Senior Internal Auditor

Howden; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare

Pensions

Hybrid working

Job summary

Howden is seeking a Senior Internal Auditor to join the Group Internal Audit function in London. This hybrid role requires attendance at the office at least twice a week and may involve travel to other UK offices and potentially other global locations (10–15%).

You will assess business processes, risks and internal controls, delivering independent appraisals and recommendations to improve efficiency, while building relationships with senior stakeholders and contributing to ongoing IA

Qualifications

• Professional qualification in finance or insurance viewed favourable.
• Experience in internal or external audit or in insurance compliance/operational roles.
• Ability to perform risk assessments, develop audit programmes and execute testing independently.
• Experience evaluating internal controls and performing risk-based audits.
• Understanding of internal control systems and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities

• Assist with delivery of diverse internal audits across the Group Audit plan, evaluating processes and controls and providing independent appraisal.
• Build and maintain relationships with senior management and key partners.
• Contribute to continuous improvement of the Internal Audit function through innovation and efficiency.

Skills

Audit planning

Risk assessment

Communication

Data analytics

Microsoft Excel

Education

Professional qualification in finance/insurance

Tools

Internal Audit tools

Data analytics tools

Job description

Who are we?

Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.

People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.

Job Role : Senior Internal Auditor

This is a hybrid position and you will be required to attend the office at least two times a week in London.

This role may require travel (to other UK offices, and potentially other global office locations) but we anticipate this would be no more than 10-15%.

The Role

Internal Audit (IA) is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to help Howden Group and its entities accomplish its strategic objectives by bringing a detailed, focused approach to evaluate and improve the efficiency of risk management, control and governance processes. IA reports functionally to the Howden Group Audit Committee and administratively to the Group CRO.

The goal of our function is not to find fault, but to help management and the businesses succeed in delivering their objectives successfully. We accomplish this by utilising our diverse range of skills to challenge the status quo and bring insight and value alongside our core assurance work.

The key role deliverables are:

• Assisting with the delivery of a range of diverse internal audits from within the Group Audit plan; assessing business processes and risks and evaluating internal controls to provide an independent appraisal of the internal control environment. Recommendations to improve processes and controls, and contribution towards greater business efficiency will be key outcomes.

• Creating and maintaining positive relationships with key partners within the business, including Senior Management.

• Contributing to the continual improvement of the function through innovation and efficiency, including challenging current methods.

Training and development will be fully supported, but driven by the candidate, ensuring that skills and expertise remain current and can drive value.

This role may require travel (to other UK offices, and potentially other global office locations) but we anticipate this would be no more than 10-15%.

Key Responsibilities

• Assisting with the delivery of a range of diverse internal audits across the Group Audit plan. The role involves assessing business processes and risks and evaluating internal controls to provide an independent appraisal of the overall control environment. Key outcomes of your work will be recommendations to improve processes and controls, and a contribution towards greater business efficiency and operations.

• Creating and maintaining positive relationships with key partners within the business, including senior management.

• Contributing to the continual improvement of the Internal Audit function through innovation and efficiency, including challenging current methods.

Training and development will be fully supported, but driven by the candidate, ensuring that skills and expertise remain current and can drive value.

Knowledge and Experience

• Professional qualification within either finance/business or insurance industry viewed favourably.

• Experience within an internal or external audit environment OR experience working within the insurance industry within a compliance, operational, or front-office broking or underwriting role.

• Ability to perform risk assessments, develop audit programmes and execute testing independently.

• Experience evaluating the design and effectiveness of internal controls and strong risk-based auditing and root cause analysis capabilities.

• Understanding of technical auditing concepts, internal control systems and / or Insurance / Reinsurance industry experience, including regulatory requirements.

• Relevant professional qualification (e.g., CIA, ACA, ACCA, CISA) and/or insurance qualification (e.g., Cert CII, Dip CII, ACII) desirable.

Skills and Attributes

• Strong organisational skills with excellent time management.

• Strong communication skills (written and oral) – including ability to write-up workpapers to support IA opinion.

• Ability to demonstrate credibility and generate rapport in dealings with stakeholders.

• Ability to empathise with auditees and strong negotiating and influencing skills.

• Analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify practical and commercially appropriate recommendations which address identified risks.

• Proficient in Microsoft applications, especially Excel.

• Experience in data analytics / AI capability viewed favourably.

• Highly motivated and able to self-start; co-operative and encouraging teammate.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define.

Yes, we offer all the usual rewards and benefits - including great healthcare provision, a wide variety of wellbeing offers, competitive salary, generous pensions and more - but we know you expect all that.

What you might not expect is a job where everyone has a voice, where volunteering in the community is part of the paid day job, and where everyone is encouraged to play a part towards our sustainability goals.

We want people who want to make a difference - not just in the workplace, but in the industry and in the wider community.

Our culture: People First

Our core values shape how we work, collaborate and grow. We are an independent business with people at the heart of everything we do, combining the scale and opportunity of a global organisation with the entrepreneurial spirit and close-knit culture of a smaller firm. Often described as the “biggest small company in the world” , we offer the unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact while working alongside talented colleagues across a diverse and growing international business.

The focus on being a People First business has always been at the very heart of the Group; Our vision was to build an independent business with a unique culture and one that would survive and thrive as a business controlled by the people working for it. And finding the most talented and entrepreneurial people to join the Group has been and will continue to be key.

Diversity & Inclusion

At Howden, we consider our people our chief competitive advantage and as such we treat colleagues, candidates, clients, and business partners with equality, fairness and respect, regardless of their age, disability, race, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, marital status or family circumstances.

What do we offer in return?

A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:

• Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new

• We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges

• We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond

Reasonable adjustments

We’re committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.

*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.

Permanent