Director of Tax

Background

We are looking for an exceptional finance professional to lead a streamlined and highly skilled in-house tax team and manage our critical tax advisory relationships which support our outsourced model.

This is a broad and diverse role with responsibility for the global tax arrangements across the corporate group and our funds, as well as providing meaningful insight on complex transactional tax matters.

The successful candidate will have proven leadership skills, excellent communication skills with a demonstrable ability to distil and communicate complex tax matters, and the gravitas to operate as effectively at senior management level as across the business.  They will be highly organised and quickly be able to assess, prioritise and respond to tax risk according to business need.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing in-house tax team, providing excellent leadership, direction, and development opportunities, while continually assessing if the team is shaped appropriately to the needs of the business.
• Oversee advisor appointments, ensuring they are highly effective, efficient, and that excellent working relationships are maintained at all times.
• Understand the global tax risk map of the group, and ensure appropriate policies, procedures and controls are in place to manage material exposure.
• Lead on the Group’s interactions with tax authorities.
• Have a strong understanding of our fund structures, identifying relevant tax risks and ensuring appropriate measures are in place to control and monitor these.
• Support the development and establishment of new funds, ensuring appropriate advisors are in place and any risks identified are understood and addressed by the business.
• Oversee the tax compliance environment for Group and Funds, developing and enforcing a strict control environment that ensures 100% on-time accurate submission of all statutory filings and year end reporting obligations.
• Advise as required on complex investment transactions, ensuring advisor guidance has been received, properly understood, and is aligned to the business’ commercial objectives.
• Keeping abreast of emerging tax legislation and practice impacting the Group or Funds and sharing information as appropriate.
• Take complete ownership of tax matters impacting all areas of the Group Finance function, taking appropriate advice where relevant and being a trusted advisor to the CFO and the finance leadership team.

Experience/ Requirements

• Proven experience leading a tax function in a fund or asset management business, preferably in a multinational environment (experience of transfer pricing requirements in a business with globally mobile individuals an advantage).
• Extensive experience of working with different fund and carry structures, and an understanding of implications for investors and carry participants is essential.
• Experience in infrastructure investing would be an advantage.
• Clear understanding and experience of identifying tax risk and implementing proportionate and effective processes and controls.
• Comfortable working on topics not directly aligned to training and expertise, and ability to identify where external advice may be required.
• Excellence mindset with zero tolerance for avoidable errors and delays in statutory matters.
• Strong leadership and organisational skills.
• Collegiate with a solution-focused mindset.
• Exceptional communication and people skills, capable of building strong working relationships internally and with advisors.
• Ability to prioritise and delegate effectively.
• Strong academics (education to degree level)
• A professional tax qualification preferred (CTA or equivalent)