Senior Manager, Control Assurance

Summary

The Senior Manager, Control Assurance under Group Risk Management Office, provides independent, proactive oversight of the effectiveness and consistency of controls across the organization, with a focus on preventing issues before they escalate into audit findings or operational failures.

In addition, the GRM Control Assurance Team will serve as an independent oversight mechanism and enforce behavioural risk expectations to strengthen governance, accountability, and reduce significant audit findings and uplift the overall control environment. This team does not own first-line controls, but acts as an independent challenger, advisor, and escalator where weaknesses are identified.

Responsibilities

Risk-Based Reviews & Control Assessments

• Perform thematic reviews and targeted control assessments in high-risk operational areas to proactively identify control lapses, policy breaches, and governance weaknesses across business units and markets.
• Gather, analyse, interpret and document information/ assessment to support review results.
• Review adequacy and effectiveness of key internal controls, including preventive and detective controls.
• Identify concrete behavioural indicators & trends and highlight to the management such as management override without justification, poor tone in control ownership or delegation, normalization of deviations, etc.

Issue Management & Escalation

• Challenge management on weak controls, overdue actions, and insufficient remediation plans.
• Track and govern closure of audit and compliance issues to ensure timely and sustainable resolution, including following up on the remediation plans proposed by the business units and markets based on the reviews conducted.
• Escalate material observations or control weaknesses to Market Exco and GRC.

Governance, Accountability & Culture

• Support management in embedding accountability for controls within first line operations.
• Drive awareness on internal controls, compliance discipline, behavioural drift and management responsibilities.

Others

• Lead and manage a small team to ensure timely project delivery by providing clear direction, driving accountability, rigorously tracking progress, and proactively removing obstacles.
• Work closely with team members and collaborate across functions, demonstrating flexibility and a hands-on approach to effectively deliver on assigned responsibilities.
• Undertake any ad-hoc projects, tasks and responsibilities as assigned by the Dy Head.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in finance, Accounting, Risk Management or related fields. Master's degree or professional certification (e.g., CRM, CERM, CIA) would be an advantage
• At least 8-10 years of relevant work experience, preferably in internal audit / compliance / internal controls / process review / process improvement
• Strong knowledge of internal control concepts and standards (e.g. ISO 31000, COSO etc)
• Knowledge of various functional areas, including Operational & Financial Controls and Compliance, Regulations and IT General Controls
• Demonstrated success in partnering with senior stakeholders and influencing decisions
• Possess process-oriented and problem-solving skills, a hands-on mentality, as well as attention to details
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills with the ability to present and communicate effectively and confidently at all levels (including Executive Leaders and Senior Leaders)
• Being versatile, self-motivated and strong thinker and executor
• Positive attitude, resilient, highly adaptable to dynamic work environments with strong ability to influence and garner support and cooperation
• Ability to take ownership, meticulous and detailed-oriented
• Ability to operate in a fast-paced and operations-heavy environment, work both independently and equally well as a team player