Director, Internal Audit

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Posting Reason:

Replacement of a regular position

Job Type:

Employee

Anticipated Duration in Months (for contracts and temporary assignments):

N/A

Job Family:

Risk Management

# of Open Positions:

1

Faculty/Service - Department:

Office of the Chief Risk Officer

Campus:

Main Campus

Union Affiliation:

N/A

Date Posted (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/03/16

Applications must be received BEFORE (YYYY/MM/DD):

2026/04/13

Hours per week:

35

Salary Grade:

Non-Union Grade NM4

Salary Range:

$142,833.00 - $178,542.00

About the Office of the Chief Risk Officer:

The Office of the Chief Risk Officer offers a rewarding journey where your skills and passion for risk management will play a key role in shaping the future of the University of Ottawa. Our Office oversees Operational and Enterprise Risk Management, Insurance, Internal Audit, Protection Services, Emergency Management, and Health, Safety and Environmental Management. Our team is dedicated to ensuring the resilience and continuity of our operations. With a commitment to excellence, you'll have the opportunity to contribute significantly to promoting risk culture within our institution. We strive to be a valued partner and key player in advising and supporting University leadership, faculties, and staff, helping to foster a culture of informed decision-making. Join us in building a resilient future for the University of Ottawa and become part of our collaborative and forward-thinking team.

Position Purpose

Reporting to the Chief Risk Officer, the incumbent is responsible for directing all activities related to internal audit that align with the University’s strategies and risk tolerance policies and practices. The incumbent provides an independent, objective perspective that adds value and improves the University’s management control framework relating to financial, operational and risk management considerations. The Director brings a systematic, disciplined and transparent approach to establishing and implementing cost-effective controls and assessing risks, and recommending risk mitigation measures that align with corporate strategies and risk tolerance while ensuring that the university advocates a position of fiscal responsibility. The Director also assists the University’s senior leadership team in reviewing and assessing the status of strategic priorities that form part of Transformation 2030.   

In this role, your responsibilities will include

• Internal Audit Program: Assesses internal controls, identifies weaknesses and makes improvement recommendations. Develops, implements and monitors an internal audit program using a blend of internal resources while drawing on outside expertise as deemed appropriate. Works with senior management to apply best practices in change management to expand recognition of the value-added of a robust internal audit program. In collaboration with senior leadership, identifies and assesses key business risks and establishes risk management policies based on the university’s risk tolerance and on current industry trends and best practices. Designs, develops and maintains internal control documents for the university, which, in consultation with senior leadership of the University, inform the development of an annual and multi-year audit plan, utilizing a risk-based approach.

• Audit Operations Oversight: Monitors financial activity to assess the adequacy, effectiveness and efficiency of global financial operations, including established internal controls and procedures, while considering the differences in compliance requirements from various sources of funding. Performs audit activity including documenting processes, reviewing and analyzing forensic activity, and identifying and defining emerging issues.

• Reporting: Responsible for annual internal audit reporting activity; analyzes findings and trends and formulates high-level recommendations to address potential impacts. Collaborates directly with external auditors in the preparation of all yearly reporting. Manages financial records pertaining to internal audit in compliance with all legislation related to record keeping.

• Investigation: Conducts ad hoc investigations into identified and/or reputed risks. Leads internal investigations of known or suspected violations of policies, procedures, errors, acts of fraudulent nature, misuse of university resources, or conflict of interest. Employing best practices in forensic accounting, draws conclusions and formulates recommendations for redress, while remaining impartial at all times.

• Continuous Improvement: Leads efforts for ongoing optimization of all activity related to internal audit across the organization, and supports a framework for ongoing quality control and quality assurance through recommendations on training, communication and improvements to tools and to processes.

What you will bring:

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in accounting, management, finance or a related field. A Master’s degree is preferred.

• A professional accounting designation is required

• A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in control, audit, risk or in a field related to the functions of the position, preferably in a large organization with diverse sources of funding

• A minimum of 5 years of experience in a management role

• Experience simplifying, interpreting and explaining complex information for a diverse audience

• Experience delivering presentations in both official languages

• Strong attention to detail and excellent analytical skills

• Proven ability to build strong collaborative relationships, identify sensitive issues and influence without authority to drive acceptance of recommendations

• High ethical standards and business acumen

• Bilingualism – French and English (spoken and written)

Key Competencies at uOttawa:
Here are the required competencies for all or our employees at uOttawa: 

Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Note: if this is a union position: The hiring process will be governed by the current collective agreement related to the union affiliation noted above; you can click here to find out more.

If this is a front-line position with responsibilities to interact with students, selected candidates must be rated at the Low Advanced proficiency level or higher for both oral comprehension and reading comprehension in their second official language. The rating is determined by a proficiency test designed by the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute.

Prior to May 1, 2022, the University required all students, faculty, staff, and visitors (including contractors) to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as defined in Policy 129 – Covid-19 Vaccination. This policy was suspended effective May 1, 2022 but may be reinstated at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.