Associate Director - Internal Controls and Assurance (m/w/d)

As Director of Internal Controls & Assurance, you will build and lead a cross-company IC&A function from the ground up in a fast-growing European listed company. You’ll own the enterprise Internal Control Framework, governance, and annual assurance across multiple domains, providing evidence-based judgments to Management and the Board. Enjoy autonomy, modern GRC tooling, and a clear path to scale the function with a developing team. This role shapes how controls enable safe, compliant growth in a data-driven, regulated environment.

• Work from Home up to 20 days/year
• Kindergarten grant
• Mental health support
• Personal development and training
• Deutschland Ticket mobility support
• Urban Sports Club membership

• Establish and lead the IC&A function including mandate, governance, operating model and priorities
• Develop and scale the IC&A team and determine when outsourcing is needed
• Own the enterprise Internal Control Framework and ensure consistent methodology
• Define control taxonomy, evidence standards, testing methodology and deficiency framework
• Oversee risk-to-control mapping with Enterprise Risk Management and expand into multiple business domains
• Set annual assurance scope, plan, and ensure well-supported control judgments
• Challenge senior leaders on design, evidence, ownership and remediation and resolve disagreements
• Own management reporting on control environment and lead senior engagements with governance bodies
• Maintain clarity of responsibilities across first, second, and third lines of defense

• Substantial experience in internal controls, risk assurance, internal audit, SOX/ICFR or equivalent
• Proven track record of maturing an Internal Control Framework across multiple domains
• Advanced knowledge of control design, walkthroughs, testing, evidence evaluation and remediation governance
• Strong judgement in evaluating deficiencies and challenging executives
• Understanding of the Three Lines Model
• Leadership and clear reporting skills for executive/Board audiences
• Experience in a listed, regulated, international or complex environment
• CIA preferred; CPA/ACCA/CISA or equivalent welcomed
• Familiarity with COSO/SOX; experience with External Audit; hands-on use of GRC platforms such as AuditBoard/Optro; AI-enabled workflows is a plus
• Experience in healthcare, pharmacy, e-commerce, logistics or data-intensive environments is a plus
• Fluent in English; German a plus

• leadership
• clear written and verbal communication
• stakeholder management
• AuditBoard/Optro
• COSO/SOX
• GRC platforms