Internal Control Manager (Japanese Power)

Job Description

Reporting to the Head of Risk, this role will assist the in overseeing control activities in Japan and ensuring that an appropriate, robust and practical control framework is in place in JERAGM Japan.

The primary responsibility of this role is not only to evaluate processes and controls, but also to design, build and embed practical controls and end-to-end process improvements within the business and supporting functions, ensuring that identified weaknesses are addressed through sustainable mitigating controls.

This role will work closely with commercial and functional teams and process owners to understand operations and associated risks quickly, facilitate constructive dialogue, present practical options and trade-offs, and drive agreed control and process improvements through to implementation. 

This role involves working closely with the Internal Control function in JERAGM Singapore and ensuring practices are aligned.

The responsibilities of this role include, but not limited to:

• Ensuring an appropriate and tailored Internal Control framework is in place for the various business activities;
• Ensuring consistency of Internal Control approach
• Ensuring an optimised and current set of process narratives, process flowcharts, Risk and Control Matrices (RCMs), policies and approval paths are in place to reflect the agreed control framework and actual operations;
• Coordinating and ensuring key JERAGM Japan policies and procedures are updated annually;
• Providing internal control guidance and hands-on support to commercial and functional teams in managing operational risks, while respecting the expertise of process owners and helping them reach well-reasoned decisions on control design and process change;
• Leading the Operational Sign Off process for all new business activity/product, ensuring proper signed off by relevant functions and tracking action items;
• Leading the control gaps/incidents reviews, including root cause analysis, recommending mitigating controls, reporting and tracking the remediation actions to closure;
• Proactively challenge the status quo, identify control and process improvement opportunities, and take ownership for driving changes from issue identification through design, stakeholder agreement, implementation and measurable operational improvement;
• Compiling and preparing relevant Internal Control metrics and KPI reports on a monthly and ad-hoc basis;
• Conducting process reviews (including sample testing) to ensure compliance of our key policies and procedures;
• Ensuring identified risks, breaches and incidents are timely reported to both internal and external stakeholders;
• Leading the annual risk matrix review, working with risk and process owners to ensure relevant risks and mitigating controls are captured, clearly linked to business processes, and supported by appropriately designed and documented controls;
• Providing hands-on support to significant system change initiatives and business projects to ensure that sound controls, approval paths and process requirements are designed into solutions from the outset and successfully embedded in operations;
• Providing assistance to the Internal and External Auditing teams and ensuring on time delivery of all audit actions;
• Acting as the key contact for and coordinating the J-Sox reporting;
• Involvement in ad hoc projects;Managing and guiding the team.

Qualifications

• Educated to the minimum of a degree level or equivalent professional qualification  

• Minimum of 15  years relevant industry experience in Internal Control, Compliance, Operational Risk or Internal Audit 

• Experience in an energy/commodities trading environment, or related regulatory environment is preferred 

• Demonstrable experience in both evaluating controls and personally designing, building and embedding controls, policies, process flows and approval paths within business and supporting functions in a fast-changing and significant regulatory environment 

• Experience of financial controls and assessment of risk within complex financial processes is highly desirable 

• Experience in IT technology controls will be advantageous 

• Experience in incident investigation and reporting 

• Experience in leading/managing a team is preferred 

• Language proficiency (written and spoken) in Japanese and English will be advantageous 

• Competent in the full suite of MS Office packages – specifically Word, Excel, Visio, PowerPoint and PowerBI applications. 

• Good working knowledge of incorporating AI into daily work tasks and the automation of regular tasks. 

Person specification

• Strong control mindset and excellent analytical skills, supported by systematic knowledge of internal control frameworks (e.g. COSO) and the ability to translate control principles into practical business processes 

• Self-starter with a strong ownership mindset and drive, able to question the status quo, roll up their sleeves and move from identifying issues to implementing practical change with minimal supervision 

• Ability to operate effectively in an unstructured environment, with multiple conflicting pressures 

• Hands-on and pragmatic approach is essential, with the ability to work from within operations to build and embed controls rather than only evaluate them from the outside 

• Ability to drive work forward through effective project management, prioritising multiple initiatives and managing stakeholders, deadlines and deliverables to produce high-quality outcomes in a very fast-paced environment 

• Constructively critical with healthy professional scepticism, while demonstrating genuine respect for the business, supporting functions and the people performing the work, together with a strong sense of organisational awareness 

• Strong influencing, stakeholder management and facilitation skills; able to engage in dialogue, build consensus, clarify key issues and options, and hold a firm position when necessary in the face of pushback 

• Willing to learn and take new challenges with an open mind 

Strong team-player who is flexible, proactive and motivational