Internal Audit Manager – North America

Job Summary

Compass Group is a FTSE 20 and Fortune Global 500 company. We’re the people behind the food, hospitality and support services that power your day, make you smile and put a spring in your step. That’s just one of the reasons why we’re the World’s leading contract catering, hospitality, and business support services provider. We operate in 40 countries at more than 50,000 client locations and serving over 5.5 billion meals a year. We operate in all major sectors and industries including education, business, healthcare, government & defense, sport & leisure, offshore and hospitality. From outstanding restaurant and dining experiences in amazing venues and stadiums to feeding thousands of students, patients, workers, and military personnel, we deliver warm welcomes, clean buildings, and safe environments.

This role will be based in our Charlotte, NC office and will report directly to the Sr. Director of Global Audit Services – North America.  Working closely with the North America senior leadership teams, this role will be responsible for delivering the audit plan for North America (US and Canada) and providing support and thought leadership on risks and controls.  Overnight travel is anticipated to be 15-20%.  
 

Responsibilities 

• Plan and deliver internal audits across the North America region.
• Draft high-quality internal audit reports with concise and practical recommendations.
• Develop strong working relationships with management teams and stakeholders.
• Develop and maintain the North America audit universe.
• Support the risk assessment process and annual audit planning process.  Prepare materials for the Audit Committee related to governance requirements.
• Continuous improvement of the internal audit methodology.
• Provide thought leadership in the areas of risk and controls.

Skills and capabilities

• Proactive self-starter with the ability to lead, work independently and engage with teams at all levels in the organization.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are essential as is the ability build rapport and influence senior stakeholders.  
• Ability to translate and communicate technical or complex ideas in a simple and concise manner.
• Demonstrated ability to think holistically about risks in the context of overall business risks.
• Strong analytical skills, with strong risk awareness and understanding of processes and controls.  Data analytics experience beneficial.

Education and experience

• Minimum 5 years of audit experience including audit leadership experience 
• Strong knowledge of Internal Auditing Standards, PCAOB Standards, and COSO, etc.
• Recent (past 5 years) US SOX experience strongly preferred.
• Holds a recognized accounting/auditing certification (e.g., CPA, CIA)
• Experience in a large consumer-focused business is advantageous.  Fortune 500 experience preferred.
• Excellent PC Skills (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Visio, electronic audit work papers, etc.)
• Experience with SAP and HFM preferred.

M&S – Head of Risk

Summary
At M&S, we\’re transforming for the future. This is your opportunity to shape risk strategy at the heart of a business undergoing significant change, influencing decisions that drive resilience and sustainable growth.

The Risk function at M&S plays a critical role in safeguarding the business, providing forward-looking insight, and enabling sustainable growth during a period of significant transformation.

As Head of Risk you will lead the design and delivery of M&S’s Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) framework, drive risk culture and maturity across the organisation, and provide trusted insight to senior stakeholders, including the Executive Committee, Board, and Audit & Risk Committee.

This is a highly visible and influential leadership role, ensuring risk is understood, well-managed, and embedded in strategic and operational decision-making.

To stay close to customers, our support teams are in the office three days a week as we believe that skills are developed through collaboration, and that spending time together makes us more creative and connected.

What You’ll Do
Your key accountabilities will include

• Risk Appetite & Tolerance: Define, implement and maintain the organisation\’s risk appetite framework, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and decision-making processes.
• Integration Across Functions: Collaborate closely with Internal Audit, Compliance, Finance and Legal to ensure a holistic approach to risk management across the organisation.
• Metrics & KRIs: Develop and maintain key risk indicators and dashboards to monitor risk exposure and performance, enabling proactive risk management.
• External Environment & Emerging Risks: Conduct horizon scanning to identify and assess emerging risks, including ESG, geopolitical and macroeconomic factors, and integrate these into risk planning
• Stakeholder Engagement: Act as a trusted advisor to the Board, Executive Committee, and senior leadership, building strong relationships and influencing decision-making.
• Team Leadership: Manage and develop the Risk team, fostering a collaborative, high-performing, and inclusive environment.

Who You Are
Your skills and experience will include

• Professional Qualification: Risk, finance, or audit (e.g., ACA, ACCA, IIA, IRM or equivalent).
• ERM Expertise: Proven experience in enterprise risk management, including frameworks, risk appetite development, and embedding risk into strategy and operations.
• Leadership Experience: Significant senior-level experience in risk, audit, or assurance disciplines (typically 8+ years PQE or equivalent).
• Governance & Reporting: Strong knowledge of risk governance, internal control frameworks, and regulatory expectations, with experience presenting high-quality risk reporting to Boards or Audit & Risk Committees.
• Industry & Transformation Exposure: Background in complex, multi-channel or retail environments preferred; experience in major transformation programmes highly desirable.

What’s In It For You
Being a part of M&S is exactly that – playing your part to bring the magic of M&S to our customers every day. We\’re an inclusive, dynamic, exciting, and ever evolving business built on doing the right thing and bringing exceptional quality, value, service to every customer, whenever, wherever and however they want to shop with us.

Here are some of the benefits we offer that make working for M&S just that little bit more special…

• After completing your probationary period, you\’ll receive 20% colleague discount across all M&S products and many of our third-party brands for you and a member of your household.
• Competitive holiday entitlement with the potential to buy extra holiday days
• Discretionary bonus schemes awarded based on how you achieve your personal objectives and our performance as a business.
• A generous Defined Contribution Pension Scheme and Life Assurance.
• A dedicated welcome to our teams with a tailored induction and a wide range of training programmes to develop your skills.
• Amazing perks and discounts via our M&S Choices portal to maximise your financial and personal wellbeing.
• Industry-leading parental, adoption and neonatal policies, providing support and flexibility for your family.
• Access to a fantastic range of wellbeing support for all colleagues including access to our 24/7 Virtual GP and PAM Assist to support you and your family.
• A charity volunteer day to support a charity or cause you\’re passionate about through a dedicated day away from work.

Job Profile

Key accountabilities, responsibilities, and measures

Key skills

Key relationships and stakeholders

OUR M&S CULTURE & BEHAVIOURS

Culture is the result of consistent behaviours. It’s what you see week in, week out, in how we work.

We are looking to offer a Senior Internal Audit Manager the opportunity to join our expanding Group Assurance Team based in Stevenage.

As a Senior Internal Audit Manager you will be a part of our commitment to deliver what we promise for our clients, within the leading essential infrastructure services provider operating within the UK & Ireland.

Does this sound like a role for you? Read more…

About M Group Services and your team

M Group Services is a trusted employer to more than 10,500 people in the UK and Ireland. Operating across 21 businesses in 240 locations, we provide specialist infrastructure services in the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors.

We work in a fast-paced environment and our business is constantly growing and evolving. Our central support team, based at Head Office, has grown rapidly and provides support across our Group and divisions to deliver to our people, our clients and their customers.

As a Group we recognise that engaging and empowering our people to deliver and grow is pivotal to driving our business and achieving continued success. We are committed to creating an environment in which our people feel valued, supported and fulfilled.

We offer a flexible working environment where hybrid working has been embedded.

Who you are?

This is a key role that will sit within the established, and growing, Group Assurance team, who provide insight, advice, and assurance across the full Group. 

Do you like a challenge?  Are you keen to develop your skills? Do you enjoy finding solutions?

If you want to make a difference working within a supportive team environment, we would be pleased to hear from you.

As the Senior Internal Audit Manager, you’ll get the opportunity to:

• Managing the delivery of a broad range of financial and operational audits, from planning through to completion
• Ensuring the audits are completed to the required quality standards and timeframe. Evaluating the effectiveness of controls and identifying themes, insights and exposures for consideration by management
• Building and maintaining effective stakeholder relationships. Ensuring the business is kept informed of findings arising from audit work and to manage any issues encountered in audits
• Effectively communicating impactful messages to senior stakeholders and delivering concise, high quality written reports
• Line management responsibilities for the Internal Audit team
• Producing the Board level Committee materials
• Fronting projects to improve processes and systems, as well as other assurance work such as fraud investigations
• Inputting into our strategy and the continued development of the Group Assurance function. Including keeping up to date with wider developments in our industry and the Internal Audit profession.

What you’ll bring?

• Holds a recognised internal audit or accountancy qualification
• Knowledge of auditing standards, principles and techniques
• Experience in performing and managing audits, including conducting risk assessments, setting objectives and scope, information gathering, testing and sampling methods
• Can gather, analyse and interpret information to draw suitable conclusions.
• Knowledge of data analysis and visualisation tools would be an advantage
• Strong, clear and succinct communication skills with the ability to influence others, including senior management
• Can work independently and respond well to change, prioritising and managing a range of activities to deadlines
• Personable and with experience in managing small teams
• Is innovative, brings ideas and looks to challenge conventional ways of working
• Has the highest standards of ethics and integrity in making judgements and is able to question others in an objective and constructive manner

What’s in it for you?

25 days' annual leave plus statutory holidays
Discretionary annual bonus
Contributory Pension scheme
Life Assurance
Access to our Employee Assistance Programme
Cycle to work scheme
Access to a wide range of discounts and special offers through our online rewards platform
Private health care
Company car/car allowance and fuel card

Our Vision and Values

Our vision is to be the leading service provider for essential infrastructure in the UK and Ireland.

The core values for our sustainable growth are:

People – engaging and empowering everyone to deliver and grow.
Safety – putting health, wellbeing and safety of people first.
Delivery – helping deliver our clients’ business needs.
Integrity – behaving respectfully and in a sustainable manner to our communities and the environment, maintaining accountability and honesty in the way we work.

About The Company

M Group Services delivers a range of essential infrastructure services within the water, energy, transport and telecommunications sectors in the UK & Ireland. We have built and maintained relationships with our clients over a number of years and have a strong culture that continuously focuses on safety, operational delivery, efficiency and customer service. We are committed to profitable growth both organically and through acquisitions. M Group Services, a trusted employer to over 10,000 skilled specialists working from 240 locations, operates a divisional structure aligned with its end markets.

At M Group Services we recognise and value the benefits from our workforce diversity. We work hard to build and maintain inclusive environments and develop a culture where our people feel included and valued.