Head of the Internal Control Testing COE

Job Title: Head of the Internal Control Testing COE

Location: Hyderabad

Job Type: Permanent

At Sanofi we chase the miracles of science to improve people’s lives. We are dedicated to making a positive impact on the lives of the patients and families we serve, and we accomplish our goals through world-class research and with the compassion and commitment of our employees. As we continue to transform the practice of medicine, the next chapter of Sanofi’s Play to Win strategy will require a focus on delivering transformation and simplification of our core processes, optimizing resource allocation and deployment to fuel business growth and investment in science.

To facilitate this transformation, a new Business Operations Business Unit is being established, bringing together existing business service activities, and driving further expansion of centralized services at scale into a global unit, with a focus on driving simplification, efficiency, and productivity.This new Business Unit will enable the delivery of best-in-class business support capabilities across the organization, incorporating and engaging disparate teams from across areas such as R&D, M&S, the Corporate Functions and GBUs into new global Service Delivery Towers with initial services spanning Commercial, Finance, Procurement and People & Culture.

About the Job

ROLE PURPOSE

This position is part of the Internal Control team. Internal Control is a global function, aiming at providing a reasonable assurance on the reliability of financial and management information, on the compliance with laws, regulations and Company standards and on the efficiency of operations. Internal Control support, educate and advise operational teams in risk management and continuously assess the execution of mitigating controls.

The purpose of the role is to:

• Ensure delivery of testing activities with consistency and reliability for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) testing and non SOX testing
• Perform SOX testing in line with requirements of the SOX regulation
• Monitor performance KPIs and ensure issues are addressed in an effective and timely manner
• Engage with key stakeholders, collect feedback and monitor stakeholders’ satisfaction (e.g.other Internal Control teams)
• Supervise the Testing COE teams for daily operations and projects
• Ensure adequate staffing, people development and talent management of own team contributing to employee satisfaction
• Champion a delivery, performance & transformation mindset    
• Drive continuous improvement and testing COE scope expansion
• Promote and support the digitalization, automation & harmonization of testing activities for each end-to-end process in scope of the testing COE.   

End-to-end processes in scope are:

• Manage Finance
• Source to Pay
• Manage People & Culture
• Demand to Cash
• Manage Medical, R&D and Launch to Engage
• Plan to Manufacture, HSE and Security

He/she is a permanent member of the Internal Control Global Leadership Team and of the Hyderabad Hub Leadership Team.

He / she works closely with the Internal Control End-to-End (E2E) Process teams located in the countries and the regional Hubs. These teams are the main contact people for local operational teams. Together with the E2E Process teams, the Testing COE provide the full continuum of SOX and non SOX activities performed by Internal Control.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

This role is responsible to perform the following key activities:

Operations (delivery)

• Deliver efficient, high quality and compliant SOX and non-SOX testing activities in full alignment with the methodology and guidance provided by the Internal Control Methodology team and according to the target performance KPI’s. SOX and non SOX testing activities are mainly:
  • To prepare the testing environment (including internal control digital solution, test scripts, testing plan)
  • To contribute to the walkthrough and execute the SOX design testing
  • To perform the SOX operating testing and non-SOX quarterly testing (including update of work papers, and cross review)
  • To share and explain the results to Business Intimacy
• Ensure strong collaboration with the Internal Control E2E Process teams worldwide
• Build the annual testing plans and oversee its proper execution
• Support resolution of any operational issue escalated by the Internal Control E2E Process teams and/or the Testing COE team 
• Support external audit on SOX (for joint testing and reliance)

Continuous Improvement / Projects

• Promote and impulse the implementation of best-in-class testing practices
• Drive standardization and automation of testing activities and ensure seamless adoption of digital technologies (artificial intelligence, RPA’s,)
• Leverage operational experience and contribute to define testing methodology in close collaboration with the Internal Control Methodology team
• Develop external network with other testing COE’s in India to ensure own processes are/become Best in Class and internal network with other teams located in the Hyderabad Hub
• Deliver Internal Control projects supporting the Internal Control strategic roadmap

Testing COE expansion & promotion

• Proactively identify opportunities to expand Testing COE activities  
• Ensure a smooth transition of new activities to the Testing COE
• As a member of the Hyderabad hub, contribute on a per need basis to hub activities linked to:
  • stakeholders' management
  • employee engagement
  • employer branding
  • Corporate Social Responsibility programs
  • establishment of a robust business continuity framework

Team management

• Give visibility and communicate on the Internal Control strategy
• Set objectives for his/her staff and assess the contributions during interviews
• Develop team skillset to meet stakeholders’ needs and adapt to new technologies
• Oversee hiring process and manage career path for his/her team
• Develop talent through job rotation, adequate people development plans and promotion of end to end process knowledge
• Manage career path for his/her team inside and outside the Testing COE
• Foster performance culture within his/her team
• Reward employees by recommending salary increases, bonuses and promotions within allocated budgets and company guidelines

Stakeholders and Change Management

• Set up close relationships with stakeholders to allow smooth communication, efficient change management and issue resolution
• Collect stakeholders feedback and provide feedback to stakeholders for mutual improvement, particularly with the Business Intimacy teams

About You

EXPECTED SKILLS

Technical

• Knowledge of Internal Control and Sarbanes-Oxley regulation with hands-on experience of internal

control testing activities or audit experience gained at Big4 companies

• Sound knowledge of end-to-end processes, in particular:
  • Accounting to Report & Controlling
  • Procure to Pay
  • Order to Cash
• Solid working experience in shared service centers
• Ability to get into transactional details but also understand the broader business context and root cause
• Strong delivery and problem-solving skills
• Flexible and adaptable to changing business environments and requirements
• Digital acumen to leverage new technologies
• Very good program and project management skills
• Fluency in English mandatory

Interpersonal / Leadership

• Strong leadership skills: ability to shape culture and mindset, motivate a group of people to work towards a common set of goals
• Ability to build good collaboration with stakeholders and other departments and work transversally
• Robust experience in team management
• Strong communication skills and ability to drive change
• Ability to take a helicopter view and also to dive deep into operational problems when required
• Change agent with strong problem-solving skills and prioritizing capacity

BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

• Graduate or master’s degree in finance or accounting
• 10-15 years hands on experience in Internal Control in an international, multicultural, complex environment
• Experience of having worked in a shared services environment in a managerial role is essential
• Must have supervised teams with intermediate managers
• Track record in process improvement & change management
• International background with exposure to multicultural environments