Group Head of Internal Audit

Job description / Role

For over six decades, Chalhoub Group has been a partner and creator of luxury experiences in the Middle East. The Group, in its endeavour to excel as a hybrid retailer, has reinforced its distribution and marketing services with a portfolio of eight owned brands and over 300 international brands in the luxury, beauty, fashion, and art de vivre categories. More recently, the Group expanded its expertise into new categories of luxury watches, jewellery, and eyewear.

Every step at Chalhoub Group is taken with the customer at heart. Be it constantly reinventing itself or focusing on innovation to provide luxury experiences at over 750+ experiential retail stores, online and through mobile apps, each touch point leads to delighting the customer.

Today, Chalhoub Group stands for 14,000 skilled and talented professionals across seven countries, whose cohesive efforts have resulted in the Group being ranked third in the Middle East and first in Saudi Arabia as a Great Place to Work®.

To keep the innovation journey going, the Group has set up "The Greenhouse", which is not just an innovation hub, but also an incubator space and accelerator for start-ups and small businesses in the region and internationally. This is just one of the several initiatives taken by the Group to reinvent itself, catalysed by forward thinking and future-proofing. The Group has also been embedding sustainability at the core of its business strategy with a clear commitment towards people, partners and the planet, and by being a member of the United Nations Global Compact Community and signatory of the Women's Empowerment Principles.

What you'll be doing

The Group Head of Internal Audit will be responsible to design and create the Internal Audit function within Chalhoub Group. A leader with at least a 15+ years of experience, preferably with Big 4 audit experience. The Group Head of Internal Audit will be responsible for identifying, reviewing and updating the major risk mapping and develop the risks assessment tools, define the internal audit strategy, the annual audit programme, an audit framework based on Internal Standards.

As well as mobilise resources - including external audit firms - needed to perform the audit programme (relying mostly on outsourced resources), to overlook the quality and compliance of audit reports, to advise the Group executives on risks and corrective actions as well as follow-up on previous reviews and action plans.

They will contribute to the improvement of processes and the governance at Group level through their expertise and recommendations.

In order to ensure their independence, the Group Head of Internal Audit will report to the Group President's Chief of Staff as well as to the Risk and Audit Committee of the Group Board. To ensure effective and continuous fulfillment of the role, they will work closely with the Group's executives and the Finance community. They will bring a systematic and disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management and control within the Group.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead the overall risk assessment
- Update the Group's major risk mapping by continuously monitoring emerging risks
- Define relevant risk management tools
- Build the internal audit strategy and plan
- Define a multi-year internal audit strategy based on the risk assessment and have it approved by the Risk and Audit Committee
- Prepare the annual Internal Audit Programme and get it approved by the Risk and Audit Committee
- Maintain, follow-up and update the Audit Programme
- Define Internal Audit framework and tools for the Group based on International Standards
- Build the internal audit charter, policies, procedures, guidelines, templates and tools and maintain them in accordance with industry best practice
- Build a digital platform ensuring smooth updates, sharing and capitalization of the tools, reports, documentation
- Keep up to date with local and international audit developments, laws and regulations
- Over time build a digital platform to keep track of the audit results, action plans and reviews
- Build a community of stakeholders and partners across the Group

Connect the dots between the different "partners" to Internal Audit and animate the relevant committees with:
* CFO and Group Head of Accounting
* Chief Legal Officer
* Chief Technology Officer
* Compliance Manager (reporting to the Chief Sustainability Officer) in charge of ethics guidelines and complaints
* Data Compliance Manager
* Retail Operations Manager

- Structure the resources of the Audit department and animate them
- Select and oversee one of the Big 4 auditors who will be responsible the majority of the audit assignments:
- Define the needs and workload and draft an RFP allowing flexibility as well as mobilization of specific expertise (Cybersecurity, tech, data, environmental risks, reputational risks.) with access to global expertise
- Select a firm and have it approved by the Risk and Audit Committee
- Define and oversee the yearly outsourced audit programme
- Launch unplanned audits whenever needed (fraud, crisis.)
- Oversee outsourced audits and ensuring that all finalized audits have gone through the quality assurance process
- Carry out joint audit assignment if needed to allow cross pollination with the selected audit firm
- Build a compact and agile team to focus on audit strategy, quality control and action plan follow-up.
- The Head of Audit will give recommendations on the resources needed based on the audit plan.
- Conduct ad hoc investigations upon identified or reported risks.
- Report to the Group Risk and Audit Committee and other executive governance bodies
- Prepare quarterly reports to the Risk and Audit Committee on risk assessment update, audits results, action plan follow-up
- Representing the Internal Audit Department at the BOP meetings and other management meetings & present findings and recommendations for improvement.
- Collaborate with our People and Culture Team and Group Communication team to develop a "culture of risk management"
- Provide ongoing input for process improvements

Requirements

What you'll need to succeed

- Bachelor's Degree in relevant field is essential
- Must be a fully qualified CA, ACCA or CPA.
- Other professional certifications such as CIA, CISA CIA, CFE, CPA etc. relevant to Internal Audit at an international level are desirable
- Master's Degree is considered desirable
- 15+ years of experience in Internal Audit with a minimum of 5 years in a leadership role owning internal audit preferably within the retail industry
- 3-4 years of fraud auditing experience
- Big 4 experience is preferred
- Expert skills in risk management, auditing best practice, accounting, process management, governance and management principles
- Strong management or leadership skills as exhibited by experience in effectively leading a team and/or chairing committees
- A combination of diplomacy, relationship building and stakeholder management skills
- Strong leadership presence with the ability to influence as well as push back
- Ability to provide high level and detailed perspectives of audit issues
- Current knowledge of industry practices, trends and issues
- Must be prepared to travel throughout the region (30% regional travel) and at times outside the region (Europe, Africa, America)

What we can offer you

With us, you will turn your aspirations into reality. We will help shape your journey through enriching experiences, learning and development opportunities and exposure to different assignments within your role or through internal mobility. Our Group offers diverse career paths for those who are extraordinary, every day.

We recognise the value that you bring, and we strive to provide a competitive benefits package which includes health care, child education contribution, remote and flexible working policies as well as exclusive employee discounts.

We Invite All Applicants to Apply

It Takes Diversity Of Thought, Culture, Background, Differing Abilities and Perspectives to truly Inspire, Exhilarate and Delight our customers. At Chalhoub Group, we are committed to inclusion and diversity.

We welcome all applicants to apply and be part of our exciting future. We ensure equal opportunity for all our applicants without regard to gender, age, race, religion, national origin or disability status.

About the Company

The Chalhoub Group is the leading partner for luxury across the Middle East since 1955. As an expert in retail, distribution and marketing services based in Dubai, the group has become a major player in the fashion, beauty and gift sectors regionally.

By blending its Middle East expertise and intimate knowledge of luxury, Chalhoub Group is building brands in the region, by offering service excellence to all its partners and a unique experience to its customers through its passionate teams.

With a growing workforce of more than 9,000 people, implemented in 14 countries, as well as the operating of over 470 retail outlets, the group's success is attributed to its most valued asset of highly skilled and dedicated teams. Professionalism and passion are what fuel the Chalhoub Group's competitive edge in today's market.

By being committed to implementing sustainable practices into their business, the Chalhoub Group has been awarded in 2013 the CSR Label from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.