IT Audit Manager📣 Job Ad

About Hala and the Role

Hala is a prominent fintech leader in the MENAP region, dedicated to redefining financial services and building the future bank for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Licensed by the Saudi Arabian Central Bank, Hala empowers SMEs with advanced financial and technological tools to start, run, and grow their businesses. We are seeking an experienced IT Audit Manager to join our full-time team in Riyadh, contributing to our mission by ensuring robust technology governance and compliance.

Role Purpose and Scope

The IT Audit Manager will lead and execute audits across critical areas including Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity Management (BCM), and other technology-enabled business processes. This role involves planning and executing risk-based audits, evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of IT general controls (ITGCs), cybersecurity controls, technology governance, cloud environments, business continuity, disaster recovery capabilities, and regulatory compliance. The Manager will identify technology risks and control deficiencies, assess their organizational impact, and provide practical recommendations to strengthen governance, enhance cyber resilience, improve operational effectiveness, and support compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and industry standards.

Core Responsibilities

• Plan and execute risk-based IT audit engagements covering IT General Controls (ITGC), cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital platforms, data governance, BCM, disaster recovery (DR), third-party risk, and technology-enabled business processes.
• Conduct audit planning activities, including risk assessments, audit scoping, control identification, and the development of comprehensive audit programs and testing procedures.
• Evaluate the design and operating effectiveness of IT controls, identify technology risks and control deficiencies, and propose practical recommendations to enhance governance, security, resilience, and operational effectiveness.
• Perform interviews and walkthroughs with business and technology stakeholders to gain a thorough understanding of IT processes, systems, applications, infrastructure, and associated controls.
• Prepare clear, concise, and evidence-based audit reports, working papers, and executive presentations that effectively communicate audit observations, risk implications, and actionable recommendations.
• Present audit findings and recommendations to senior management, facilitating discussions to secure agreement on corrective action plans.
• Monitor and validate the implementation of agreed management actions through periodic follow-up reviews, providing independent assurance over the effectiveness of remediation activities, including the validation of regulatory observations where required.
• Provide advisory and consulting services on technology initiatives, digital transformation projects, system implementations, and other ad hoc reviews, while strictly maintaining the independence of the Internal Audit function.

Required Experience and Expertise

Candidates for this role should possess 5 to 10 years of relevant experience in IT audit, cybersecurity audit, or a related field. This includes demonstrated expertise in performing risk assessments, evaluating IT controls, and assessing compliance with various regulatory and industry standards. The ability to articulate complex technical issues to both technical and non-technical audiences is essential.

Regulatory Compliance and Industry Standards

A key aspect of this role involves assessing compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, internal policies, and recognized industry frameworks and standards. Candidates must have strong knowledge of, and experience with, frameworks such as:

• SAMA Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
• SAMA BCM Framework
• PCI DSS
• ISO/IEC 27001
• COBIT
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• SWIFT CSCF (where applicable)
• Other relevant technology risk and security standards

Professional Conduct and Continuous Improvement

The IT Audit Manager is expected to build and maintain effective working relationships with business units, technology teams, risk management, compliance, and external stakeholders, while consistently preserving audit independence and objectivity. This role also requires staying abreast of emerging technology risks, cybersecurity threats, evolving regulatory requirements, and changes to applicable auditing, governance, and security standards. Furthermore, the Manager will contribute to the continuous enhancement of the Internal Audit methodology, including the adoption of data analytics, continuous auditing techniques, and technology-enabled audit tools.