Group Manager – Audit Automation in Operations, Transformation & Customer Experience (CX) Pillar

Job Title: Group Manager – Audit Automation in Operations, Transformation & Customer Experience (CX) Pillar
Reports to: Group Lead Operations , Transformation and CX Audits

JOB PURPOSE
To serve as an automation leader driving the transformation of Group Internal Audit into a technology enabled, intelligence-driven assurance function, by embedding automation, advanced analytics, and artificial intelligence across the Operations, Customer Experience (CX), and Transformation domains. The role is accountable for shaping and executing a next-generation assurance model that moves beyond traditional audit to deliver continuous, real-time, and predictive insights, enabling Executive Management and the Board to proactively manage risk, optimize performance, and enhance strategic execution.

JOB  CONTEXT
This position requires the candidate to demonstrate strong innovation mindset, technological acumen, and objectivity in advancing data-driven assurance across Operations, Transformation, and Customer Experience (CX) domains. The ideal candidate must possess strong analytical, automation, and artificial intelligence capabilities, with the ability to design and deploy advanced analytics, continuous auditing, and AI-enabled audit solutions. The individual is expected to proactively identify control risks, operational inefficiencies, and execution gaps through the use of data and intelligent automation, while collaborating effectively with business and technology stakeholders across the Group. The role is accountable for embedding automation and AI into audit processes, enhancing real time assurance capabilities, and ensuring that control deficiencies are efficiently identified, monitored, and sustainably remediated.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

1.    Automation & AI Leadership (Primary Mandate – 70%)

•    Own and drive the Audit Automation and AI strategy for the Operations, Transformation, and CX pillar, aligned to  Group Internal Audit priorities  
•    Lead the design and implementation of automation, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled audit capabilities to enhance assurance coverage and efficiency

•    Develop and deploy:  
        o    Automated audit testing approaches targeting operational processes, customer journeys, and transformation initiatives  
        o    Continuous auditing and data-driven monitoring of key risk indicators 

•    AI-enabled audit tools and workflows to support audit execution and insight generation  
Leverage data from operational systems, digital platforms, and customer channels to:
        o    Enable scalable, analytics-driven audit procedures  
        o    Support real-time and near real-time assurance 

•    Drive adoption of advanced audit techniques, including:
        o Data analytics and data engineering approaches  
        o AI-assisted audit tools and Large Language Models (LLMs)  
        o Intelligent automation across planning, execution, reporting, and issue tracking  

•    Provide independent assurance over automation, digital, and AI-enabled business processes; ensuring alignment with governance, risk, and regulatory requirements  

•    Maintain clear separation between solution development and independent assurance activities to preserve audit objectivity

2.    Assurance delivery (Operations, CX & Transformation )- Secondary mandate (20%). 

Support the delivery of risk-based audits across Operations, Customer Experience (CX), and Transformation domains, with a strong focus on embedding data-driven and automated audit approaches.

Key Responsibilities:
•    Support and/or lead selected complex audits across: 
        o    Operations (branches, head office functions, shared services, digital channels) 
        o    End-to-end customer journeys and CX frameworks 
        o    Transformation programmes (including GTEX and digital initiatives) 

•    Apply automation and analytics within audit engagements to: 
        o    Enhance audit coverage and depth 
        o    Improve efficiency and reduce manual testing 
        o    Identify control gaps, inefficiencies, and execution risks 

•    Assess and provide assurance over: 
        o    Control design and operating effectiveness 
        o    Process efficiency, scalability, and resilience 
        o    Alignment between strategy, execution, and business outcomes 

•    Evaluate transformation and strategy execution, including: 
        o    Governance structures and execution discipline 
        o    KPI tracking, milestone delivery, and benefits realization

3.   Supporting / Value-add mandate – Advisory, CX & Operational Excellence (10%)

Provide insight-driven, value-adding perspectives to enhance operational performance, customer experience, and audit effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities:
•    Assess customer journeys and CX frameworks across all channels: 
        o    Branch, digital, contact centres, and agent networks 
        o    Identify service gaps, bottlenecks, and customer pain points 

•    Identify operational inefficiencies and over-control, including: 
        o    Process fragmentation and duplication 
        o    Opportunities for simplification, standardization, and automation 

•    Provide practical, data-driven recommendations to: 
        o    Improve service delivery and customer experience 
        o    Enhance productivity and cost efficiency 
        o    Strengthen control effectiveness while reducing unnecessary complexity 

•    Contribute to executive reporting and stakeholder engagement, including: 
        o    Delivering clear, insight-driven reports to senior management and Board committees 
        o    Influencing stakeholders to drive timely and sustainable remediation 

•    Support continuous improvement of audit methodology, including: 
        o    Enhancing audit tools, templates, and techniques 
        o    Staying current on emerging risks, technologies, and industry practices

4.   Performance & Impact Measures

Performance in this role will be assessed based on the ability to successfully drive automation, enhance audit effectiveness, and deliver measurable improvements in assurance outcomes.

Key success indicators include:
•    Increase in the percentage of audit processes automated across the Operations, CX, and Transformation pillar 
•    Reduction in audit cycle time through the use of automation and analytics 
•    Number and effectiveness of continuous monitoring solutions deployed 
•    Improvement in audit coverage and depth through data-driven techniques 
•    Adoption and scalability of automation and AI-enabled audit tools across affiliates 
•    Quality and impact of insights delivered to Executive Management and Board committees

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

Qualifications & Experience

Education
•    Bachelor’s degree in finance, Technology, Engineering, or related discipline 
•    Professional certifications (CPA, ACCA, CIA, CISA) strongly preferred 

Experience
•    10+ years’ experience in Internal Audit, Risk, Operations, or Transformation within financial services 
•    Proven ability to: 
        o    Lead complex, multi-dimensional audits 
        o    Assess transformation and strategy execution 
        o    Drive operational and control improvements 
•    Demonstrated experience in automation, advanced analytics, or AI-enabled solutions 
Technical Expertise – Automation & AI (Critical Requirement)

Engineering & Development
•    Advanced proficiency in Python for automation, AI development, and backend services 
•    Strong SQL capability for data extraction and analysis 
•    Solid software engineering practices (Git, testing, code quality, documentation) 
•    Familiarity with JavaScript or similar technologies for system integration 

Artificial Intelligence & LLMs
•    Hands-on experience with Large Language Models, including solutions from OpenAI 
•    Strong expertise in prompt engineering and optimisation 
•    Experience building: 
        o    Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) pipelines 
        o    Agent-based AI systems (multi-step workflows, memory, tool integration) 
•    Familiarity with orchestration frameworks such as: 
        o    LangChain 
        o    LangGraph 

Data Engineering & Architecture
•    Experience in ETL/ELT pipeline design and data architecture 
•    Strong knowledge of relational databases (e.g., PostgreSQL) 
•    Experience with vector databases (e.g., Chroma, Pinecone, Weaviate) 
•    Ability to manage large-scale structured and unstructured datasets 

Machine Learning & Analytics
•    Experience developing and deploying: 
        o    Classification and anomaly detection models 
        o    NLP solutions (entity extraction, summarization) 
•    Understanding of model lifecycle management (training, evaluation, deployment, monitoring) 
Automation & Workflow Orchestration
•    Proven ability to design and implement workflow automation systems 
•    Experience with event-driven architectures and task orchestration 
•    Ability to translate complex business processes into AI driven automated workflows 

System Design & Integration
•    Experience designing scalable, modular, and secure architectures 
•    Strong API design and integration capability (REST, asynchronous processing) 
•    Proven ability to integrate AI and automation into enterprise environments 

Security, Governance & Responsible AI
•    Understanding of secure system design and data protection principles 
•    Awareness of AI governance (explainability, auditability, ethical AI) 
•    Ability to align solutions with regulatory, compliance, and risk requirements 

Visualization & Reporting
•    Ability to design and deploy dashboards and reporting tools 
•    Strong capability in translating data into actionable insights 
•    Familiarity with modern visualization frameworks (e.g., React-based interfaces) 

Domain Expertise
•    Deep understanding of: 
         o    Banking operations and service delivery models 
         o    Transformation programmes  
         o    Customer Experience (CX) frameworks 
•    Ability to bridge business, risk, and technology domains 

Technical Environment
•    Risk framework: COSO, ISO 
•    Core banking: Oracle FLEXCUBE 
•    Audit systems: Audit Management Systems (Core Audit Platforms)Used to manage the end-to-end audit lifecycle (planning - execution - reporting - follow-up)
•    Analytics tools: SQL, Excel, ACL

PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES
•    Innovation & Digital Mindset
•    Strategic Thinking & Commercial Acumen
•    Strong Analytical & Problem-Solving Capability
•    Technological Curiosity & Adaptability
•    Objectivity & Professional Skepticism
•    Influencing & Stakeholder Management Skills
•    Execution Excellence & Results Orientation
•    Collaboration & Team Leadership
•    Resilience & Agility
•    Integrity & Accountability 
 

Ecobank is committed to providing equal opportunities to all and fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace. To this end, we encourage applications from individuals regardless of their nationality, race, gender, age, social class, religion, beliefs, and disability while fully adhering to the local laws and regulations established where Ecobank operates.