Internal Audit Manager

About us:

Restaurant Brands purpose is to be a thriving business built on brands that employees and customers love and trust. We have amazing global brands; KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and Carl’s Jr and have over 250 restaurants in NZ, employing over 4,500 staff in NZ and serve over 60,000 customers a day! Globally Restaurant Brands also operates in Australia with over 70 stores under either the KFC or Taco Bell brand, together with KFC and Taco Bell operations in California and Pizza Hut and Taco Bell in Hawaii, Guam and Saipan.

We are seeking an exceptional Internal Audit Manager (NZ & AU) to lead our regional audit and assurance programme across New Zealand and Australia. Based in Auckland, you'll play a critical role in strengthening governance, risk management, and internal controls across a large, multi-site business operating approximately 250 restaurant locations across multiple brands.

About the Role:

Reporting to the Audit & Risk Director, you'll lead the delivery of risk-based internal audit activities across financial, operational, compliance, technology and restaurant operations. You'll provide trusted insights to executive leaders, support strategic decision-making, and identify opportunities to improve processes, strengthen controls and protect business value.

This is a highly visible leadership role that combines

• Strategic audit planning
• Regional stakeholder engagement
• Team leadership and development
• Data-driven assurance and risk assessment
• Internal controls and governance oversight
• Fraud, misconduct and loss-prevention investigations
• Executive and Audit & Risk Committee reporting
• What You'll Be Doing:
• Lead Regional Audit Delivery
• Develop and execute the NZ & AU risk assessment and annual audit plan.
• Deliver high-quality internal audits across operational, financial, compliance and technology environments.
• Ensure audits are completed efficiently, professionally and in line with global internal audit standards.
• Strengthen Governance & Controls
• Evaluate the effectiveness of governance, risk management and internal control frameworks.
• Identify improvement opportunities and deliver practical, commercially focused recommendations.
• Monitor remediation actions and provide escalation of significant risks where required.
• Influence Senior Stakeholders
• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders across New Zealand and Australia.
• Present meaningful insights and recommendations to executives and governance forums.
• Support Audit & Risk Committee reporting and engagement with external assurance providers.
• Lead and Develop a High-Performing Team
• Coach, mentor and develop a small team of audit professionals.
• Drive a culture of quality, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Support capability building across the broader audit function.
• Leverage Data & Investigations
• Use analytics and continuous monitoring techniques to identify trends, fraud indicators and control weaknesses.
• Support sensitive investigations involving fraud, misconduct or operational losses.
• Partner with operational teams to strengthen business resilience and risk management.
• What You'll Bring:
• We're looking for a confident and commercially astute audit professional who can balance independence with strong partnership.
• Essential Experience.
• Bachelor’s degree in accounting, Finance, Business, Risk, Information Systems or a related field.
• CIA, CA, CPA, CISA or similar professional qualification preferred.
• 8+ years' experience in Internal Audit, Risk, Controls Assurance or a related discipline.
• Big Four or professional services experience preferred
• Previous experience in retail, hospitality, QSR or other multi-site environments.
• Proven experience leading audits and developing audit plans.
• Experience presenting complex findings to senior leadership.
• Strong people leadership and coaching capability.
• Experience assessing and improving business processes, systems and controls.
• Ability to travel across New Zealand and Australia as required.
• Why Join Us?
• This is a rare opportunity to step into a regional leadership role where your work will directly influence business performance, operational excellence and risk management.
• You'll enjoy:
• Significant visibility with executive leadership
• The opportunity to shape audit strategy and capability
• A diverse mix of operational, financial and technology audits
• Leadership responsibility with genuine impact
• * Exposure to a large, dynamic and fast-paced multi-site business environment
• Ready to Apply?
• If you're a strategic Internal Audit leader with a passion for improving business performance through effective risk management and assurance, we'd love to hear from you.