Tax Manager

We are recruiting a Tax Manager to join our Outsourced Tax Management team within the Tax & Reward practice.

About Macfarlanes

We are a distinctive London-based law firm with a unique combination of services built and shaped around the needs of our clients. Our unrivalled blend of expertise, agility and culture means we have the flexibility to meet their most challenging demands and adapt to the changing world around us. While many of our services can be found at other firms, the mix cannot.

We find, recruit and train talented people from all backgrounds, building careers for the long term, to one day shape and lead the firm. We know each other personally which means we work together with more cohesion, and less formality. Our culture is thoughtful, challenging and supportive, and we are a place where everyone, at whatever level, can thrive. We remain focused on equal treatment in recruitment, retention and promotion.

What this means for you

Offering a partner-led service enables our fee earners to learn and develop through working closely with a senior member of the team. Our size means that you will be in a client facing role, gaining a greater insight into the issues facing our clients. 

We expect all our fee earners to assume real responsibility, as well as to participate in client and business development activities. That means wider exposure for you and a steep learning curve.

Our matters often have a cross-border element, so our fee earners frequently liaise with global businesses and specialists in overseas jurisdictions.

The importance we place on the development of our fee earners’ commercial skills has allowed us to develop the excellent reputation we have – we believe our education and training programme is second to none.

We all work together as part of a cohesive and supportive team, with the firm recognising, appreciating and rewarding the efforts of its employees.

The team

Our Tax & Reward group is rated as one of the leading tax advisory practices in the City. As with any tax practice in a City law firm, a proportion of our work is transaction-based, supporting corporate, financing, real estate and investment fund transactions. However, a substantial and increasing part of our practice involves giving free-standing tax advice to clients of the group.

Our Outsourced Tax Management team provides private fund managers with scalable, cost-effective tax support without the overhead of building out an in-house tax function. The team manages entity establishment and onboarding, ongoing tax operations, tax filing and compliance oversight, executive tax support, and deal support for private equity and credit fund clients, working collaboratively across a range of U.S., U.K. and other cross-border tax matters.

The role

This role sits within the Outsourced Tax Management team, which is part of the broader Tax and Reward practice at Macfarlanes. The role works alongside Senior Tax Advisors and Client Account Analysts to manage and oversee day-to-day tax operations for private equity and credit fund clients. Key duties will include:

• overseeing tax return preparation and reporting processes for fund clients, including FATCA/CRS and other filings;
• managing entity establishment and onboarding projects, including obtaining tax IDs, registering/deregistering with local jurisdictions for tax purposes, and making withholding tax applications;
• liaising with clients and relevant parties, including custodians, service providers, investors and other counterparties across various jurisdictions, for account setup purposes;
• communicating with investors and investment counterparties regarding tax requests and queries, and reviewing tax provisions in side letters and other legal documents; 
• identifying, assessing and analysing the tax implications of strategic initiatives or transactions;
• coordinating closely with wider tax and legal team members responsible for specific tax areas and jurisdictions, including U.S. international tax (or other jurisdictions), withholding tax and cross-border reclaims, to ensure client service is delivered end to end;
• conducting tax research, analysing cross-border tax issues and drafting technical memos related to specific client matters;
• assisting founders and key executives with personal tax needs, including executive tax statements, tax distributions and remuneration/tax planning, coordinating with their personal tax advisers;
• monitoring key tax legislative developments and market trends relevant to clients' businesses to ensure ongoing compliance; and
• supporting the training and development of junior team members, sharing knowledge and experience across the wider team.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the practice area.

The candidate

Skills and attributes for success:

• qualified CPA/CTA or equivalent, with at least 5 years of relevant experience, ideally gained at a Big Four or comparable professional services firm;
• practical understanding of U.S. international tax concepts, with experience advising asset managers and institutional investors on cross-border tax reporting matters;
• experience in advising clients on the tax aspects of private equity and/or private credit fund structures;
• self-motivated, organised, and committed to providing high quality support in a practical, client-facing context;
• strong attention to detail, along with excellent time management skills and a meticulous approach to work;
• willingness and ability to learn new concepts with minimal guidance;
• proactive, with the ability to work independently and take responsibility for work product; and
• excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Development path

The Outsourced Tax Management team has a progression and development framework designed to equip our people with the range of skills and knowledge needed to be effective in their roles. Coaching will be provided on joining to train the candidate on administrative and other required skills, and the candidate will be supported in obtaining relevant tax qualifications in the longer term as necessary.

Application screening

Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These may include but are not limited to your professional and academic qualifications, any criminal records and employment references. These checks will be initiated with your consent and your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.

Our commitment to inclusion

We are committed to increasing the diversity of our employees and partners. Improving diversity is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress towards improving the diversity of our applicants, and ultimately, our hires. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at [email protected].