Group Principal Privacy & Digital Business Auditor

Role Overview

This Group-level position sits within Airtel Africa’s assurance function and focuses on privacy, data protection, and the digital and fixed-line side of the business. You will lead audits that stretch across multiple operating companies, turning complex regulatory requirements into practical control expectations that local teams can act on. The work matters because it directly shapes how the Group protects customer data and manages risk in home broadband and digital services—areas where both regulatory scrutiny and commercial pressure are high. Expect to spend significant time planning and executing assurance reviews, engaging senior leadership on findings, and helping teams build lasting audit and compliance capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and lead risk-based audit engagements covering data privacy, data protection, home broadband, fixed services, and digital business processes across Group and OpCo entities.
• Assess compliance with applicable data protection laws, the Group Privacy Policy, and obligations tied to regulatory reporting and remediation commitments.
• Evaluate the full personal data lifecycle—collection, consent, lawful basis, retention, access, transfer, storage, and deletion—and test whether day-to-day controls actually match policy intent.
• Review privacy governance arrangements, including Records of Processing Activities (RoPA), Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA), privacy notices, consent mechanisms, and processes for handling data subject requests.
• Audit home broadband and fixed-business operations, covering network roll-out, provisioning, billing, revenue assurance, partner management, customer experience, and service quality controls.
• Deliver focused advisory reviews and management reports on emerging risks, transformation projects, and recurring control weaknesses that need a fresh, independent perspective.
• Prepare clear, decision-ready audit findings and contribute to Board and Audit & Risk Committee reporting that explains risk in plain business language.
• Mentor and coach OpCo audit teams, co-sourced specialists, and other stakeholders to raise the bar on privacy, digital risk, and assurance skills across the Group.

Requirements & Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Information Systems, Law, Accounting, Engineering, or a related discipline.
• 6–10 years of relevant work experience, with at least 4 years in internal audit, external audit, risk, or compliance—ideally within telecommunications, technology, financial services, or a Big 4 firm.
• Proven experience leading privacy or data protection audits in a multi-country, multi-jurisdiction environment, not just participating in them.
• Hands-on familiarity with telecom, ISP, fixed broadband, FTTH, or fixed wireless access operations is strongly preferred.
• Professional certification such as CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, CISA, CIA, CISM, CRISC, ISO 27701/27001 Lead Auditor, ACCA, or CPA.
• Strong judgement on privacy, data protection, and regulatory matters, with the ability to distinguish material risk from theoretical concern.
• Comfort with digital systems, data flows, platforms, and technology-enabled business models—you can trace where data goes and spot weak points.
• Excellent audit execution skills, analytical rigour, and report writing that conveys findings without jargon.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders, drive sustainable remediation, and maintain high integrity, independence, and delivery discipline.
• A coaching mindset and a track record of building capability across diverse, geographically dispersed teams.