Associate Director – Interne Kontrollsysteme und Assurance (m/w/d)

Location: Cologne, Germany. Individual work-from-home arrangements may be available for roles that do not require office presence, including up to 20 days per year anywhere in the EU.

Company

hirify.global is a listed European e-pharmacy combining healthcare services, e-commerce, technology, and data-intensive operations.

What you will do

• Establish and lead the Internal Controls & Assurance function, including its mandate, governance model, operating model, priorities, and team capabilities.
• Own and maintain the enterprise Internal Control Framework, connecting risks, processes, controls, evidence, and assurance across business domains.
• Define control taxonomies, evidence standards, design-assessment criteria, operating-effectiveness testing, sampling principles, and deficiency-rating frameworks.
• Set the annual risk-based assurance plan and review significant control-design conclusions, deficiency judgements, and remediation actions.
• Challenge senior leaders and executives where control design, evidence, ownership, or remediation is insufficient.
• Lead management reporting, dashboards, deficiency reporting, and the annual Management Assurance Report to the Managing Board.

Requirements

• Substantial experience in internal controls, risk assurance, internal audit, SOX/ICFR, or a comparable control-assurance environment.
• Experience establishing, transforming, or maturing an enterprise Internal Control Framework across multiple business domains.
• Advanced practical knowledge of control design, walkthroughs, operating-effectiveness testing, evidence evaluation, deficiency assessment, and remediation governance.
• Strong judgement, executive communication, leadership, and people-management skills, including clear written reporting for Board-level audiences.
• Experience in a listed, regulated, international, or similarly complex environment, with a strong understanding of the Three Lines Model.
• Fluent English required; German is a plus. CIA certification is preferred, while CPA, ACCA, CISA, or equivalent qualifications are welcome.

Nice to have

• Familiarity with COSO/SOX and experience working with External Audit.
• Hands-on experience with GRC platforms such as AuditBoard or Optro, including AI-supported ways of working.
• Experience in healthcare, pharmacy, e-commerce, logistics, or another technology- and data-intensive environment.

Culture & Benefits

• Flexible work-from-home arrangements where the role permits, including up to 20 EU-based work-from-home days per year.
• Creative team events and regular company celebrations.
• Kindergarten grant of €100 per month for eligible childcare expenses.
• Confidential and free professional mental-health support through nilo.
• Internal and external training, a fully funded Deutschland Ticket, and Urban Sports Club membership options.