Company Description
AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines and solutions that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas – immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care – and products and services in our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Tik Tok.
Job Description
Position Summary:
The Associate Director, SOX Controls Enablement will play a critical role in scaling and maturing AbbVie’s SOX Operating Model by overseeing a network of embedded Control Specialists across global business units. This leader will be responsible for onboarding, coaching, and enabling these individuals to execute their roles effectively ensuring the consistent application of SOX controls standards, policies, and documentation practices.
This position serves as the connective tissue between the centralized SOX COE and decentralized business execution teams. The ideal candidate is an experienced internal controls professional with strong leadership, communication, and program management capabilities, and deep expertise in SOX compliance and risk management in a global, matrixed environment.
Key Responsibilities:
Oversight & Enablement of Business Unit SOX Control Specialists
- Provide day-to-day coaching and oversight to BU Control Specialists (Control Leads), ensuring alignment to SOX methodology and COE standards
- Develop and manage an onboarding curriculum for new Control Specialists, including role-specific training and shadowing programs
- Facilitate frequent enablement sessions to review policy updates, testing trends, IPE standards, and audit findings
- Monitor performance and control health across BUs using scorecards and metrics; escalate risks or resourcing gaps to SOX COE leadership
Training & Standards
- Lead the design and delivery of SOX-related training, including for Control Owners, Reviewers, and new Council members
- Develop playbooks, SOPs, and knowledge articles that standardize execution across business units
- Partner with Workiva administrators to ensure template and documentation consistency in the eGRC platform
Program Quality & Maturity
- Review BU-level walkthrough documentation, deficiency remediation plans, and IPE packages to ensure quality and consistency
- Assist in risk-based reviews and feedback loops with the testing team, including coordination with PwC and IA
- Analyze trends in control failures or documentation quality to recommend preventive improvements
Governance & Communication
- Serve as liaison between SOX COE and BU Control Specialists, facilitating two-way communication
- Provide leadership updates on control specialist effectiveness, risk themes, and enablement progress
- Support SOX Council coordination by preparing materials, status rollups, and Control Lead inputs
Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Business, or related field (Master’s or CPA preferred)
- 8–12 years of experience in SOX compliance, internal audit, or internal controls (Big 4 or public company experience strongly preferred)
- Deep understanding of the COSO Framework, SOX 404(a) and (b), IPE requirements, and PCAOB expectations
- Experience working in or with global organizations across geographies and process areas (R2R, P2P, O2C, ITGC)
- Strong familiarity with eGRC platforms (e.g., Workiva) and audit lifecycle workflows
- Demonstrated ability to train and lead matrixed teams in a complex, fast-paced environment
- Excellent communication and influencing skills, including ability to engage senior stakeholders
Preferred Attributes:
- Track record of mentoring or developing high-performing teams
- Familiarity with AbbVie’s operating structure, internal control environment, or prior exposure to business finance roles
- Ability to navigate ambiguity, drive prioritization, and bring structure to distributed teams
Key Success Measures:
- Improvement in SOX documentation quality across BUs
- Consistent adherence to evidence and IPE standards across Control Leads
- Reduction in repeat control deficiencies and remediation cycle time
- Positive feedback from Control Leads, Controllers, and SOX Council Members
- Timely onboarding and enablement of new Control Leads across functions
Additional Information
Applicable only to applicants applying to a position in any location with pay disclosure requirements under state or local law:
The compensation range described below is the range of possible base pay compensation that the Company believes in good faith it will pay for this role at the time of this posting based on the job grade for this position. Individual compensation paid within this range will depend on many factors including geographic location, and we may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range. This range may be modified in the future.
We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid time off (vacation, holidays, sick), medical/dental/vision insurance and 401(k) to eligible employees.
This job is eligible to participate in our short-term incentive programs.
This job is eligible to participate in our long-term incentive programs
Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, incentive, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole and absolute discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole and absolute discretion, consistent with applicable law.
AbbVie is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to operating with integrity, driving innovation, transforming lives and serving our community. Equal Opportunity Employer/Veterans/Disabled.
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