SVP Financial Governance

About Us:

Mubadala is a leading global and responsible investor with $385 billion AUM, five global offices and business investments in 50+ countries. While creating sustainable financial returns, we deliver impact and help find solutions to the world’s biggest challenges.

As a business, we aim to double the size of our portfolio over the next decade. To achieve this, we are seeking talent with corporate experience that can contribute to the organization’s success across local and global offices, including London, Beijing and New York.

Join a team that is at the heart of change and be part of Abu Dhabi’s economic diversification and investment opportunities globally in partnership with some of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Find out more about how you can add value to our business.

What you will do:

Job Purpose:

This role sits within Financial Governance & Reporting (FGR) and is responsible for leading the financial governance, internal control, and ICFR agenda across Mubadala’s Group Finance environment. The role is expected to ensure that Mubadala’s financial information is supported by a robust, well-evidenced, and auditable control environment.

• Lead group-wide financial governance activities across legal entities, investees, and platforms, ensuring compliance with Mubadala policy requirements.
• Drive robust governance and controls over the financial close process, including close calendar governance, control ownership, reconciliation standards, and management sign-off.
• Provide executive-level leadership of Mubadala’s ICFR programme under COSO principles, including risk-based scoping, risk and control matrices, testing of control design and operating effectiveness, deficiency evaluation, remediation tracking, and management attestation, together with oversight of the ICFR programmes of significant investees.
• Act as a senior partner to investees and various Mubadala head office units, while leading the governance agenda across systems, data, and control processes.
  
  

The Challenge:

• The role is designed to lead the Mubadala Group ICFR and financial governance framework across Mubadala Head office and its platforms, and to provide Group-level oversight of the ICFR programmes of significant investees, in an environment requiring consistency, transparency, and quality across multiple jurisdictions, platforms, and investee reporting models.
• The candidate is expected to have exceptional working knowledge and experience of internal control and ICFR frameworks, specifically COSO 2013, SOX-style control programmes, risk-based scoping, control design and testing, and deficiency remediation.
• The role also requires strong governance over the financial close control environment, policy compliance, and evolving digital processes and system controls, and the ability to embed a sustainable control ownership and attestation culture across Finance.
• The role will involve travel to investee locations to oversee and monitor investee ICFR programmes.
  
  

Key Accountabilities:

ICFR and Internal Controls

• Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of the Group ICFR framework under COSO 2013 principles across Mubadala Head office and in-scope entities.
• Oversee the external consultants that maybe engaged to support the Mubadala Head office ICFR programme, including scope, quality and timeliness of deliverables, value for money, and knowledge transfer to the FGR team.
• Own the annual risk-based ICFR scoping, including materiality, significant accounts, key processes, and in-scope entities, and maintain process narratives and risk and control matrices.
• Oversee testing of the design and operating effectiveness of entity-level, process-level, IT general, and application controls, including key reports, system-generated information, and segregation of duties.
• Lead the evaluation and aggregation of control deficiencies, root-cause analysis, and remediation tracking, reporting status and emerging themes to senior management and ARCC.
• Design and run the periodic management sub-certification and attestation programme supporting Group CFO sign-off on the effectiveness of internal controls over financial reporting.
• Maintain strong oversight of the ICFR programmes of significant investees, assessing their scope, maturity, and results, and driving consistency with Mubadala’s ICFR framework, methodology, and reporting where appropriate.
• Travel to investee locations as required to review, monitor, and support investee ICFR programmes, including site visits and engagement with investee finance and controls teams.
• Lead ICFR and internal controls training within Mubadala Head office, and across investees as required.
  
  

Control Monitoring, Assurance and Governance Reporting

• Establish control monitoring and key control indicators across Mubadala Head office and in-scope entities, providing timely visibility of control performance, exceptions, and emerging risks.
• Review the quality and timeliness of control self-assessments, entity sub-certifications, and supporting evidence submitted by entities and process owners.
• Contribute to the development and execution of the Group Finance strategy as it relates to financial governance, internal controls, ICFR, and control maturity.
• Establish and drive performance priorities for FGR governance and controls activities, aligning the function with the requirements of senior management, ARCC, the Board, and other governance forums.
• Lead strategic initiatives to enhance control effectiveness, transparency, consistency, and audit defensibility across Mubadala’s financial control environment.
• Prepare control environment and ICFR reporting for ARCC, the Group CFO, and other governance forums, including deficiency status, remediation progress, and attestation outcomes.
  
  

Financial Governance, Policies, and Control Environment

• Lead the financial governance framework, including Finance policies and procedures, Delegation of Authority compliance, control ownership accountabilities, and reporting to governance forums.
• Lead continuous improvement of finance policies, control procedures, and governance standards in line with international leading practice and Mubadala requirements.
• Oversee fraud risk, segregation of duties, and user access governance across finance processes and systems, ensuring conflicts are identified, mitigated, and monitored.
• Coordinate with Risk and Internal Audit under the three lines model to align assurance activities, avoid duplication, and track audit findings and management actions through to closure.
• Promote automation, standardization, and digitalization of controls and control monitoring, including embedded and automated controls, to reduce manual intervention and improve control precision.
  
  

Relationship Management and External Stakeholder Engagement

• Manage strategic relationships with senior finance leadership, legal, tax, treasury, second-line risk, internal audit, and external auditors.
• Support external audit of periodic reviews and annual audits in relation to controls, including control walkthroughs, evidence readiness, external auditor reliance on controls, and management letter points.
• Oversee the quality, timeliness, and governance of outsourced service providers and specialist consultants supporting ICFR, controls assurance, and governance activities.
  
  

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing team, creating clear accountability for delivery, technical quality, and professional development.
• Build capability in ICFR, internal controls, financial governance, and controls assurance disciplines across the team.
• Set an executive standard for ownership, integrity, communication, collaboration, and disciplined escalation.
  
  

Related Assignments

• Perform other related responsibilities and strategic assignments as directed by senior management.
  
  

What will you bring:

Minimum Qualification:

• Relevant professional qualification is required (e.g. CIA, CISA, or equivalent).
  
  

Required Experience:

• 18+ years of progressively senior experience across internal controls / ICFR, risk assurance, audit, and financial governance roles.
• Big 4 background (Risk Assurance) is required, with substantial post-qualification experience designing, implementing, or assessing ICFR / SOX-style control programmes in complex environments.
• Strong experience working across multiple jurisdictions and legal entity structures.
• Prior experience within an asset manager, sovereign wealth fund, investment holding company, private equity, alternatives, or similarly complex investment environment is strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience leading teams and managing delivery in fast-paced, high-accountability organisations.
• Proven track record of leading an ICFR programme implementation or maturity uplift, including management attestation and remediation.
  
  

Knowledge Required:

• Strong understanding of financial statement risks, assertions, and the related key controls.
• Strong knowledge of close and reconciliation controls, audit support, and evidence retention requirements.
• Expert-level understanding of ICFR/COSO and SOX principles, including risk-based scoping, control design and testing, governance forums, deficiency evaluation, and remediation discipline.
• Good understanding of ERP systems, IT general controls, application controls, key reports, and related interfaces.
• Hands-on experience with GRC and controls management platforms is advantageous.
• Knowledge of Delegation of Authority frameworks, policy governance, and the three lines model.
  
  

What we offer:

A superior platform to grow your career including:

• A role that has social and financial impact.
• Great working environment with talented and like-minded colleagues.
• Market leading pay and benefits including performance pay.
• Hybrid working and wellness benefits to help you live your best work and private life.
• Opportunity to grow and develop through learning and experience.
• Excellent work culture enabled by our values of Accountability, Inspiration, Integrity & Partnership.
  
  

Key Indicators:

• Location: Abu Dhabi
• Flexible Working: Remote working up to 5 days a month

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