Head of Audit: Change Assurance at Absa Group Limited (Absa)

Job Summary

• An opportunity has become available for an experienced Change Assurance Leader to join our Group’s Internal Audit Change Assurance team which is housed by the Internal Audit Information Technology team.
• The incumbent will evaluate all aspects of portfolio, program and project change, and operate within a collaborative, agile environment to deliver value-added opinions and recommendations.
• The role will focus on providing assurance over the Group’s Strategic Change Book of Work with an emphasis on Strategic Initiatives (from business case straight through to benefits realization). Additionally, Change Management (e.g. organizational changes, BAU changes), also form part of this portfolio.

Job Description

• You will provide effective assurance in line with the banks governance, risk management, and internal control processes and be responsible and accountable for the quality of the audit work performed by the audit team.
• Strong Leadership experience in managing teams and extensive knowledge of Change, IT Systems and Internal Controls is required to succeed in the role.
• Build strong stakeholder relationships at a senior level, manage stakeholder expectations, maintaining a balance between positive relationships and grounded, quality reporting
• Connecting the dots and sharing relevant insights, in support of the board reporting cycles
• Nurturing healthy Change Assurance practices in the team, but also creating wider capabilities in Internal Audit for Change Assurance
• Drive audit planning and the appropriate level of synthesis to support accurate audit opinions
• Drive the automation of Change Assurance practices within the portfolio, in alignment with the overall assurance objectives of the Function
• Create and promote a positive work culture within the team and contribute to the overall portfolio and Function culture
• Monitor and manage the wellbeing of all team members throughout the lockdown period and beyond
• Support the transformation of the internal audit function, in terms of future-fit skills, automation and culture
• Guide, review and approve work carried out on audit assignments to ensure the scope of work is appropriate, controls are correctly identified, assessed and carried out in accordance with IA Methodology, policies, professional standards and budget
• Apply interpretive thinking to enable problem solving in complex and sensitive situations; act as point of escalation where senior leadership is required
• Promote a culture of efficiency through use of expert knowledge, agile and automated auditing techniques and commercial drivers to focus and deliver the audit plan and support the IA strategic direction
• Build relationships with the business on key initiatives, attending key committees and sharing their view of the business’s control assessments
• Actively contribute to the wider talent development of the team through coaching, mentoring, providing constructive feedback
• Attract and retain talented individuals who can contribute to the Change Assurance capability of the future, building a strong pipeline of skills and capabilities

 Experience and Qualification:

• The ideal candidate should have strong technical audit skills combined with the ability to understand the role of the PMO (Project Management Office) and core strategic change capability.
• Relevant graduate and post graduate qualifications
• 10 to 15 years plus assurance experience, of which at least three should have been in a senior project assurance capacity
• Supporting project management certification, e.g. PMP, Prince2 or DSDM. 

Education

• Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Financial Sciences (Required), Postgraduate Degrees and Professional Qualifications: Statistics (Required)

End Date: February 14, 2026