Country Head of Audit at Standard Chartered Bank

Job Summary

• The Country Head Of Audit, Nigeria at Global Internal Audit (GIA) plays a pivotal role in the third line of defence, ensuring independent assurance of management's control over business activities. Responsible for leading the GIA Strategy, the role emphasizes customer experience, effective group change, and identifying efficiencies. The Head of Audit acts as a team manager, overseeing high-quality audits, adhering to professional standards, and promoting valued behaviors within the team. Engaging with various committees, the role involves representing GIA at formal meetings, challenging, and providing data-driven insights. Additionally, the Head of Audit contributes to risk assessment, manages audit delivery, and ensures effective stakeholder management, thereby safeguarding the assets, reputation, and sustainability of the Group. The position also entails effective budget management, risk assessment, stakeholder engagement, and adherence to governance and regulatory standards. The incumbent leads by example, fostering a culture of ethics, compliance, and continuous improvement within the GIA function.

Key Responsibilities

• GIA represents the third line of defence whose primary role is to help the Board and Executive Management to protect the assets, reputation and sustainability of the Group. GIA provides independent assurance on the management’s awareness of risks and the effective execution of controls within their business activities (the first line) and of the relevance, effectiveness and monitoring of risk and related controls maintained by the Risk Framework Owners and Policy Owners (the second line).
• As defined in the Audit Charter, all staff in GIA must exhibit the highest level of professional objectivity at work. They must make a balanced assessment of all the relevant circumstances and not be unduly influenced by their own interests or by others in forming judgments. GIA will adhere to the Definition of Internal Auditing, the Core Principles for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, Code of Ethics and the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing that are published by the IIA. It is expected that all members of GIA strive to operate as role models for the Group’s valued behaviours. GIA methodology has defined “Habits of a Human Auditor” which are aligned to the Group’s valued behaviours and communicated across the function.

In addition to the responsibilities defined in the Audit Charter to protect the assets, reputation, and sustainability of the Group. The Head of Audit is expected;

• To lead through example, build the appropriate culture and values, develop valued, engaged, and motivated teams, grow our people, strengthen inclusivity, team engagement, wellbeing and psychological safety.
• Be a leader who helps grow the Bank, harnessing a strategic mindset and the ability to navigate complex situations and ambiguity
  • Contribute to the broader GIA strategy and to key deliverable as required
  • Be a champion in managing change as Bank and GIA evolves with time
  • Be an advocate of strategy and align and embed it in audit delivery
• To Team Manage audit delivery by taking responsibility for high-quality audits, providing insights and impactful commentary on the management of risks. Responsible, where serving as Team Manager, for the finalisation of audit issues and the audit report.
• To role model the valued behaviours and develop an environment in which positive behaviours are celebrated and poor culture is challenged.
• To oversee that work carried out by the team is executed in an efficient and effective manner, within the given budget and timelines, and in line with GIA methodology standards.
• To clearly identify the risks and impact of issues during issue writing, agreeing these issues with management and obtaining quality management action plans to mitigate the risks raised.
• To lead continuous monitoring of assigned countries / portfolio areas, and to build and maintain engagement with stakeholders.
• To take responsibility for the implementation and support of department-wide exercises such as annual audit planning, risk assessment and training.
• To support GIA audit teams by providing product / country knowledge and expertise for their audits relating to the individual’s area of responsibility.
• To attend and represent GIA at formal committees and Group meetings, providing meaningful challenge and data-driven insights, as required, e.g., Governance Committees and Country Non-Financial Risk Committees.
• To serve as the GIA portfolio / country subject matter expert – proactively engage with peers and stakeholders to maintain, build and share knowledge.
• Issue validation: All audit issue action plans agreed during audit fieldwork should be tracked through to completion in accordance with methodology requirements

Strategy

• Contribute to the GIA risk assessment and design the subsequent risk-based audit plan for the assigned portfolio of CHOA Nigeria.
• Audits recommended by the HOA in the GIA audit plan should address the key risks identified in the detailed risk assessment and in the audit planning process and meet relevant regulatory requirements and coverage expectations.
• Periodically assess whether the audit plan remains relevant throughout the year as the risk profile of the business and entity changes. Propose changes as appropriate.
• Ensure that audit team operates in line with the Audit Charter during engagements, remains independent from management and free from interference.

Audit Delivery

• To act as Team Manager, as necessary, on assigned audit work primarily involving Nigeria as well as other areas across the Group as required. This will entail managing the Team Leader and team members working on the audit to deliver the Audit Planning Memo, Process Risks Controls Matrix, agree issues and action plans with management and submission of draft report to the Team Manager for review.
• Provide clear guidance, detailed review and supervision of the audit team’s work so that audit deliverables meet quality standards and timelines in line with the GIA methodology.
• Provide guidance on business and audit technical knowledge and management skills to team leaders and team members to enable them to effectively deliver their assigned audit work.
• Provide technical input and challenge on audit work being undertaken within the scope of assigned product or country area of responsibility. This will include working with the audit team to produce outputs of high quality which address the areas of greatest risk.
• Support adherence to the GIA methodology in all areas of the audit engagement, as well as raising awareness and understanding of the methodology.
• Demonstrate sound knowledge of both business and technical areas and expert knowledge in the audit process, including the GIA system, so that audit work is carried out to a high standard that meets all methodology and GIA system requirements.
• Take the lead in presenting the draft report in the GIA report review process (to the tollgate or report approver); and
• Monitor the implementation and delivery of the agreed issues and action plans for the audits assigned, understanding the key risks arising, provide advice on resolution of issues to auditees and action plan owners and escalate audit findings that remain unresolved.

Business (Budget)

• Effectively manage the cost within the allocated budget for audit engagements.
• Identify and implement opportunities for cost savings and optimal productivity of assigned audit engagements.

Risk Assessment

• Update the assigned Continuous Risk Assessment on a regular basis to identify changes in risk profiles and document these in a timely manner, proposing changes to the assigned audit plan, as appropriate.
• Promote early identification and escalation of risks, issues, trends and developments to relevant stakeholders. Be prepared to raise issues/concerns outside the normal audit process.
• Attend relevant meetings (e.g., Management Groups and risk Committees) provide insights and meaningful challenge, ensuring risks are appropriately identified, discussed and timely remediation plans are put in place.
• Adopt a proactive approach to risk assessment through stakeholder engagement and monitoring of the external environment to improve audit planning.
• Review MI and reports regularly to keep up to date with key trends within the business and audit deliverables.

Stakeholder Management

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with the management of business units which fall under portfolio responsibility.
• Effectively manage external stakeholders such as regulators and reviewers.

People & Talent

• Build a collaborative and inclusive culture that creates psychological safety, treating people with courtesy respect and promotes wellbeing.
• Develop and manage audit talent by guiding the audit team’s development & career growth - Build the right skills, capacity and specialism in the right teams/locations.
• Deliver a robust succession plan.
• Empower the team to innovate and make creative decisions to meet business needs; recognise staff that innovate or go the extra mile.
• Contribute to building a high performing function through frequent check ins and coaching evidenced by use of Feedback mechanisms.
• Influence change within the department by highlighting potential enhancements.
• Identify and successfully complete key internal training for self-development; proactively seek an external lens to support delivery of meaningful audit work.

Governance

• Manage the relevant Country stakeholders, as appropriate, and establish good working relationships to help the businesses improve the control environment and keep updated with changes in the business impacting their risk profile.
• Propose changes to audit plans, so the audit plan remains relevant.
• Lead by example on how to communicate audit-related matters and resolve any conflict between auditors and auditees during an audit. Use networks and relationships to build engagement and achieve results.
• Escalate delays in the execution of audit work, both to auditee management and GIA management, role model this behaviour to Team members.
• Be able to clearly explain issues identified along with the risks and root causes to GIA and business management, using language designed to be understood by non-experts; and

Regulatory & Business Conduct

• Display exemplary conduct and live by the Group’s Values and Code of Conduct.
• Take personal responsibility for embedding the highest standards of ethics, including regulatory and business conduct, across Standard Chartered Bank. This includes understanding and ensuring compliance with, in letter and spirit, all applicable laws, regulations, guidelines and the Group Code of Conduct.
• Effectively and collaboratively identify, escalate, mitigate and resolve risk, conduct and compliance matters. Exercise authorities delegated by the Board of Directors and act in accordance with Articles of Association (or equivalent).
• Support GIA to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles.
• Lead the Nigeria and other GIA teams as assigned to achieve the outcomes set out in the Bank’s Conduct Principles: Fair Outcomes for Clients; Effective Financial Markets; Financial Crime Compliance; The Right Environment.

Key stakeholders

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with the specific country management and business units.
• Effectively manage external stakeholders such as regulators and reviewers.
• GIA Executive Team, GIA Group and Country Leadership teams.

Other Responsibilities

• Embed Here for good and Group’s brand and values in Group Internal Audit.
• Perform other responsibilities assigned under Group, Country, Business or Functional policies and procedures.

Skills and Experience

• Manage Conduct
• Manage Risk
• Manage People
• In-depth understanding of Wealth Management risk management and associated control requirements;
• Strong communicator, both written and verbal, with ability to clearly explain controls to be tested and risks identified to audit and business management;
• Confident and courageous to raise and escalate ideas or concerns in a professional and timely manner;
• Proactive, self-directed and able to work with minimum supervision;
• Ability to work within a global team.

Qualifications

• Education - Mininum of a Bsc
• Certification - ACCA /ACA