Head of Internal Audit 

BELIEVE IN BETTER

Do you believe in leading the way to a better, healthier, more sustainable future?

At AIA we’ve started an exciting movement to create a healthier, more sustainable future for everyone.

It's finding new ways to not only better people's lives, but to better the communities and environments we live. We’ve been proudly making a difference for people and communities across Asia for over a century. And we build on this every day with our ambition to engage one billion people to live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives by 2030.

And to get there, we need leaders with the courage, clarity, and humanity to inspire, guide and support their teams to thrive every day - in the work they do and the life they live. Our leaders always have and will play a vital part in our journey to help more people live Healthier, Longer, Better Lives, build healthier societies and cultivate healthier environments that better everyone.

If you sound like that leader, read on. 

The opportunity:

As the Head of Internal Audit for AIA New Zealand, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the organisation’s risk culture and strengthening its internal control environment. This is a unique opportunity to combine your strategic leadership with deep expertise in risk management, audit practices, and stakeholder engagement.

You will lead a high-performing team of audit professionals, guiding them to deliver independent, insightful assessments that enhance AIA NZ’s ability to manage risk and drive continuous improvement. Your recommendations will help influence decision-making and contribute to the long-term success of the business.

At AIA, we are committed to our operating philosophy: “Doing the right thing, in the right way, with the right people – and the right results will come.” 

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop rapport with business unit management through regular communication of changes in business operations, emerging risks, and potential issues
• Identify key risks across the business, considering the relevant strategies and business environment
• Prepare the annual audit plan and schedules
• Evaluate whether the team has adequate human resources, technical expertise, and proficiency to cover the annual audit plan
• Plan, lead and execute audits, reviews, and other special projects
• Review and co-ordinate the work of the team members and ensure that the working papers, draft audit reports and other deliverables meet internal standards and assignments are completed within budgeted time
• Provide professional advice and insights to management to enable more informed decisions and enhance their capacity to manage risk
• Lead discussion of issues and remedial action plans with the appropriate levels of management
• Facilitate issuance of audit reports to management
• Oversee outstanding audit issues and monitor timely completion of agreed remedial actions by management
• Preparation of Committee reports (Audit, Risk) and other reporting required by Group Internal Audit in Group Office
• Coordinate and co-operate with other internal assurance providers and external auditors to leverage work performed, minimise interruption to the business and contribute to the implementation of an effective and efficient system of internal control
• Develop the team through coaching, mentoring, training, and providing timely feedback to other staff

Ideally, you’ll bring:

• 12+ years' audit experience in the financial services sector (life insurance focus preferred)
• Exceptional leadership skills with a proven ability to develop and support people to grow, fostering a culture of continuous learning and improvement
• Demonstrable experience of influencing senior business leaders, strategic thinking and prioritisation and a goal-oriented focus
• Stakeholder management skills, to build a trusted working relationships with all stakeholders including senior leaders, the Executive team, regulators and the external auditor
• Excellent written and oral communication skills with experience in presenting to senior management, executive and board committees
• Good understanding of IT/information security control principles and processes
• Experience with the use of data visualisation (e.g., Power BI, Tableau) and analytics tools, including audit interrogation software (e.g., ACL/Galvanize), or programming language (e.g., SQL, Python).
• High level of integrity and ethics.

Why choose AIA?

At AIA, we believe in empowering every one of our people to find their 'better'.  We do this by offering:

• Opportunities to grow within the business through internal mobility
• Competitive employee benefits that include insurances, an Employee Share Purchase Scheme and an extra day of leave each quarter to recharge
• Membership to AIA Vitality, our science-backed health and wellbeing programme that provides the guidance, tools, and rewards to get more out of life and start thriving. AIA Vitality partners include Airpoints™, Woolworths, MoleMap, endota, Les Mills, Samsung, Garmin and many more!
• A supportive and inclusive workplace
• Flexible working arrangements.

If you believe you can help guide us towards a better tomorrow, apply HERE now!

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the heart of who we are and what we do. Our commitment to these values is unwavering and they are central to our mission. AIA NZ values diversity in the workforce. We encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds, including those with a disability, additional mental health needs, chronic health conditions and/or are neurodiverse to apply for our roles. If there's anything we may need to consider to support you with our recruitment process, please email nz.talentacquisition@aia.com.

We are a 2025 Circle Back Initiative Employer – we commit to respond to every applicant.