IT Senior Internal Audit Manager

Standard Life plc; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

Excellent pension

Private medical

Career breaks

Volunteer days

Life assurance

Job summary

Standard Life plc is seeking a Senior IT Internal Audit Manager to lead a portfolio of IT audits and drive risk-based assurance across cyber, IT operations, resilience and data governance. You will influence senior stakeholders and guide junior staff while delivering audits end-to-end to timelines.

The role requires strong IT knowledge, leadership, and familiarity with Microsoft Windows, Azure and AWS environments. Hybrid UK-based work with flexibility is offered.

Qualifications

• Professional qualifications: CISA at minimum, others encouraged (CISM, CISSP, AIAA).
• Proven senior stakeholder influencing skills at CTO, CISO levels.
• Leadership and coaching experience in IT audits.

Responsibilities

• Oversee IT audits portfolio, set priorities and manage resources across planning, fieldwork, reporting and follow-up.
• Provide guidance on IT control matters to business audit colleagues.
• Lead cross-functional audits focusing on key risk drivers and controls.

Skills

IT governance

IT audits

Stakeholder management

AI awareness

Cyber security

Operational resilience

Data governance

Leadership

Education

CISA

CISM

CISSP

AIAA

Tools

Microsoft Windows

Azure

AWS

Job description

Job Description

Job Type: Permanent
Location: Edinburgh or Birmingham on a hybrid basis, with normally a minimum of 2 days a week working in the office and the rest working at home.
Flexible working: All roles are open to part-time, job-share and other types of flexibility. We will discuss what is important to you and balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process. You can read more about flexible working here.
Closing Date: 28th October
Salary and benefits: Up to to £110,000 depending on experience, plus an indicative bonus range of 30% to 60%, private medical cover, 38 days annual leave, excellent pension, 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more.

Who are we?

We’re Standard Life, a retirement specialist focused entirely on retirement savings and income. We champion the belief that everyone’s journey to and through retirement can be better, and for more than 200 years, we’ve been helping our customers plan and prepare for their financial futures.
Life today is increasingly complicated, uncertain and unpredictable. People move through different careers, face unexpected moments and navigate important choices. We offer our colleagues flexibility, trust and benefits that work for whatever life brings. In return we expect curiosity, connection, accountability and high standards. We make room for what matters - so you can bring your best, every day.

The role

As a Senior IT Internal Audit Manager, you will have the opportunity to make a real difference to Standard Life by challenging the effectiveness of the risk, governance, and control environment. You will help provide influential insight through the work you deliver. You will work across a portfolio of audits and ad-hoc projects over a variety of areas aligned to the group’s strategy and core customer purpose and execute each audit end to end to agreed timelines. You will also manage relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
Working for a large organisation like Standard Life can seem daunting at first – fear not! While you will enjoy considerable autonomy, you will be a key valued member of our team. We have a lean flat structure, and you will have the guidance and support from the rest of the team, with access to a wide range of skills and experience for support across Group Internal Audit.

The ideal candidate will have the following personal attributes and skills:

• Oversee a portfolio of IT audits and competing demands by setting clear priorities, resolving resource conflicts early, and keeping delivery moving smoothly across planning, fieldwork, reporting and action follow‑up.
• Provide support and guidance on IT control matters to business audit colleagues
• Focus audit work on the risks that matter, aligned to real risk drivers, adjusting scope and timing as required
• Coach IA Managers and junior colleagues to strengthen issue framing and root‑cause recommendations
• Build trust with senior stakeholders through evidence‑led challenge and establish credibility and insights across audits to strengthen GIA’s understanding of culture and control.
• Seek to identified cross‑cutting themes that help reframe organisational risk thinking.
• Demonstrate proactive engagement with stakeholders to ensure that emerging issues reach senior stakeholders quickly rather than waiting for end‑of‑audit reporting.
• Partner with the Head of Audit for IT & Change to Implement innovative methods, including the use of AI, and bring best practices into the organisation to develop modern audit techniques.

What are we looking for?

This is a leadership role within the Group Internal Audit function. The ideal candidate will have strong IT technical knowledge with experience of providing Internal Audit assurance over controls relating to Cyber, IT Operations, Operational Resilience and Data Governance control domains. A proven track record of leading small teams and influencing senior leaders is essential.

• Professional Qualifications: CISA as a minimum with others such as CISM, CISSP, AIAA being desirable, with relevant post‑qualification experience.
• Proven senior stakeholder influencing skills at CTO, CISO and -1 levels
• Leadership and coaching experience
• Deep experience of overseeing a portfolio of technical IT audits
• Excellent understanding of Operational Resilience, Cyber Security, IT Operations and Data Governance control domains
• Good awareness of AI and Frontier AI risks
• Familiarity with key UK regulations in respect of technology risk
• Experience of auditing outsourced processes
• Experience of technical platforms – e.g. Microsoft Windows and Azure environments, AWS.
• A general understanding of security tools used in key control areas such as network security, patching, end user device security.

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.
If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

Find Out More About Working At Standard Life

• Guide for Candidates: standardlifeplc.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
• Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.standardlifeplc.com/careers/talk-to-us