Director of Tax

About the role

Reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, the Director of Tax leads the firm’s US and non-US tax function, with end-to-end responsibility for tax compliance, strategy, and risk management across all domestic and foreign jurisdictions in which the firm operates. This position owns timely compliance with federal, state, local, and non-US requirements for partnership income, sales/use, payroll, property, and value-added taxes, together with required business registrations and permits.

This position directs the firm’s international tax strategy, including cross-border structuring, transfer pricing, treaty matters, foreign entity and branch taxation, and tax matters across the jurisdictions in which the firm operates, and identifies, leads, and implements planning activities to optimize the firm’s overall tax position, including partner-related tax matters.

The Director determines the appropriate structure, staffing, and priorities of the tax team and oversees the technology and processes supporting tax compliance and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Oversees the preparation of work papers supporting US and non-US tax filings prepared by internal staff and outside tax advisors; reviews material federal, state, local, and foreign partnership returns and partner Schedule K-1 reporting prior to filing.
• Leads the firm’s partner tax function, including partner tax reporting, estimated tax and tax distribution processes, multistate and international partner tax matters, composite and pass-through entity tax elections, nonresident and foreign partner withholding, and responses to partner tax inquiries. Coordinates with partners and their personal tax advisors as appropriate.
• Advises on the tax implications of partner admissions, lateral hires, retirements, withdrawals, transfers and changes in partner status, including matters involving partner capital, compensation and profit allocations, cross-border partner moves, and other changes affecting the taxation of the firm or its partners.
• Oversees the firm’s multistate tax compliance and planning for the partnership and its partners, including nexus, state apportionment and sourcing, composite and pass-through entity tax (PTET) elections and payments, and nonresident partner withholding.
• Manages federal, state, local, and non-US tax examinations, notices, and controversy matters, including the development of audit strategy, and oversees voluntary disclosures and related filings.
• Leads and develops the firm’s tax team, including organization design, staffing, goal setting, performance management, professional development, succession planning, and allocation of responsibilities; recommends and implements the appropriate team structure, hires and develops staff, and manages the engagement, scope, and budget of outside tax advisors.
• Oversees the firm’s tax accounting and entity-level taxes, and supports forecasting of the firm’s tax cash flows and partner tax distributions and estimates, and other partnership tax obligations.
• Develops and implements policy for the taxation of globally mobile partners and personnel, including expatriate and inpatriate arrangements, coordinating with Benefits and Payroll.
• Researches and consults with internal stakeholders and outside advisors on the effective use of tax treaties and entity structuring to minimize US and foreign income taxes and worldwide tax burdens on the firm’s operations and cross-border engagements; manages US foreign tax credit utilization.
• Identifies, researches and evaluates tax planning and strategic opportunities, and advises the CFO, COO, Executive Committee, and partners on the tax implications of firm decisions and transactions.
• Leads tax technology, data, governance and process improvement and automation initiatives across tax compliance, partner reporting, tax accounting and management reporting, including integration of tax processes and data with the firm’s financial and other enterprise systems.
• Manages the firm’s indirect and transaction taxes, including sales/use tax and value-added tax (VAT), and coordinates employment tax matters with Payroll.
• Provides tax input on firm transactions and structuring, including new domestic and foreign office openings, entity formation, real estate, and firm or practice-group combinations.
• Establishes and maintains the firm’s global tax governance and risk management framework, including tax policies and procedures, internal controls, documentation of material tax positions, tax reserves where applicable, records retention, compliance calendars, and processes for identifying, evaluating and escalating significant tax risks.
• Collaborates with Finance and Accounting leadership and team(s) to support overall department goals and objectives. Consults in the development and implementation of new procedures to enhance the workflow of the department.
• Monitors significant legislative, regulatory and judicial tax developments and assesses their impact on the firm and its partners, recommending appropriate changes to firm policies, structures and practices.
• Provides training to new and existing staff, as needed. Works with each direct report to establish goals & objectives for each year and to monitor and advise on the progress to enhance the professional development of staff.
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining business networks, and participating in professional organizations.

Minimum Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance; CPA required, though a JD with a strong tax background may be considered in lieu of a CPA.
• Advanced degree strongly preferred (Master of Taxation, JD, or LLM in Taxation).

Experience

• Minimum of twelve to fifteen years of progressive tax experience, including a combination of public accounting and in-house experience with a large multinational organization; experience with a large law firm or professional services partnership (LLP) is strongly preferred.
• At least five years of management experience, including building or leading a tax team.

Special Knowledge

• In-depth knowledge of US federal, state, local, and international tax law as applied to large, complex partnerships and their partners, including partner reporting, transfer pricing, and the US taxation of foreign operations; experience researching complex US and non-US tax issues.

Technical Skills

• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency with tax research tools and tax compliance software; familiarity with enterprise financial systems and tax data/reporting tools preferred.

Leadership Competencies

• Requires a person capable of bold leadership, internal motivation, and self-motivated decision making.
• Creative and strategic thinker in all facets of project implementation.
• Comfortable and effective in creating, communicating, and presenting materials both upwards and downwards in the Firm.
• Well-developed analytical and problem solving skills, as well as strong documentation skills.
• Strong diplomatic skills, and the ability to achieve results through others.
• Works well independently.
• Executive presence and sound judgment.
• Strategic and technical leadership: combines deep technical tax expertise with the ability to identify material risks and opportunities and translate complex tax issues into practical business recommendations.
• People leadership and relationship management, including building relationships with other teams and senior management.

Qualifications

• Ability to stay organized and deliver/execute under conditions of multiple tasks and tight time frames.
• Ability to verify the accuracy of documentation and the manipulation of large amounts of computer data.
• Ability to communicate in a clear and succinct manner.

Working Conditions

• Job is performed in a typical office environment; is subject to time pressures and constraints, and is often dependent on input from others.