Senior Lead, Tax

This role is a maternity leave cover for a defined portion of a senior leadership position within Group Tax, reporting to the Head of Tax. The role has responsibility for oversight of UK and International tax matters, including transformation initiatives, operating model continuous improvement, tax reporting, forecasting, compliance oversight, and business support.

Pearson operates in five main business divisions, with entities in over 50 countries, with its largest markets in the US, UK, Canada and Australia. This role sits on the Tax Leadership team and plays a key role in supporting the organisation's global tax strategy and governance.

You will lead a team responsible for UK and International direct tax activities across multiple jurisdictions, working in partnership with advisors and collaborating closely with finance, legal, treasury, controllership and business stakeholders across Pearson's global operations. You will also work closely with the heads of Indirect Tax, Transfer Pricing, US and Strategy.

Alongside overseeing business-as-usual tax activities and any special projects, you will play a key role in driving elements of Pearson's tax transformation agenda. This includes continuous improvement of the tax operating model, governance frameworks, and the use of technology and data to enhance efficiency and risk management. This is a senior leadership role that combines strategic oversight with hands-on delivery, requiring strong judgment, stakeholder engagement and the ability to operate in a complex, global environment.

What you'll do:

• Lead a team responsible for UK and International direct tax matters, including corporate tax compliance, reporting, forecasting, and business support activities.
• Oversee and manage tax audits, enquiries, and disputes across relevant jurisdictions, working in partnership with the Tax Controversy Lead where required.
• Ensure appropriate governance and escalation of tax risks and opportunities, maintaining a ‘no surprises’ approach to ETR, cash tax and forecasting.
• Identify, drive and implement value-adding tax opportunities across regions.
• Continuously develop and improve the tax operating model across people, processes and technology, working closely with the US tax team to ensure global alignment.
• Drive process simplification, standardisation, and improved governance across the tax function.
• Oversee the continued centralisation of local compliance activity within international markets, focusing on efficiency and scalable global processes.
• Champion the use of technology, including identifying and delivering data and automation opportunities aligned to broader finance transformation initiatives.
• Partner with finance and business stakeholders to provide practical tax support on commercial initiatives, contracting, restructuring, and operational matters.
• Monitor legislative developments and assess implications for the business.
• Contribute to broader tax projects and initiatives, including potential involvement in M&A and strategic activities.

What we're looking for:

• Experienced UK corporate tax professional with significant experience, ideally combining Big Four and large multinational organisation exposure.
• Relevant degree or equivalent higher education qualification, alongside a professional qualification in accounting, tax, or law.
• Strong expertise in tax accounting, with a clear understanding of ETR and cash tax implications.
• Broad and up-to-date knowledge of international tax and UK tax legislation.
• Proven experience managing external advisors and leading cross-functional projects.
• Experience or exposure to transformation, operating model redesign, process improvement, or tax technology initiatives.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across Finance, Treasury, Legal and business teams.
• Ability to build credibility and trust, gaining buy-in from senior stakeholders across the organisation.
• Comfortable balancing strategic priorities with operational delivery.
• Strong leadership capability, with experience motivating and developing high-performing teams.
• Excellent organisational and documentation skills.
• Awareness of AI, technology and data trends within tax, with understanding of available tools and their application (not requiring deep technical expertise).

Location & working pattern:

This role can be based anywhere in the UK and may be fully remote, with occasional travel to Pearson offices. The Group Tax team is based across the UK and US, with key hubs in London (Head Office) and Belfast.