Head of Internal Auditing at Growing Digital Retail Bank, Cape Town
Job Crystal · Cape Town, Western Cape
Overview
A rare opportunity to build and lead a brand new Internal Audit function at a scaling digital retail bank in Cape Town. You will report directly to the Board Audit Committee and shape governance, risk and control assurance in a regulated financial services environment. This permanent, full time role is ideal for a seasoned audit leader who wants to make a lasting impact during a major growth phase. Competitive salary of R100k to R150k per month.
About the role
This is a permanent, full time leadership role based in Cape Town, Western Cape. As Head of Internal Auditing you will provide independent, objective assurance to the Board and Executive Committee on governance, risk management and internal control across a regulated financial services and banking environment. You will establish and lead a credible Internal Audit function as the organisation scales its digitally enabled retail banking and financial services operations.
What you can expect to do:
- Develop and maintain the Internal Audit Charter in line with IIA standards, King IV and Banks Act requirements.
- Prepare a risk based annual audit plan covering credit, market, operational, IT and cyber, financial crime and conduct risks.
- Lead audits that assess the design and operating effectiveness of first and second line controls.
- Present findings and thematic insights to the Board Audit Committee, escalating significant weaknesses promptly.
- Monitor management action plans through to verified closure and report on overdue actions.
- Liaise with the Prudential Authority, FSCA and external auditors during inspections and reviews.
- Build and lead a multidisciplinary audit team with capability across credit, IT, cyber, data analytics and financial crime.
- Introduce data driven and continuous auditing techniques suited to a digital retail bank.
- Protect the independence and objectivity of the function, including managing scope limitations and conflicts of interest.
- Support Board oversight of FATF mutual evaluation readiness from an assurance perspective.
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates with regulated financial services and Board level audit experience. The company is an equal opportunity employer.
Requirements
- Chartered Accountant (South Africa) and or Certified Internal Auditor designation, or substantial progress towards completion.
- Relevant bachelor degree in Accounting, Finance, Risk Management or a related discipline.
- At least 10 to 12 years internal or external audit experience within banking or financial services.
- A minimum of five years leading an Internal Audit function or holding a senior Internal Audit leadership position within a regulated financial institution.
- Demonstrated experience reporting to and managing expectations at Board Audit Committee level.
- Experience engaging with the Prudential Authority or an equivalent prudential regulator during inspections or formal reviews.
- Strong knowledge of risk based auditing methodology and IIA standards.
- Working knowledge of data analytics and continuous auditing tools and techniques.
- Excellent Board level report writing and presentation skills.
- Proven ability to establish credible working relationships across all three lines of defence while maintaining objectivity.
- Strong team leadership and capability building skills, including development of Senior or Lead Internal Auditors and Internal Auditors.
- Independence, ethical courage and sound judgement when evaluating control environments and raising difficult findings.
- Strategic and analytical thinking, resilience, diplomacy and a clear commitment to continuous improvement.
- Certified Information Systems Auditor designation or equivalent qualification is advantageous.
- Experience establishing or scaling an Internal Audit function within a growing or newly licensed financial institution is beneficial.
- Exposure to digitally enabled banking, retail financial services or large scale customer and transaction environments is a plus.
Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain the Internal Audit Charter in accordance with IIA standards, King IV and applicable Banks Act and Prudential Authority requirements.
- Prepare a risk based annual or rolling audit plan covering credit, market, operational, IT and cyber, financial crime and conduct risks.
- Ensure appropriate audit coverage of Financial Risk, Anti Money Laundering, Financial Crime Compliance, Regulatory Compliance, Conduct, POPIA and Operational Risk frameworks.
- Lead and allocate audits assessing the design and operating effectiveness of first and second line controls.
- Present audit findings, ratings and thematic insights to the Board Audit Committee and escalate significant control weaknesses promptly.
- Monitor management action plans through to verified closure and report on overdue or ageing actions.
- Liaise with the Prudential Authority, FSCA and external auditors during inspections, reviews and thematic assessments.
- Maintain a Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme in line with IIA standards and commission periodic external quality assessments.
- Support Board oversight of the organisation’s preparedness for South Africa’s ongoing FATF mutual evaluation cycle.
- Build and lead a multidisciplinary Internal Audit team with capability across credit, IT and cyber, data analytics and financial crime.
- Introduce data driven and continuous auditing techniques appropriate to a digitally led retail bank.
- Provide investigation support for significant fraud, governance breaches or whistleblower matters referred to Internal Audit.
- Protect the independence and objectivity of the function, including managing scope limitations and conflicts of interest.
Job details
- Organisation
- Job Crystal
- Location
- Cape Town, Western Cape
- Job type
- Full time
- Experience level
- Executive (10+ years)
- Education
- Bachelor
- Salary
- R100k to R150k / monthly
- Category
- Banking & Insurance
- Application Method
- Apply online
Success Guide
This is a senior role that will test both your technical audit skills and your ability to influence at Board level. To stand out, make sure your CV clearly shows your experience reporting to an Audit Committee and engaging with the Prudential Authority. Highlight any work you have done in digital banking or fintech environments, as the company is scaling its digital retail bank. In your cover letter, explain why you are passionate about building an audit function from the ground up, not just maintaining one. Interview questions will likely focus on how you maintain independence under pressure, how you use data analytics, and how you handle difficult conversations with senior management. Prepare examples of when you identified a significant control weakness and how you drove it to closure. Good luck, this is a career defining opportunity.
How we help you prepare
This employer takes applications on their own website, so you'll submit this one yourself — but SPAAN NOW gets everything ready for you first. Here's how it works:
- Our AI tailors your CV to match this job's keywords and requirements, so it stands out to recruiters and screening systems.
- A custom cover letter is written specifically for this role — no generic templates.
- We gather the documents this job needs: CV, Degree certificate and Professional registration. SPAAN NOW pulls these from your profile and packages them together, ready to attach.
- Once your application is prepared, we show you exactly how and where to apply — just follow the link to the employer and submit your ready-made CV, cover letter and documents.
- Mark it as applied under Applications to keep track, and if you're shortlisted, use AI Interview Prep to practise questions commonly asked for roles like this.
We do the hard part — tailoring and gathering everything — so applying yourself only takes a minute.
Spaan Talk
Nobody has said anything yet. Be the first.