RISK & CONTROLS MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Company: GroupM EMEA

Location: London, UK

Salary range: Competitive

Reporting to: Associate Risk & Controls Director, GroupM EMEA

ABOUT GROUPM

GroupM is the world’s leading media buying operation worldwide, responsible for more than $60B of global media billings through agencies including Mindshare, Essence Mediacom, Wavemaker, and mSix & Partners, as well as Nexus, the industry’s largest community of performance marketing experts designed to drive performance and innovation at scale for GroupM’s agencies and clients.

SCOPE AND OBJECTIVE

We are looking for a Risk & Controls Manager to join our team. The candidate will be part of the EMEA Risk & Controls team, reporting to the Associate Risk & Controls Director, GroupM EMEA.

You will be responsible for providing support to the organization in both implementing and monitoring an effective local control framework aligned with Group requirements and the wide spectrum of compliance activities. You will support with audits on both coordination, issue discussion and remediation. This is a challenging role with multiple priorities and a wide range of local and regional stakeholders.

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Promote and help embed the culture of ethics and integrity across the region, through training, support and advising on relevant topics such as anti-bribery and corruption, internal controls, as well as internal policy requirements.
• Serve as a risk & controls subject matter expert and thought leader within the region.
• Be a great business partner; establish and maintain excellent relationships within the R&C team and local markets, and collaborate effectively with colleagues across GroupM, WPP and other Networks.  Engage with multiple senior stakeholders, both internal and external.
• Support the design and implementation of financial, operational and compliance controls in line with the WPP Internal Control framework, which includes meeting the documentation and evidence standards required.
• Design and operate effective on-going quality reviews / control monitoring programs as a second line of defense for the markets you work with.
• Identify opportunities for continuous improvement, including use of technology, while adapting to the new and evolving challenges and opportunities.
• Reinforce WPP & GroupM policies, control requirements and communicate updates / changes to the business in a clear and concise manner.
• Be a partner and source of support and guidance for specific areas of change / strategic importance that require controls implementation to enable on-going success.
• Think strategically about our business, develop pragmatic and sustainable solutions to enhance the control environment and streamline and standardise processes, procedures and controls.
• Coordinate audit and compliance activities alongside the relevant teams within the markets you support, liaising with internal and external audit teams (e.g. WPP IA, PwC and EY) and monitor remediation for all sources of assurance.
• Coordinate / oversee internal control and risk management processes, e.g. business risk maps, internal control self-certifications, market Letter of Representation submissions, Code of Conduct and related party declarations review.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
• 4+ years of work experience in industry or consulting in risk and controls, ethics and compliance, business process improvement, risk management, or internal / external audit.

MANDATORY SKILLS

• Familiar and confident with SOX compliance, IFRS, PCAOB requirements, etc.
• Ability to work independently and apply a structured approach towards balancing multiple demands and priorities in a fast-paced environment and work cross-functionally across different geographies, functions, and employees of diverse backgrounds.
• Experienced in assessing business risk and evaluating adequacy and effectiveness of internal control systems.
• Experienced in driving improvement and creating stronger business relationships, rather than simply enforcing guidelines.
• Approachable with excellent interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written).
• Flexibility and openness to grow and take ownership of new projects/tasks/roles.
• Competent in Excel.

DESIRED SKILLS

• Language skills. We work across 30+ countries and therefore additional languages are desirable but not essential.