QNB3623 – Vice President – Internal Audit (Kuwaitization) Full Time NEW

Established in 1964 as the country’s first Qatari-owned commercial bank, QNB Group has steadily grown to become the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

QNB Group’s presence through its subsidiaries and associate companies extends to more than 31 countries across three continents providing a comprehensive range of advanced products and services. The total number of employees is more than 28,000 serving up to 20 million customers operating through 1,000 locations, with an ATM network of 4,300 machines.

QNB has maintained its position as one of the highest rated regional banks from leading credit rating agencies including Standard & Poor’s (A), Moody’s (Aa3) and Fitch (A+). The Bank has also been the recipient of many awards from leading international specialised financial publications.

Based on the Group’s consistent strong financial performance and its expanding international presence, QNB currently ranks as the most valuable bank brand in the Middle East and Africa, according to Brand Finance Magazine.

QNB Group has an active community support program and sponsors various social, educational and sporting events.

Job Purpose Summary

The incumbent will be responsible for leading the Country Audit team, and managing the provision of internal audit and related advisory services for the Branch’s activities. In this regard, the incumbent will develop the annual internal audit plan for the Branch for review by Group Internal Audit Division and subsequently ensure the timely implementation/ execution of the plan in line with applicable best practices, including but not limited to the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (SPPIA).

The responsibility includes also the follow-up of issues raised by Group Internal Audit Division and preparation of status reports, review of Policies and Procedures and conduct investigations/special assignments as and when requested. The role will also extend to the secondary responsibilities assigned to the incumbent in terms of specific audit activities/ functions/ departments and special projects, as assigned by his superiors, in addition to his primary responsibility. The position requires sufficient expertise and knowledge to focus/ monitor a wide range of risks in their countries business.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities By Dimensions

• Shareholder & Financial:
• Ensure effectiveness of adopted policies/ procedures adherence to regulatory and statutory requirements, and safeguarding of the Branch’s assets.
• Add value to the functions/ activities performed by the Branch by identifying instances/ risks that could result in financial losses or regulatory non-compliance, monetary penalties/ reputation damage through the audit and risk review process.
• Identify potential cost saving opportunities by highlighting process inefficiencies through the above processes.
• Implements KPI’s and best practices for the internal audit function and its roles.
• Promote cost consciousness and efficiency and enhance productivity, to minimise cost, avoid waste, and optimise benefits for the bank.
• Act within the limits of the powers delegated by the GIAD to the incumbent and delegate authority to the respective staff and monitor exercise of the same.
• Demonstrate clear understanding of the important factors behind the bank’s financial & non-financial performance.
• Customer (Internal & External):
• Ensure adequate coverage of the Branch’s activities in the annual audit plan to provide assurance to the relevant executive management on the adequacy and effectiveness of the internal controls in place within the respective department/ function and add value to improve the functioning of the various activities performed by the referenced department/ function, as and where applicable.
• Act as primary Internal Audit subject matter expert in country, in order to ensure adherence to the full range of regulatory requirements (both local and Qatar regulators) including QNB Country Compliance manual; Group Compliance Policies and Procedures Financial Crime Risk, ESG, Fraud Risk Management, Regulatory reporting and Information Security etc.
• Provide timely feedback/ information to the VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity on queries, reports and other correspondence received by Branch Management either directly from the external auditors or the applicable regulators in the respective jurisdictions, to enable the latter to respond to the same in a timely and efficient manner, that pertain to the incumbent’s area of responsibility.
• Execute and/or support in completion of any requirement, tasks or requests from local regulator or GIAD’s office specifically related to Internal Audit, including reviews of regulatory returns, and periodic certifications.
• Liaise with the relevant officials from Country Regulators as and when required and provide clarifications/ responses to queries/ reports/ other correspondence received.
• Liaise with the external auditors of the branch to ensure that they complement the efforts of the Internal Audit and avoid duplication of effort. This will involve meetings with the external auditors to discuss the planned audit work, the exchange of working papers, audit reports and management letters, and to ensure common understanding of audit techniques, methods and terminology.
• Manage the relationships with the Branch’s executive management and obtain their inputs/ concerns on the various functions/ activities pertaining to the Branch including significant developments therein, which could have an impact on the annual audit plan for the Branch.
• Support Internal Audit teams of other QNB international entities, as and where requested by GIAD.
• Maintain activities in accordance with Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with internal departments/units to achieve improvements in turn-around time.
• Build and maintain strong/effective relationships with related departments/units to achieve the Group’s objectives.
• Internal (Processes, Products, Regulatory):
• Conduct a risk assessment for branch individual functions/ processes/ products and related procedures on at least annual basis as an input to annual audit planning exercise.
• Prepare an annual audit for submission to the VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity for review/comments and approval, based on the risk assessment conducted for the Branch and in line with its overall strategy.
• Ensure timely implementation and execution of the approved annual audit plan. Also responsible for submitting periodic status reports on the progress to VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity and explaining the reasons for the delay in completion of individual assignments, if applicable.
• Ensure the continued adherence to internal auditing best practices including but not limited to the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (SPPIA) recommendations/guidelines. Ensure that the audit planning, fieldwork and reporting stages are conducted in consonance with the procedures/ guidelines contained in the internal audit manual. Also, make recommendations to the VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity on any improvements to the approved internal audit manual, in line with best practices.
• Escalate promptly (on interim basis if required) any major issues/ significant concerns emerging from the areas/ functions audited, to the VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity for review/ action to enable timely rectification/ resolution of the highlighted issues.
• Utilize appropriate audit management application software procured by GIAD
• Ensure effective audit follow-up process in order to monitor and report on status of issues raised in reports issued by Internal Audit, External auditors and regulators.
• Submit performance appraisals to the VP -International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity on timely basis in accordance with the laid down policy in this regard.
• Provide timely and accurate information to the external auditors, regulators and the Compliance function as and when required.
• Continuous Improvement:
• Set examples by leading improvement initiatives through cross-functional teams ensuring successes.
• Identify and encourage people to adopt practices better than the industry standard.
• Continuously encourage and recognise the importance of thinking out-of-the-box within the team.
• Encourage, solicit and reward innovative ideas even in day-to-day issues.
• Learning & Knowledge:
• Identify related areas for professional development based on discussions with the VP – International Support & Oversight for Global Audit Activity and ensure they are part of their development plan.
• Complete all mandatory training provided by the Bank and attain/maintain the required levels of competence.
• Seek out opportunities to remain current with all developments in professional field.
• Hold meetings with staff and assess their performance and the team’s overall performance on a regular basis.
• Identify development opportunities and activities for staff and facilitate/coach them to improve their effectives and prepare them to assume greater responsibilities.
• Take decisive action to ensure speedy resolution of unresolved grievances or conflicts within the team members.
• Legal, Regulatory and Risk Framework Responsibilities:
• Comply with all applicable legal, regulatory and internal compliance requirements including, but not limited to, the QNB Country Compliance manual; Group Compliance Policies and Procedures (Anti Money Laundering & Counter Terrorist Financing, Sanctions Policy, Data Protection Policy, Fraud Control Policy, Whistle Blowing Policy, Conflict of Interest and Insider Dealing Policy).
• Understand and effectively perform your role under the Three Lines of Defence principle to identify, measure, monitor, manage and report risks.
• Ensure systematic good outcomes for clients in accordance with Conduct Risk policy.
• Support the framework of RCSA, KRI, Incident reporting and remediation, as appropriate, in accordance with the Operational Risk Management requirements.
• Maintain appropriate knowledge to ensure full qualification to undertake the role.
• Complete all mandatory training provided by the Bank, attain, and maintain the required levels of competence.
• Attend mandatory (internal and external) seminars as instructed by the Bank.
• Other:
• Carry out all other ad hoc tasks, duties and/or activities that GIAD may request from time to time.
• Ensure high standards of data protection and confidentiality to safeguard commercially sensitive information.
• Maintaining utmost confidentiality concerning customer and internal bank information obtained during the course of business and provide such information on a need to know basis only to Senior Management of QNB, Audit and Compliance functions, and relevant Regulators.
• Maintain high professional standards to uphold QNB’s reputation and to strengthen its market leadership position.

Education And Experience Requirements

• University graduate (Bachelor’s degree) preferably with a Major in Finance, Banking, Economics, Accounting (or related field of study), Masters preferred
• Minimum of 12 years’ experience in a major bank or leading audit firm out of which 5 years in a managerial role with a major bank.
• Professional Audit qualifications such as CIA / CMA / CPA / CA/ ACCA / CISA or equivalent is required.

Note: you will be required to attach the following:

• Resume/CV
• Copy of your Passport
• Copy of Education Certificate