Director, Internal Assurance

Staff – Non Union

Job Category
M&P – Excluded M&P

Job Profile
XMP – Accounting, Level J

Job Title
Director, Internal Assurance

Department
Leadership Office of Enterprise Risk and Assurance

Compensation Range
$12,206.50 – $19,072.67 CAD Monthly

The Compensation Range is the span between the minimum and maximum base salary for a position. The midpoint of the range is approximately halfway between the minimum and the maximum and represents an employee that possesses full job knowledge, qualifications and experience for the position. In the normal course, employees will be hired, transferred or promoted between the minimum and midpoint of the salary range for a job.

Posting End Date
December 28, 2022

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the Posting End Date above.

Job End Date

Job Description Summary

UBC’s Chief Assurance & Risk Officer (CARO) leads the “Office of Enterprise Risk and Assurance (ERA)”. ERA includes the functions of Internal Assurance and Enterprise Risk Management. The mandate of the Internal Assurance function is to provide independent, objective assurance and consulting activities designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps the university accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes.

The Director, Internal Assurance works closely with the ERA leadership team (Chief Assurance and Risk Officer, Director, Enterprise Risk Management and Associate Director, Strategic and Operational Excellence) to build a best-in-class integrated enterprise risk and internal assurance function. This role will contribute to setting the strategic direction of the integrated unit and will oversee the delivery of the internal assurance strategy.
Organizational Status
This position reports to the Chief Assurance and Risk Officer. The Director, Internal Assurance will lead a team of internal assurance professionals including Assistant Directors, Senior Managers and Senior Consultants. This role will work closely with the Director, Enterprise Risk Management to ensure maximum value is obtained from aligning and integrating the enterprise risk and internal audit teams while maintaining the appropriate level of independence. The Director, Internal Assurance will also collaborate with other risk, compliance, and assurance functions across the university.
Work Performed

• In collaboration with the Director, Enterprise Risk Management and organizational leaders, develops priorities for the annual risk-based ERA plan that is flexible and responsive to evolving needs and institutional risks of the university.

• Oversees assurance activities for the university’s top risks, to ensure that identified key controls are designed and operating effectively, and mitigation plans are timely and appropriate.

• Oversees the priorities and scheduling of the Internal Assurance portfolio, including requests for consulting services by organizational leaders, and investigations. Internal Assurance services may include ensuring: significant financial, managerial, and operating information is accurate, reliable, timely and secure; activities are in compliance with policies, standards, procedures, and applicable laws and regulations; and resources are acquired economically, used efficiently, and adequately protected.

• Approves individual plans for consulting, assurance, and investigation engagements.

• Develops and leads a collaborative, effective and capable team in a distributed environment with expertise on leading practices and subject matter knowledge that accommodate UBC s key risks (which include academic, financial, reputational, operational, natural hazards, and strategic risks).

• Ensures all internal assurance services are best-in-class and are delivered in a timely manner through the appropriate balance of levels of staff, internal expertise and external providers.

• Ensures the team of professional assurance staff have sufficient knowledge, skills, experience, and professional certifications to meet the internal assurance component of the integrated enterprise risk and internal assurance strategy.

• Remains current with the evolving discipline of internal assurance, particularly in relation to emerging risks, the integration of risk with organizational strategy, agile auditing, and technology trends.

• Creates and implements a continuous improvement and quality assurance framework for the Internal Assurance function; implements a robust set of processes and metrics to provide ongoing assurance that the internal assurance team, program, and capabilities continue to add significant value to the university and its stakeholders (including the Audit Committee, Executive Team, Deans, and administrative unit leaders).

• Continues to enhance the cadence, timeliness, and transparency of the internal assurance and reporting process while ensuring independence and objectivity.

• Works with the Director, Enterprise Risk Management to oversee the creation and implementation of a robust enterprise risk training strategy to enhance the level of risk awareness (including fraud prevention) across the university and build a risk-informed continuous improvement culture.

• Engages as a strategic partner with academic and administrative leadership and provides proactive and value-add consulting and assurance services in a collaborative manner.

• Represents internal assurance on strategic-level campus-wide committees.

• Provides proactive and expert strategic-level risk advisory and assurance services around significant transformation and change initiatives and programs.

• Balances a collaborative, advisory-style focused on proactively assisting in the assessment and design of mitigations of key institutional risks, with the responsibility for independence and objectivity.

• ·Responsible for the timely delivery of internal assurance materials and reports for Executive Team and Audit Committee meetings.

• Attends Audit Committee and Executive Team meetings with the Chief Assurance and Risk Officer and/or Director, Enterprise Risk Management, as necessary.

• Leads a team of internal assurance professionals and other department staff as required.

• Ensures that the university’s internal assurance program is guided by the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Audit.

• Develops and maintains a Financial Investigations Policy, serves as the primary contact for faculty, staff, and students with financial concerns, and ensures potential financial impropriety is appropriately investigated.

• Ensures collaboration with other university units for employment, civil, criminal, and insurance proceedings related to investigations.

• Performs other related duties as required.

Consequence of Error/Judgement

This position has the opportunity to have a strong influence on the implementation of the UBC Strategic Plan and the core operations of the university. Excellent judgment must be exercised. Lack of good judgment, errors or incorrect work could result in the failure to detect or prevent university risks. Consequences could include:

• Inadequate or inappropriate risk management

• Mismanagement or misappropriation of university resources

• Non-compliance with university policies or statutory obligations

• Inaccuracies in university reports

• Inaccurate information to senior management or the Board resulting in errors in management decisions.

Failure to exercise judgment in dealing with sensitive and confidential matters could adversely influence the outcome of investigations, and negatively impact the reputation of the university. In addition, errors in judgement may have legal and labor relations implications.
Supervision Received
Reports to the Chief Assurance and Risk Officer.
Supervision Given
Leads a team of internal assurance professionals including Assistant Directors, Senior Managers and Senior Consultants, and may manage other department staff as required.
Minimum Qualifications
Undergraduate degree in a relevant discipline. Completion of the CPA accounting program, or a risk management, assurance or compliance program (e.g. CRISC, CGEIT, CIA, CRM, CRMA). Minimum of ten years of related experience, or the equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Ten years of internal audit experience (in areas such as academic, financial, reputational, operational, natural hazards, and strategic risk); or the equivalent combination of education and experience preferred.

• Extensive knowledge of the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Audit.

• Extensive knowledge of leading edge internal audit practices, tools and techniques.

• Experience in technology-related risk areas and non-traditional audit areas such as major IT transformations, performance reviews, cybersecurity.

• Meets all requirements of relevant professional associations to maintain accreditation standing. Acts in accordance with professional standards.

• Ten years of experience at a senior level with internal audit, internal control, risk management and / or compliance experience in an organization with the scale and complexity, range of stakeholders, and a complex governance structure that parallels UBC.

• Previous experience leading an internal audit function and working in an integrated risk and audit environment an asset; enterprise risk management experience an asset.

• Ability to assist the Chief Assurance and Risk Officer with establishing a strategic direction and subsequently outlining initiatives and develop priorities in support of that vision.

• Significant experience working in a dynamic, project based environment with emphasis on timelines, and value realization. -Understands and is able to work effectively in the context of the culture and traditions and of a public university and is able to engender the confidence and respect of faculty, staff and students.

• Ability to develop effective and collaborative relationships with organizational leaders, the Executive Team, and the Audit Committee that demonstrate professionalism and independence.

• Demonstrated ability to successfully, lead, inspire, and mentor diverse high-performing teams towards strategic goals of an internal audit function that ultimately support the achievement of the organization s vision.

• Strategic thinker and problem solver and the ability to see the bigger picture.

• Progressive, forward-looking, risk-based approach with a willingness to fully embrace leading edge practices.

• Able to fully understand the risk appetite of an organization and to prioritize and react appropriately based on risk and value.

• Ability to deal with sensitive and confidential issues using well developed discretion and judgement.

• Ability to maintain absolute confidentiality of information and communicate only appropriate information to individuals at the appropriate time.

• Innovative, dynamic, and adaptive.

• Courageous and direct.

• Strong planning and organizational skills.

• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.