Senior Internal Controls Manager

Strengthening the Smiths Group's internal control environment remains a strategic priority. This senior role will support a Flex-Tek business unit (Construction or Aerospace). It will be responsible for leading and overseeing Internal Controls testing for the business unit, working closely with the offshore outsourced testing provider, BDO India, to ensure testing activities are well coordinated, and partnering with local and divisional teams to support remediation activities extensively.

This is a hands-on role that will drive sustainable improvements in internal controls over financial reporting (ICFR), material controls, and IT controls, while embedding a culture of control excellence through business partnering and thought leadership.  A significant part of the role will be to drive cultural change within the division, helping raise internal control and risk management understanding and awareness, and be a champion for the internal controls function within the site.

Ideal Candidate profile:

You will be proactive, curious, and a natural problem solver. You thrive on identifying challenges and turning them into opportunities for improvement. You enjoy engaging with the business, building relationships, and working collaboratively to drive change. You’re someone who gets energy from solving problems, creating clarity, and helping others succeed. You are resilient with a “go-getter” attitude and a strong sense of ownership. You’re not afraid to roll up your sleeves and get hands-on, whether that’s developing templates, supporting local sites, or navigating complex issues. The ideal candidate for this position will have prior experience in designing and implementing Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) for a large corporation or as a consultant with a top-tier practice firm. You will be a qualified accountant (ACA/ACCA) and will likely have gained experience in external audit.  If you have experience with internal control programs within a SOX environment, that will be highly desirable.   

Responsibilities

• Lead divisional control remediation efforts to meet Provision 29 requirements.
• Partner with Flex-Tek finance and operational teams to embed sustainable control practices.
• Drive control design and implementation for the business area/division
• Drive the design and implementation of internal controls over financial reporting across Flex-Tek.
• Lead control gap assessments and remediation planning. This includes, as needed, supporting the progress of the complex remediation plan.
• Champion the use of global tooling for control documentation and testing.
• Deliver training and change management to ensure business readiness for new compliance requirements.
• Contribute to the Group’s thought leadership in internal controls, including finance and IT.
• Contribute to the annual ICFR risk assessment and scoping for the Flex-Tek business unit.
• Lead controls testing and assurance activities.
• Monitor KPIs and report on control effectiveness and remediation progress.
• Collaborate with external advisors and internal audit to ensure alignment and assurance.
• Proactively contribute to the internal controls change agenda for the division.
• Influence and challenge divisional leadership to adopt best practices in controls.

Technical Knowledge and Skills

• ACA/ACCA qualified with significant post-qualification experience.
• Proven track record in leading internal control programs in a SOX or Provision 29 context.
• Experience in business partnering with finance and operations.
• Strong understanding of COSO, COBIT, and control frameworks (including Internal Controls over Financial Reporting).
• Internal / External Audit
• Desirable: Experience with ERP systems (Epicor, Syteline, SAP) and control automation.