BelkavitzSloan are proud to work as a recruitment partner to a fortune 500 conglomerate specialising in; mineral resources, transportation infrastructure, oil country tubular goods, iron, steel and nonferrous metals. With a presence in many critical industry sectors such as; oil and gas, petrochemical, refining and boiler manufacturing industries amongst others, this company are committed to enhancing their customers experience through positioning themselves as a total solutions provider for both products and services with proprietary supply chain management systems that provide comprehensive well management services which are expanded beyond the value chain, reaching further than conventional product trading companies into services not routinely provided by pipe suppliers, such as manufacturing, distribution and oilfield services.

Position Synopsis

The Chief Internal Auditors position is required for an international project, a major nickel and cobalt mining operation, the largest single investment in the history of Africa, set to become the world’s biggest lateritic nickel mine, designed to produce 60,000t of refined nickel and 5,600t of refined cobalt with a life span of 29 years. In addition to Nickel and Cobalt the mine is integrated with its own Ammonium Sulphate processing facility, a biproduct of the extraction process.

The role of the Chief Internal Auditor is to monitor and verify the adequacy, effectiveness, and correct operations of the internal audit system. This will include, developing and implementing the internal audit plan, managing the whistle-blower system, reporting to the audit committee and the company management, providing advisory support to management, developing supporting and mentoring a team, conducting audits, improving the practise of audits and championing risk management.

This is a key role both for the company internal auditing team dedicated specifically to the mining project and the Audit Committee based in Africa, working closely with the Senior Internal Auditor on a day-to-day basis.

The Job

Developing and implementing the internal audit plan

• Develop annually a risk-based internal audit plan for EXCO Audit Committee review and approval.
• Ensure an effective ERM framework is established and monitored to support the development of the annual internal audit plan.
• Ensure methodical documentation of work plans, testing results, conclusions and recommendations.
• Direct the work of external auditors on selected audits, as directed by the Audit Committee and senior management, to ensure the audit work remains within the prescribed guidelines.
• Complete internal control testing to support J-SOX/NI 52-109 requirements.
• To support on high-priority investigations
• To provide assurance over ERP implementation including process and control re-design.

Managing the Whistleblower System

• Participate on the monthly Business Ethics Committee to review new whistleblower reports with management and monitor the status of on-going investigations from past reports.
• Provide support on high-priority investigations completed by internal investigators from the Security Department and/or external investigators.

Reporting to the Audit Committee and management 

• Prepare reports for the EXCO Audit Committee and participate in meetings on a quarterly basis (or more frequently as required)
• Prepare reports for the Management Audit & Compliance Committee and participate in meetings on a quarterly basis to provide management with an update on the status of the internal audit plan and remediation of past internal audit findings.

Providing advisory support to management

• Provide subject-matter expertise with respect to internal controls and risk management on site-level projects as requested by management.
• Provide feedback and recommendations to management on business risks and improvements to operational processes where appropriate.

The Candidate MUST have

• We are ideally seeking a candidate with between 10-15 years of related work experience with at least 3 years in a Head of/Director of Internal Audit role managing a small/medium sized team and reporting to a board of directors/audit committee.
• Experience in working at multiple mining and industrial chemical manufacturing sites, ideally in developing countries (working on-site and/or a fly-in/fly-out rotation)
• Experience in working for projects/businesses with complex shareholder relationships and experience in reporting to multiple joint venture partners.
• Big 4 internal audit background or internal audit within complex multi-site organisations

• University Degree
• Professional accounting qualification (i.e. CPA, CA, CMA, ACCA)
• Internal audit or fraud qualification (i.e. CIA, CFE) is desirable
• Intermediate-advance MS Office Skills – ability to produce reports/data from SAP
• Excellent numerical, analytical, and organisational skills
• Experience in working in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual environment where there are differing education levels – basic level of French language skills is desirable.
• Comprehensive understanding of COSO Enterprise Risk Management and COSO Fraud Risk Management Guide
• Knowledge of safety practices, including the use of personal protective equipment (e.g. high visibility clothing, hydrogen sulphide detectors, escape masks) when visiting potentially hazardous location – Understanding of the hydrometallurgical leaching processes and knowledge of the associated process, tailings, and safety risks
• Confident, strong communication skills, experience in engaging a range of stakeholders at different levels up to Senior Management and Executive
• Ability to negotiate.
• High level of integrity
• Flexibility to meet travel requirements of the department. Ability to travel 60 – 70% of the time (outside the pandemic) and for extended periods of up to 4 weeks to work locations in Africa, High level of engagement in the role and the ability to be reactive to the requirements of site management.