Vice President, Internal Audit

The Opportunity:

The Vice President, Internal Audit will serve as the founding leader responsible for building, scaling, and managing the company’s internal audit function. This individual will establish the charter, framework, and methodologies required to support a growing global pharmaceutical commercial organizationally. The role reports functionally to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors and administratively to the Chief Financial Officer.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build, scale and lead the global internal audit function. Develop near term and long term vision for the department, including hiring plans and use of external consultants.

• Establish the Internal Audit Charter.

• Collaborate with legal and compliance functions in development and execution of periodic enterprise risk management assessments.

• Design, execute and lead the company’s risk-based internal audit plan and testing, mapping coverage to financial and operational vulnerabilities.

• Assess existing internal controls across the global organization, identify gaps and provide recommendations for strengthening control environment.

• Establish, evaluate, and strengthen audit methodologies, processes and programs.

• Collaborate with key functional heads regarding strategic changes impacting the Company’s design of processes and related internal controls.

• Develop communication framework with Audit Committee and Senior Management, including presenting annual risk-based audit plans and findings directly to the Audit Committee.

• Collaborate with compliance, finance, tax, HR, regulatory and quality functions to ensure organizational processes comply with federal, state, and local laws, and industry standards.

• Collaborate with legal and compliance on internal investigations, whistle-blower escalations, and other special assignments.

• Establish operating framework with existing SOX/ICFR team.

• Leverage technology, automation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence to enhance audit coverage, insight, efficiency, and overall audit quality.

Leadership & Capabilities:

• Builder Mindset: Proven track record of launching, scaling, or heavily restructuring an internal audit function—ideally transitioning a company from pre-commercial to the global commercial stage.

• Trusted Advisor and Relationship Builder: Ability to partner effectively and collaboratively with finance, legal, IT, compliance, risk management, external auditors, and business leaders across the organization to operate a valued, independent risk and assurance function that supports strategic enterprise objectives.

• Hands-On Execution: Willingness to execute granular testing and draft documentation directly during the early building phases before the team scales.

Required Skills, Experience and Education:

• Previous experience in leading an internal audit function.

• 15+ years of progressive audit experience, with at least 5 years operating within a public life science or pharma setting.

• CPA or CIA is required.

• Extensive early career experience in a Big 4 or top-tier national accounting firm serving public life science or pharma clients.

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