Senior Manager Internal Audit

DS Smith; Greater London; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Discretionary bonus

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

Pension scheme

Life assurance and income protection

Employee Assistance Programme

Employee Discounts

Cycle to work scheme

Job summary

DS Smith is seeking a Senior Manager – Internal Audit at our London head office to lead high‑profile internal audits across the EMEA region. You will shape the annual audit plan, evaluate financial controls, and partner with senior stakeholders to deliver impactful insights for executive management.

The role requires a proven audit leader with strong experience in financial reviews, internal controls, and data analytics, plus willingness to travel and coach diverse teams.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in finance, compliance or internal audit.
• Degree with CIA/CPA/ACCA preferred.
• Strong expertise in financial controls, risk assessment and data analytics.
• SOX & GAAP experience is advantageous.
• Proven ability to coach, manage, and develop audit teams while delivering multi‑project plans.
• Excellent communication to influence senior management.
• Willingness to travel.

Responsibilities

• Audit Leadership & Execution: Oversee planning, execution, reporting, and follow‑up of complex audits across EMEA.
• Planning & Strategy: Develop annual internal audit plan based on risk assessments.
• Control Evaluation: Assess design and operating effectiveness of financial controls.
• Stakeholder & Co‑Source Alignment: Coordinate with senior management and external partners.
• People Management & Coaching: Mentor audit team members and build capability.
• Continuous Improvement: Drive data‑driven techniques and assurance processes.

Skills

Audit leadership

Strategy & planning

Financial & internal controls

Data analytics

Stakeholder management

People management

Education

Degree educated

CIA/CPA/ACCA preferred

Tools

Data analytics tools

Job description

About the role

Are you looking to lead high-profile audit engagements within a major global manufacturing environment? We have a unique opportunity for a Senior Manager – Internal Audit to join our Internal Audit function at our London head office, providing independent, objective assurance designed to add value and improve the organisation’s operations. Reporting into audit leadership, this role plays an essential part in bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes across our EMEA footprint. You will manage complex financial, operational, and compliance audits, supervise engagement teams, and partner with senior stakeholders to shape our annual audit plan and methodology. A successful candidate must be a proven audit leader with a strong background in financial reviews and internal controls, who is comfortable navigating complex environments and delivering clear, impactful insights to executive management.

Key responsibilities

• Audit Leadership & Execution: Oversee the planning, execution, reporting, and follow‑up of complex financial, operational, and internal‑control audits across EMEA, reviewing workpapers and reports to ensure professional standards are met
• Planning & Strategy: Lead the development of the annual financial audit plan based on rigorous risk assessments, defining engagement scopes, objectives, testing strategies, and sampling approaches
• Control Evaluation: Evaluate the design and operational effectiveness of financial controls and business processes, supporting internal controls over financial reporting
• Stakeholder & Co‑Source Alignment: Build strong working relationships with senior management, control owners, and external auditors, coordinating activities with co‑source partners to ensure efficient audit coverage
• People Management & Coaching: Supervise, mentor, and develop audit team members, fostering a collaborative, high‑performance culture and contributing to department capability‑building initiatives
• Continuous Improvement: Drive the adoption of data‑driven audit techniques, data analysis tools, and quality assurance processes to continually elevate department methodologies

About you

• Proven experience of working in a finance, compliance, or internal audit role or similar
• Degree educated with a professional qualification (CIA, CPA, or ACCA) highly preferred
• Strong expertise in financial controls, risk assessment & data analytic skills.
• SOX & GAAP experience is advantageous
• Proven ability to coach, manage, and develop audit teams while delivering multi‑project plans
• Sharp business acumen and professional skepticism, with the communication skills to influence senior management effectively
• Willingness to travel

We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Discretionary bonus
• 25 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Pension scheme, life assurance and income protection
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Employee Discounts
• Cycle to work scheme

Location

This is a hybrid role, split between the London Paddington office (3 days) and home (2 days) – however flexibility will be required at times including business travel across EMEA.

About us

We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre‑based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world‑leading organisation and do your best work with us!

We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre‑based products.We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 60,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation,manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world‑leading organisation and do your best work with us!

As the journey continues of bringing together the strengths of both organisations, during your candidate experience you may engage with our colleagues from International Paper! You could visit an International Paper or DS Smith site or office.

Fair recruitment at DS Smith

To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas, and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.