Manager, Internal Audit

What's Unique About You Is What Makes Us Better! Diversity is our strength and competitive advantage. Bring your flavor to the Papa John's team today!

Summary

The Manager of Internal Audit is responsible for leading and executing internal audit engagements across Papa Johns' corporate, restaurant operations, and international business segments. This role evaluates the effectiveness of internal controls, risk management processes, and governance practices while providing actionable insights to improve operational efficiency and compliance.

This position reports to the Director of Internal Audit and partners closely with cross-functional leadership to identify risks, enhance controls, and support strategic initiatives in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and execute risk-based internal audits, including operational, financial and compliance audits as well as advisory engagements and special projects.
• Assess internal controls over financial reporting (SOX)
• Establish clear audit objectives, scope, and risk assessments that concentrate on the areas most critical to the business.
• Apply thoughtful, flexible audit approaches for non-routine or evolving activities where professional judgment is essential.
• Assess the effectiveness of processes, controls, and governance, identifying opportunities to reduce friction, strengthen accountability, and enable sustainable growth.
• Conduct end-to-end process walkthroughs and root cause analyses to help the business resolve underlying issues
• Leverage data analytics on transactional and operational data to inform audit planning, testing, investigations, and continuous risk monitoring.
• Clearly communicate audit results and recommendations, explaining root cause, risk, and business impact in straightforward language.
• Build trusted relationships with business leaders, process owners, and cross-functional partners, including the SOX Team, IT, Finance and Legal.
• Monitor remediation efforts and validate corrective actions
• Lead, coach, and develop audit team members, fostering strong judgment, critical thinking, and personal ownership.
• Review team deliverables to ensure high quality, consistency, and adherence to Internal Audit standards.
• Contribute to the annual risk assessment and audit planning process, leveraging data and industry insights to set priorities.
• Support other duties as assigned.

• Strong understanding of operational risk, internal controls, and audit methodologies.
• Experience leading audits
• Ability to evaluate audit and operational risks and determine appropriate areas of focus.
• Skilled in designing audit procedures to effectively test preventive and detective controls.
• Proven ability to identify control gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities to strengthen accountability.
• Strong analytical and critical-thinking skills, with a high level of attention to detail and quality.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications, including Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Clear, concise communicator with the ability to explain complex issues in plain language to diverse audiences.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Ability to review team members' work to ensure quality, consistency, and alignment with Internal Audit standards.
• Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, Data Analytics, Information Systems, or a related field.
• Seven or more years of experience in internal audit, external audit, risk management, or a related discipline.

• Professional certifications such as CIA, CPA, CFE, or CISA, active or in progress.
• Big Four or consulting experience preferred.

• EVERYONE BELONGS - We believe connectedness and belonging are the essential ingredients to our success
• DO THE RIGHT THING - We are relentlessly focused on quality and integrity and make the right choices, even when it's difficult
• PEOPLE FIRST - To craft positive experiences for our customers, we take care of each other first
• INNOVATE TO WIN - We champion and challenge for a better way in all we do
• HAVE FUN - We find joy, create meaningful impact and celebrate the journey together

• CUSTOMER CENTRIC - We leverage data and insights to craft a customer experience that builds relationships, cultivates trust, and delivers excellence
• RESULTS DRIVEN - We focus on measurable outcomes by remaining optimistic, tenacious, and persistent even in the face of challenges
• CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT - We champion for better through strategic risk taking, experimentation and challenging the status quo
• BIAS FOR ACTION - We courageously lead, drive towards decisions, and maintain agility to meet the demands of our dynamic industry
• WINNING TOGETHER - We work together to unlock our full potential by actively collaborating and contributing in a cross-functional capacity