Controls Assurance Lead

Title : Controls Assurance Lead
Work Level : WL3X
Location: UK 100VE

Business Context:
Unilever is a business founded in 1890s with a strong belief in social purpose, and our unique heritage still shapes the way we do business today.
We are one of the world's leading consumer goods companies, making and selling around 400 brands in more than 190 countries. Unilever is in 2020 a €51 billion euro revenue company with a global presence across Europe, Americas and Asia/AMET/RUB. Over 2.5 billion people use our products to feel good, stay healthy and make their lives easier. That's about a third of the global population choosing from household names such as Lipton, Knorr, Dove and Hellmann's, and local brands like Bango in Indonesia and Suave in the US.
Unilever’s Purpose is to make sustainable living commonplace, and this is underpinned by The Unilever Compass: Purpose-Led, Future-Fit is our new, single growth strategy based on three beliefs; Brands with purpose grow, Companies with purpose last, People with purpose thrive. Our vision is to be the global leader in sustainable business. We will demonstrate how our purpose-led, future-fit business model drives superior performance, consistently delivering financial results in the top third of our industry.
GCAD is the Group Chief Accountant’s Department, responsible for accounting and controls activities for the group and acts as a centre of accounting expertise and excellence. This role reports to the GCAD Global Risk & Controls Director.

Main Job Purpose:
The purpose of the role is to support the GCAD Risk and Controls team in the delivery of the risk management and controls assurance processes, strengthening the financial controls environment and driving operating efficiency and effectiveness.
The candidate will be responsible for leading the Financial Control Assessment (FCA) as part of our management assurance over compliance with Sarbanes Oxley regulations covering Finance and IT controls. They will manage and develop a team of 4-5 based out of Bangalore and a third-party testing team to coordinate with the countries, Operating Centres, and Third-Party Service Providers to ensure the FCAs are completed to a high quality and within the expected timelines.
Provides leadership and oversight for the following:
• Lead the SOX Compliance program ensuring adherence to all relevant control requirements per the Sarbanes Oxley Act (Section 404) for financial reporting and internal controls (including ITGC and Access).
• Management of a team of 4 and a third-party testing provider to deliver the annual SOX compliance requirements. Continuously optimising efficiency, engagement and ensuring quality deliverables for the SOX programme.
• Define and perform risk assessment and scoping for group wide controls assurance activities by collaborating with cross-functional teams to stay up to date on significant changes that may have an impact on the design and/or operating effectiveness of controls.
• Define the testing strategy and implement across markets, perform management testing and analysis of financial controls.
• Develop and execute the annual SOX compliance plan ensuring timely execution of assessment and reporting.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with external auditors on SOX-related matters. Coordinate the annual SOX audit, ensuring that all documentation, testing and remediation efforts are completed on time and meet audit requirements.
• Maintain on-going communication with external auditors and internal auditors including alignment on controls assurance planning, walkthroughs/testing, audit requests, and deficiency evaluation.
• Monitor and report progress and all aspects of FCA to Senior Management and the Audit Committee.
• Deliver timely and concise communication, including developing and producing management reporting, illustrating compliance status, trends, and remediation of deficiencies.
• Prepare executive management and Audit Committee materials highlighting overall FCA SOX progress and results in order to meet all regulatory requirements, including providing guidance to assist with CEO and CFO certification.
• Identify critical control issues/trends/themes and partner with process owners and internal stakeholders to identify solutions.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders and other business partners in a way that fosters an open environment of continuous dialogue and information exchange and yet challenges the status quo to continuously improve the controls culture and overall control operating effectiveness across Unilever.
• Lead, coach a high performing team and facilitate career progression / talent rotation.

Experience
- Qualified Chartered Accountant or other relevant professional qualification with minimum 10 years PQE
- SOX audit experience or previous controls experience in a SOX scope company
- Experience in advisory or audit for a major accounting firm
- Strong knowledge of US GAAP, COSO, PCAOB Auditing Standards, Sarbanes-Oxley, risk and controls standards and business process best practices
- Strong knowledge of internal controls, SAP and core business and financial processes
- Experience in managing third party outsourced vendors
- Ability to work in a dynamic organization and manage / balance multiple priorities and diverse projects concurrently
- Ability to analyse the root cause of the deficiencies and propose corrective action and ensure quality deliverables
- High proficiency in stakeholder management, good at finding a common ground and pragmatic solutions to problems
- Deals easily with ambiguity and can effectively cope with change
- High proficiency in stakeholder management, partnership, building trust and influence
- Experience of managing complex, multi-stakeholder change projects
- Strong communication and influencing skills, bringing the ability to explain technical concepts to a wider business audience
- Experience and awareness of working in multicultural and multilocation teams
- Possesses a high energy level, intellectual curiosity and strong work ethic with a commitment to continuous improvement in a dynamic and changing environment.

Key Stakeholders
- Group Financial Controller
- Group Chief Accountant and GCAD Leadership Team
- External auditors
- Corporate audit team
- Controls Service Centre (managing day to day operation of controls)
- Business Process Owners
- Control Owners
- Third Party Service Providers
- Operating Centres
- Finance Expertise Teams (Tax, Pensions etc)
- Consulting/expertise partners