Corporate Tax Manager (Europe) in London

Manpower are currently seeking an interim Corporate Tax Manager (Europe) to work with our global client and support its rapid business growth across Europe. The position is based in Barbican, London, just a short walk from either Farringdon or Barbican Tube Stations. This is a full-time, temporary role for 12 months, paying up to £100,000 per annum, pro rata, depending on experience. The role currently offers a mix of remote and onsite working, subject to adjustment based on business requirements.

We are seeking an enthusiastic Direct Tax Manager to join our client’s Tax team in London and support its rapid business growth across Europe. The ideal candidate will have experience in direct tax compliance within Europe and possess strong organisational skills. Proven corporate tax knowledge across multiple countries, or the ability to apply strong technical knowledge gained in one country to others, is highly desirable for this new, regional role.

The individual will oversee the compliance and reporting, ensuring consistency, standardisation, risk management, and continuous improvement across all European markets. They will work closely with our tax service provider taking a leadership position in the end‑to‑end direct tax process. They will collaborate with colleagues from multiple departments (e.g. Accounting, Legal, Transfer Pricing, Treasury, HR) to support our business in managing its tax obligations and implementing practical tax solutions.

Key Accountabilities

• Direct tax returns, provisioning and payments: Responsible for data preparation and collation for tax filings across multiple European countries. Review externally prepared returns for technical accuracy. Ensure timely filing of various direct tax returns (corporate tax, withholding tax, and other local business taxes). Support central tax reporting requirements and review workings for local tax accounting purposes. Responsible for arranging direct tax payments, forecasting and instalment calculations.
• Tax governance optimisation: Drive efforts to enhance end-to-end tax controls and processes. Develop, standardise, and optimise key compliance and reporting workflows to reduce manual effort, enable earlier issue identification, and enhance transparency across European jurisdictions.
• Tax business partnering: Coordinate closely with Tax Business Partners globally, providing specialist local tax input from a technical and operational perspective. Work closely with our central service provider to align internal processes with global operating models, ensuring readiness for automation, better data quality, and stronger tax‑technology integration.
• Tax projects: Provide support on other local tax projects (e.g. tax incentive applications, Pillar 2, DSTs).
• Tax insights and legislation monitoring: Monitor tax legislation changes and assess the implications to the group and ultimately suggest steps to manage those changes if applicable. Provide proactive insights and scenario analysis to senior stakeholders based on trends, recurring issues, legislative developments, and process performance data.

Key Requirements

• Senior level experience in industry or a multinational accounting firm.
• Experience in European direct tax compliance.
• Capable of owning projects and managing input from various tax vendors across Europe.
• Ability to build strong relationships with internal teams and vendors.
• A self-starter, comfortable working independently in a fast-paced and dynamic environment.
• Passion for learning new tax concepts and conducting technical research.
• Strong attention to detail to ensure accurate analysis.
• A good knowledge of accounting principles.
• Professional accountancy or tax qualifications such as ACA, CTA (or non-UK equivalents) preferred.
• Experience in Technology, Media, and Telecommunications industry, and knowledge of related tax issues, beneficial.