Job Description

CharteredPartners is seeking an Internal Audit Senior Manager to join the risk & internal audit practice of a growing accounting firm in Dubai. The role requires a practitioner who can manage internal audit, enterprise risk and controls advisory engagements end to end, supervising fieldwork and serving as the principal day-to-day client contact across United Arab Emirates and wider Gulf clients. The successful candidate will plan risk-based audit programmes, review working papers to a high standard and present clear recommendations to management and audit committees in a fast-developing regulatory environment. Specific qualifications, regulatory fluency and technical breadth are detailed in the sections that follow.

Confidential Client. Applying to this position means that you are interested to have an initial confidential discussion about how we can help you to identify and join a new accounting-firm practice. With your authorisation we will exclusively run the entire application and recruitment process for you, keeping you apprised at every step. With over 30 years' combined experience of helping the most talented accounting, audit, tax and advisory professionals to make safe, well-judged moves into rewarding new roles, we have the experience, network and ability to help you.

Key Responsibilities:

• Manage internal audit engagements end to end, from risk assessment and planning through fieldwork supervision to reporting and follow-up.
• Act as the principal day-to-day client contact, building trusted relationships with chief audit executives, finance leadership and audit committee members.
• Plan and deliver risk-based audit programmes aligned to the Global Internal Audit Standards 2024 and the three lines model.
• Assess internal controls over financial reporting, including COSO frameworks and SOX/ICFR engagements for US-listed groups.
• Support clients regulated by the Central Bank of the UAE, the DFSA in the DIFC and the FSRA in ADGM.
• Apply the ESCA corporate-governance code and the DIFC and ADGM governance regimes to audit scope.
• Supervise, coach and review the work of audit seniors and associates, maintaining quality and consistency.
• Identify governance & controls improvements and present clear, actionable findings to management.

Required Qualifications and Skills:

• A recognised professional qualification such as ACCA, CPA, CA or equivalent, ideally complemented by CIA.
• Typically eight or more years of internal audit, external audit or risk advisory experience, with a meaningful portion at manager level.
• Strong working knowledge of the Global Internal Audit Standards 2024, the three lines model and COSO internal control frameworks.
• Familiarity with the Central Bank of the UAE, DFSA and FSRA regulatory expectations.
• Knowledge of the ADGM and DIFC governance regimes and the ESCA corporate-governance code.
• Practical experience of SOX/ICFR scoping, walkthroughs and controls testing.
• Proven ability to manage multiple concurrent engagements, budgets and deadlines.
• Excellent report writing and the ability to communicate findings persuasively to senior stakeholders.
• Adaptability to a maturing internal-audit and enterprise-risk market with evolving expectations.
• Membership of, or active engagement with, IIA UAE and ISACA is welcomed.

Preferred Experience:

• Prior experience within a professional services or accounting firm delivering co-sourced or outsourced internal audit.
• Exposure to UAE financial services, real estate, energy or family-office clients.
• Experience with IT internal audit, cyber risk reviews or data analytics applied to audit testing.
• Arabic language capability alongside English is advantageous for client work in the region.
• A track record of coaching and developing audit teams.
• CISA, CISM or CRISC certification alongside the core accounting qualification.

Compensation:

Competitive package commensurate with seniority and experience, including base, performance-based bonus, long-term incentives and (where applicable) partner-track participation.

Next Steps:

This opportunity is open to candidates who hold or can obtain the right to work in the United Arab Emirates and who match the above criteria. Please apply to receive prompt contact from an experienced and specialist accounting-firm recruitment consultant.

Chartered Partners is a trading style of Feltan Associates Pte Ltd; an international Executive Search, Recruitment and Consulting business based in Singapore, licensed and regulated by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower to conduct recruitment services for clients. UEN: 202225620G. EA Licence 23S1672. All rights reserved.