Chief Internal Auditor

Overview

Pakistan International Airlines is entering a significant phase of change, and this role is intended for a senior leader who can help reinforce governance, accountability, performance discipline, and institutional excellence. The position plays a key part in supporting the organization’s future growth and strengthening trust across the business.

Position Purpose

The Chief Internal Auditor will head the Internal Audit function of PIACL and provide independent, objective assurance to the Board Audit Committee and management. The role covers governance, risk management, internal controls, compliance, financial discipline, operational performance, and ethical conduct.

Reporting Structure and Access

This position reports functionally to the Board Audit Committee and administratively to the Chief Executive Officer. It also carries direct, unrestricted access to the Board Audit Committee, Chairman of the Board, CEO, external auditors, regulators, and all records, systems, locations, and personnel needed to carry out audit responsibilities.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and execute a risk-focused internal audit approach that matches PIACL’s business priorities, turnaround agenda, regulatory obligations, and global internal audit standards.
• Prepare the yearly Internal Audit Plan for Board Audit Committee review and approval.
• Deliver independent assurance on governance, enterprise risk management, controls, compliance, and management accountability.
• Evaluate the strength of the risk management framework, including how strategic, financial, operational, regulatory, technology, safety, and reputational risks are identified, assessed, mitigated, monitored, and escalated.
• Assess the effectiveness of business continuity, crisis response, disaster recovery, and contingency planning, including readiness for operational disruption.
• Present clear audit findings, risk observations, control gaps, and corrective action status updates to the Board Audit Committee.
• Carry out audits in high-risk areas such as Finance, Commercial, Operations, Engineering, Maintenance, Procurement, HR, IT, Safety, Cargo, Ground Handling, Revenue Management, and transformation projects.
• Identify control weaknesses, financial loss risks, process breakdowns, compliance issues, fraud exposure, and operational inefficiencies.
• Ensure audit observations are practical, evidence-based, commercially relevant, and linked to actionable management plans.
• Provide assurance on adherence to laws, aviation regulations, corporate governance standards, board approvals, internal policies, delegation of authority, procurement rules, financial controls, labor legislation, tax obligations, and regulatory requirements.
• Review how compliance monitoring works across the organization and flag serious breaches, repeated non-compliance, weak enforcement, and delayed corrective action.
• Work with internal stakeholders, external auditors, and regulators where necessary while preserving the independence of Internal Audit.
• Ensure compliance issues are reported promptly and transparently to the right management forums and the Board Audit Committee.
• Assure the accuracy, reliability, and completeness of performance information presented to the Board, CEO, and senior management.
• Review performance tracking across revenue, cost, route profitability, aircraft utilization, on-time performance, load factor, yield, productivity, procurement savings, inventory, customer experience, and transformation milestones.
• Check whether KPIs are well defined, measurable, consistently monitored, and aligned with PIACL’s strategic and turnaround goals.
• Highlight repeated underperformance, weak ownership, unreliable reporting, and late corrective responses.
• Review controls over revenue, spending, procurement, contracts, payments, payroll, treasury, receivables, inventory, fuel, maintenance, aircraft leasing, and major commercial arrangements.
• Identify ways to reduce leakage, eliminate waste, strengthen financial discipline, and improve protection of value.
• Provide assurance on cost optimization, restructuring, and transformation efforts.
• Lead or oversee reviews into suspected fraud, misconduct, conflicts of interest, policy breaches, misuse of assets, and financial irregularities.
• Strengthen fraud-risk management, whistleblowing review processes, and investigation procedures.
• Ensure investigations remain objective, confidential, and aligned with due process.
• Escalate significant fraud, misconduct, or control failures to the Board Audit Committee without delay.
• Develop data-led audit capability using analytics, exception reporting, continuous monitoring, and system-based controls.
• Review IT controls, cybersecurity exposure, ERP controls, user access rights, data integrity, disaster recovery, and digital transformation risk.
• Use analytics to detect unusual patterns, duplicate payments, unauthorized transactions, revenue leakages, payroll exceptions, procurement anomalies, and policy violations.

Required Qualification and Experience

• A professional qualification such as CA, ACCA, CPA, CIA, CISA, CFE, CMA, or an equivalent credential is required.
• At least 25 years of relevant experience is needed, including senior leadership exposure in internal audit, risk, finance, compliance, governance, or assurance.
• Experience in aviation, logistics, transportation, public-sector enterprises, regulated industries, infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, banking, or large conglomerates will be preferred.
• Strong familiarity with Board Audit Committees, executive leadership, risk-based auditing, financial controls, fraud investigations, performance assurance, compliance assurance, business continuity review, and governance is expected.
• Exposure to turnaround, restructuring, transformation, cost optimization, or data-driven audit environments will be an added advantage.

Eligibility

Senior professionals with the above qualifications and a substantial track record in internal audit, assurance, governance, risk, or finance are suitable for this role.

Additional Information

This opportunity is part of a broader transformation effort focused on strengthening oversight, accountability, and institutional performance within Pakistan International Airlines.

No stipend or salary details were provided in the source.