP and IFRS.

·         Expert understanding of risk management concepts and techniques

·         Ability to lead delivery of complex audits and assessments of business processes.

·         In-depth familiarity with advanced IPPF audit standards and regulatory requirements

·         Exceptional project management skills

·         Ability to train, mentor, and manage teams of auditors

·         Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

·         Proficiency in advanced data analysis tools and techniques