As a Senior Manager within the SOX Centre of Excellence (CoE), you will be accountable for leading end-to-end SOX delivery across assigned portfolios and regions while helping establish and mature a scalable SOX operating model.
As a primary execution leader, you will plan, coordinate, review, and oversee SOX activities across risk assessment, control testing, issue management, and remediation support. The role is responsible for driving consistency, quality, and execution excellence while building sustainable processes, standard methodologies, and governance practices that enable efficient and effective SOX compliance.
Through portfolio ownership, you will develop deep process and control expertise, strengthen stakeholder accountability, and help transition the organisation from a project-based compliance approach to a continuous, repeatable, and sustainable SOX program. Working closely with business stakeholders, control owners, auditors, and the broader SOX CoE, you will contribute to embedding a strong controls culture and supporting the organisation's journey toward long-term SOX compliance and operational maturity.
Key Accountabilities and main responsibilities
Strategic Focus
- Lead end-to-end SOX delivery across assigned portfolios and regions, ensuring alignment with the SOX methodology, governance framework, and annual compliance objectives.
- Support the establishment and ongoing maturity of the SOX CoE by embedding repeatable, scalable, and sustainable SOX processes, governance, and quality standards.
- Drive continuous improvement across the SOX program through standardisation, performance insights, lessons learned, and adoption of leading practices.
- Develop and maintain a deep understanding of assigned business processes, risks, controls, and regulatory requirements to provide informed oversight, challenge, and guidance.
- Contribute to annual SOX planning activities, including scoping, risk assessment, testing strategy, and resource planning.
Operational Management
- Manage execution of SOX testing activities across assigned portfolios, ensuring delivery against agreed timelines, quality standards, and reporting requirements.
- Review testing workpapers, evidence, conclusions, and documentation to ensure adherence to SOX methodology and audit standards.
- Oversee control deficiency identification, impact assessment, root cause analysis, remediation tracking, and implementation of interim mitigating controls where required.
- Challenge testing results and control conclusions to ensure appropriate risk assessment and control evaluation.
- Own and maintain process flows, RCMs (Risk and Control Matrices), and SOX documentation across assigned portfolios, ensuring accuracy, completeness, and alignment to business processes and risks.
- Oversee delivery of SOX certification activities and control owner sign-offs, ensuring completion within agreed timelines and compliance requirements.
- Monitor and report portfolio status, risks, resource requirements, key performance indicators, and remediation progress to SOX leadership.
- Drive timely issue resolution and escalation where delivery, control, or compliance risks emerge.
- Support external auditor reliance activities through coordination, evidence quality reviews, and resolution of auditor queries.
People Leadership
- Partner with control owners and business stakeholders to strengthen SOX awareness, enhance control ownership, and promote a sustainable controls culture through ongoing guidance / training / knowledge sharing, and collaboration.
- Promote shared accountability for internal controls by partnering with stakeholders on control design, evidence requirements, deficiency remediation, and process improvement initiatives.
- Collaborate effectively with control owners, risk teams, and external auditors to drive alignment, transparency, and high-quality SOX outcomes.
- Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and technical guidance to SOX members.
- Allocate work across team members and monitor capacity, workload balance, and delivery performance.
- Develop team capability through knowledge sharing, coaching, feedback, and review activities.
Governance & Risk
- Ensure SOX activities are executed in accordance with approved methodologies, policies, and control standards.
- Maintain oversight of portfolio risks, testing exceptions, and remediation activities to ensure timely resolution.
- Support evaluation of control deficiencies, including assessment of severity and reporting implications.
- Identify emerging risks, process gaps, and control weaknesses and recommend practical improvement opportunities.
- Promote quality, consistency, and defensibility of SOX documentation and conclusions across assigned portfolios.
The above list of key accountabilities is not an exhaustive list and may change from time-to-time based on business needs.
Experience & Personal Attributes
Experience
- Minimum 12+ years of experience in SOX Compliance, Internal Controls, Internal Audit, External Audit, Risk Management, or Risk Advisory.
- Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end SOX programs, including risk assessment, control testing, deficiency management, and external auditor coordination.
- Strong understanding of internal control frameworks including COSO and SOX compliance requirements.
- Experience leading teams responsible for testing business process and IT controls within complex, multi-entity or multinational environments.
- Proven ability to manage multiple portfolios, stakeholders, and competing priorities while delivering high-quality outcomes.
- Experience partnering with senior business leaders, control owners, and auditors to drive remediation and strengthen control environments.
- Strong understanding of issue management, root cause analysis, and remediation governance practices.
- Experience driving process improvement, standardisation, and operational excellence initiatives within a compliance or assurance function.
Personal Attributes
- Strong leadership capability with the ability to inspire, coach, and develop high-performing teams.
- Highly organised with strong planning and execution skills.
- Strong analytical and risk assessment capabilities, with the ability to exercise sound professional judgement.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills across all organisational levels.
- Ability to challenge constructively while maintaining effective working relationships.
- Strong attention to detail and commitment to quality, accuracy, and consistency.
- Effective written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex control and risk matters clearly.
- Continuous improvement mindset, focused on simplifying processes and enhancing effectiveness.
- Resilient and adaptable, with the ability to operate effectively in a dynamic and evolving environment.
- Demonstrates integrity, accountability, and a strong commitment to governance and risk management principles.
