Head of Indirect Tax in Manchester

Hybrid Permanent

Why MAG?

Big ambitions need brilliant teams. At MAG, we provide the airport facilities and travel services that people need to connect with the world. As the largest UK-owned airport operator, we serve over 66 million passengers a year through Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports. With more than 270 destinations across the globe, our businesses bring people together and support the prosperity of the regions in which we operate. We’re on our way to becoming number one in our industry. Behind every smooth journey is a team across finance, technology, operations and beyond, helping to power our airports and travel services. This is an opportunity to put your expertise to work in a role with significant commercial impact, international reach and visibility across MAG. Sustainability shapes how we operate. We’re committed to airport and airline decarbonisation, supporting our local communities and creating education, skills, employment and volunteering opportunities. We also know that creating a first-class journey for our customers starts with creating a first-class career journey for our colleagues. We are the Journey Makers. We are one big team, on a journey of growth, making a real impact.

The MAG employer brand for Group functions prioritises teamwork, ambition and purpose, with the message “Your route to growth.” You’ll also have access to some great benefits, including:

• Bonus scheme
• 10% company contribution pension
• Car allowance
• Private medical scheme
• 25 days’ holiday plus bank holidays
• Free parking
• Subsidised public transport
• A wide range of company discounts
• Two volunteering days each year
• Free Virtual GP service, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• Care Concierge service

The role

As Head of Indirect Tax, you’ll lead the day-to-day management of indirect taxes across MAG. You’ll make sure our compliance obligations are met accurately and on time, maintain robust governance and controls, manage activity with HMRC and give clear, commercially practical advice to teams across the business. This is a high-impact role in a complex and growing organisation. MAG handles more than £300 million of UK input and output VAT each year, alongside significant sales, cost and capital expenditure activity. You’ll help protect the Group’s risk position while ensuring indirect tax requirements are built into finance transformation, systems change and business integration programmes.

What you’ll be doing

• Owning the preparation, review and timely submission of VAT returns and related indirect tax obligations, supported by clear reconciliations, evidence and review controls.
• Providing practical indirect tax advice to colleagues across Finance, Commercial, Procurement, Property, Construction, Technology and Operations.
• Managing routine HMRC correspondence, audits and enquiries, including the preparation of technical analysis, position papers and evidence packs.
• Maintaining MAG’s indirect tax risk and control framework, identifying weaknesses and making sure proportionate improvements are delivered.
• Leading indirect tax activity across SAP S/4HANA, Chroma and other finance transformation, systems and integration programmes.
• Supporting the integration of businesses including CAVU, Parkos and Parkvia from an indirect tax perspective.
• Contributing to tax governance, Senior Accounting Officer processes, tax strategy, cash forecasting and the reporting of material risks and developments.
• Using data and technology to improve assurance, standardise processes, reduce manual activity and strengthen the quality of indirect tax reporting.
• Managing external advisers and project resources, while building trusted relationships across MAG and explaining material risks clearly to senior stakeholders.

What will make you successful in this role

You’ll bring strong technical knowledge together with sound commercial judgement. You’ll be comfortable working with complex financial data, explaining technical issues clearly and influencing people at different levels across the organisation.

Essential

• Strong practical knowledge of UK VAT, including partial exemption, the capital goods scheme, property and construction, cross-border transactions and VAT accounting.
• Significant experience of indirect tax compliance, advisory work, tax controls and managing HMRC enquiries within a complex organisation or advisory environment.
• The ability to analyse high-volume financial and transactional data, identify root causes and turn your findings into practical, proportionate actions.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to make complex tax matters understandable to non-specialists.
• The confidence to build trusted relationships and influence senior stakeholders across Finance and the wider business.
• Strong organisation, attention to detail and the ability to manage competing statutory, project and advisory deadlines.
• A collaborative approach and a commitment to inclusive working, continuous improvement and ongoing professional development.

Desirable

• A relevant professional qualification such as CTA, ACA or ACCA, or demonstrably equivalent senior indirect tax experience.
• Knowledge of overseas VAT and indirect tax requirements.
• Experience supporting ERP implementation, SAP S/4HANA, finance transformation, tax technology or business integration activity.
• Previous experience gained within a Big Four or comparable advisory environment.

Equal Opportunities & Reasonable Adjustments

We’re building something brilliant at MAG: a diverse team of Journey Makers who share our values and want to make a difference. We’re on a mission to be number one in our industry, and that takes talent in all its forms. Even if you don’t meet every requirement, we’d still encourage you to apply. What matters most is what you bring. We’re proud to be a Disability Confident employer. If you need any adjustments to support your application or interview, just let us know. We’re committed to helping you perform at your best. At MAG, every journey matters.

Our colleague communities include the Women’s Network, Embrace, Fly with Pride, Mind Matters, PACT and RespectABILITY.