Senior Manager Internal Audit

Salary: Competitive per annum

Hours: 37.5 per week, Monday to Friday

Location: Hybrid, 3 days a week in our VHQ, Crawley

Contract: Permanent

Closing Date: 30th June 2025

In a nutshell

At Virgin Atlantic Airways, we believe that everyone can take on the world, and it’s our vision to become the most loved travel company. As we embark on this next exciting stage of our journey, we’re harnessing our spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation to challenge the status quo.

Join our team of forward-thinkers who approach the world with a different lens. We value individuals who are vocal about driving positive change and are willing to dive into both big and small tasks. If you’re ready to take your career to new heights, this opportunity is for you.

This role is accountable for supporting the continuous development of a mature control environment across the Virgin Atlantic group. You will assist the business in successfully executing strategic objectives through the identification and mitigation of risk and control weaknesses, providing assurance to our Board of Directors and Executives on matters related to Governance, Risk, and Control. Reporting to the Head of Internal Audit, you will manage the delivery of comprehensive assurance and advisory services, proactively advising and assisting the leadership team and top management in the identification and cost-effective mitigation of risks.

Day to day

• Manage the delivery of the annual audit plan, providing regular performance feedback, career guidance, and coaching to help the Senior Internal Auditors be at their best whilst delivering high-quality and impactful audit work.
• Conduct a limited number of audits each year, focusing on areas of high complexity, high risk, and heightened sensitivity.
• Own and continuously develop the Internal Audit methodology, MI, and reporting activity required to ensure quality in all audit engagements and outputs.
• Responsible for managing the in-house assurance team and the relationships with our main co-source partners
• Build trusted relationships with our Senior Leadership community, enhancing the credibility and effectiveness of the Internal Audit function whilst providing valuable advice on efficient risk management.
• Formulate an assurance map across the organisation from having built an overview of second line and other assurance activity that is taking place
• Support the Head of Audit with the Quarterly Top Risk identification and reporting activity, including attending and supporting quarterly Executive Level/C-Suite Risk workshops and risk discussions.
• Represent internal audit at internal governance forums and steering committees, particularly those with a strong enterprise risk linkage, ensuring that the audit function is represented as an active, interested, and vocal partner.
• Develop and upkeep the Group’s Whistleblowing policy, ensuring processes and third-party vendors used to facilitate whistleblowing reporting remain fit for purpose.
• Coordinate and/or lead investigations in accordance with Virgin Atlantic’s investigation guidelines regarding any allegations of fraud, corruption, or serious misconduct posing a significant risk to Virgin Atlantic.
• Provide advisory services and special assignments that enhance efficiency, improve revenue, and reduce costs, whilst promoting and influencing the adoption of best practice control and governance.
• Provide guidance, training, and support to risk owners in each directorate on managing risk and compliance with the group's enterprise risk management requirements.
• Facilitate regular consideration of risk policies and risk appetite with the Main Board and Audit Committee.

About you

We’re looking for a commercially minded audit or risk professional with a strong track record of driving meaningful change in complex environments. You’ll bring a solid grounding in audit, risk, or finance—alongside the credibility and confidence to engage senior stakeholders, influence decisions, and lead cross-functional initiatives from concept to delivery.

You’ll have:

• Proven experience working within an Audit & Risk function in industry or commerce, with exposure to large, fast-paced organisations
• A strong foundation in programme management, innovation, and continuous improvement, with a track record of delivering results
• A degree or diploma in audit, risk, finance, business or a related field, plus one or more professional qualifications (e.g. ACCA, CIA, CISA/ISACA)
• 5+ years post-qualification experience, ideally with a blend of internal audit and broader commercial or operational exposure
• Experience in team leadership roles, with the ability to coach and inspire in high-performance settings
• Demonstrated strength in senior stakeholder engagement and reporting, including with executive leadership and/or board members
• The ability to navigate change across complex, cross-functional teams—bringing structure, clarity and drive to fast-moving situations
• A sound understanding of professional audit standards (e.g. IIA) and a track record of working to the highest standards of integrity and compliance
• Exceptional time management and organisational skills, able to manage competing priorities and meet tight deadlines

Desirable (but not essential):

• Experience regularly interfacing with the C-suite or Board of Directors
• Specialist expertise in one or more relevant disciplines, such as:
• Certified Fraud Examination or Forensic Auditing
• IT or Cybersecurity Auditing (e.g. CISA/ISACA)
• Advanced data analytics, continuous audit scripting or automation
• M&A or corporate due diligence

Our recipe for leadership

At Virgin Atlantic, our leaders empower teams to thrive through collaboration, innovation, and excellence. Explore our Leadership Recipe and discover the 20 core ingredients that define what it means to lead with us, driving our mission to be the most loved travel company and achieve sustainable profit. Want to learn more? Click here

Be yourself

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That’s why we’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world - no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong.

To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you’d like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, ([email protected]) feeling confident that we’ve got your individual considerations covered.