Head of Tax - Finance Office - 48830 - Grade 9 in Birmingham

Position Details

Finance Office

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £58,225 to £67,468 with potential progression once in post to £87,974

Grade: 9

Full Time, Permanent

Closing date: 15^th June 2026

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do.

The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham

Background

The University of Birmingham is a global institution working within a diverse and vibrant City, offering an inspiring education to our students, and undertaking critically important research. We are a place of open, critical thinking, and the creation, sharing and dissemination of knowledge. Professional Services put students at the heart of all they do and enable an exceptional educational experience. They provide outstanding support to our researchers and help the University to grow its influence regionally, nationally, and globally. They ensure the University’s resources are used wisely, manage and improve the infrastructure which sits at the heart of the institution, and support decisions to be made quickly and based on sound evidence. Our Birmingham Professional programme operates across the University, supporting colleagues to network and collaborate, offering opportunities to learn and develop, contributing to the delivery of the University’s objectives, and helping everyone to understand the broader context within which we work.

Department overview

The Tax team sits within the Financial Services department which also includes the FP&A, Business Partnering, Treasury and Corporate Accounting teams. The role holder will report into the Deputy Finance Director and be responsible for running a reliable and responsive tax function that provides the CFO, Deputy Director of Finance and the Senior Management Team across the university with incisive, value-add support and analysis which facilitates effective decision making.

Role Summary

The post holder will be responsible for providing comprehensive VAT, Corporation Tax and overseas tax advice and guidance within both the Finance Office and the wider University community both UK and worldwide. The role also includes liaising with the University's external tax advisors; and ensuring all elements of the tax portfolio of the University are managed on a timely and well planned basis.

The ability to be innovative and driven to develop, document and embed new standard ways of working to ensure the most efficient approach is adopted and understood by all stakeholders, will be key to the success of the role. They will need to be collaborative by nature and prepared to challenge the status quo.

Main Duties

VAT Compliance

• Overseeing the completion of all the relevant returns within necessary deadlines.
• Ensuring VAT claimable/payable within the University group and/or to HMRC is delivered on a timely basis.
• Keeping abreast of developments in legislation and the sector which may impact on the University's and its subsidiaries' compliance and planning.

VAT Advisory

• Providing good quality and researched advice to the Finance Office,
• the wider University, the subsidiaries and associated companies in relation to VAT planning and mitigation and VAT implications of operational and business decisions.
• Liaising with the external advisors where appropriate, to obtain detailed technical input to support the advice given.
• Managing the net VAT cost to the University and its subsidiaries, including making suggestions of ways of achieving this based on changes in legislation, guidance etc.
• Working within project groups from time to time to provide VAT advice and support to the University senior team.
• Designing and delivering training to Finance Office team members in relation to indirect taxes.

Other Indirect Taxes

• Lead the provision of advice to the University group in relation to other areas of indirect taxes, including obtaining external advice where appropriate.
• Liaison with the payroll team to provide support and guidance in relation to PAYE and other related matters.

Corporation Tax and Climate Change Levy Compliance

• Provide strategic input to the setting of the overall tax policy of the University in this area.
• Review tax computations provided by other members of staff prior to submission to either HMRC or the University's external tax advisors as appropriate.
• Provide guidance on ways of improving the compliance process to reduce the reliance upon external advisors.
• Provide support and training to those involved in taxation compliance to increase their knowledge and capabilities in these areas.
• Be the first point of call for taxation advice in these areas within the University group.
• With support from the Corporate Tax Manager, oversight and ownership of the group’s transfer pricing strategy, ensuring compliance with global regulations, alignment with business operations, and effective management of associated risks and documentation

Management Information and Processes

• Oversee the guidance on the University website and arrange for changes as required.
• Provide information around the taxation position of the University and its subsidiaries on an annual basis, summarizing areas of potential risk, compliance weaknesses etc.
• Facilitate the development of appropriate processes, process maps and guidance tools for the effective management of all taxation matters.

People Management and Relationships

• Develop and own the relationships with HMRC with regard to all forms of taxation affecting the University and its subsidiaries.
• Develop relationships with individuals at all levels within the University who
• are involved in or impacted by taxation related matters. This will involve providing support to people not directly line managed as well as College Finance teams, Research Support officers, Estates etc.
• Line management of the taxation team (two FTE) on a day to day basis and ensuring work allocations are appropriate. This will also involve development reviews, promoting best practice, coaching, training etc.
• Engagement with project teams for new business activities to proactively advise at the early stages of development.

Leadership and engagement

• Actively engage and collaborate with, as well as support the other members of the Financial services Management team
• Lead and shape a team of professionals including analysts and finance managers, setting the direction and objectives, aligning to the wider strategy, whilst ensuring they are engaged, motivate, developing and striving for continuous improvement.
• Continuous development of self and team through coaching and training, both formal and informal, to develop and embed a strong financial controls environment. Networking externally with the wider finance community.
• Lead the development, review and improvement of processes and systems in the team. Ensuring changes are implemented effectively within Finance and across the University.
• Actively engaging with the wider Finance function to contribute to the creation , implementation and delivery of the Finance Strategy
• Network with fellow finance professionals externally to the University, to identify trends and inform the development of the strategic objectives and improvement delivery of the service.
• Develops and implements a culture (including policies and procedures) that promotes Equality and values diversity and inclusion.
• Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
• Any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent level qualifications), or extensive experience of working in a complex organisation plus substantial relevant managerial experience.
• Professional accounting qualification (ACCA, CIMA, CIPFA, ACA) and evidence of continuous professional development
• Strong background of providing insight for decision support and driving cultural change.
• Specialist knowledge of UK and worldwide VAT legislation including the partial exemption environment.
• Experience of Higher Education VAT regulations would be advisable.
• Understanding, at a high level, of other taxes including corporation tax, transfer pricing, customs and import levies and climate change levy etc.
• Experience of delivering strategic change which impacts on the success of the organisation.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and shaping a team of specialists who can adapt to the changing demands of an organisation.
• Ability to understand the strategic business goals of an organisation, able to ‘look beyond the numbers’ and understand the wider business context.
• Strong analytical skills, able to identify and interpret trends and improve financial forecasting.
• Able to develop individuals to reach their potential and deal with underperformance if required.
• Team player, with exceptional interpersonal skills, able to work with a diverse and broad range of stakeholders across the organisation.
• Excellent communication skills, able to communicate clearly, concisely, accurately and in ways that promote understanding, to both finance and non-finance specialists.
• Able to influence and challenge stakeholders at all levels when needed.
• Strong finance system skills, including excel and using and developing reporting tools.
• Ability to work flexibly with conflicting demands so that work is scheduled in order to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
• Ability to plan and organise own workload effectively.
• Experience of working in Higher Education sector or a complex organisation
• Ability to exercise a substantial degree of independent professional responsibility and discretion.
• Excellent literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write for different audiences and for different purposes, and to produce and analyse complex source material, information and data.
• Able to develop, implement and review processes and systems across and large organisation.
• Actively promotes equality and diversity to internal and external stakeholders.
• Able to use data to identify equality and diversity issues.
• Experience of developing interventions to address equality and diversity issues.

Informal enquiries to Russell Brown, email: r.brown.12@bham.ac.uk

View our staff values and behaviours here

Use of AI in applications: We want to understand your genuine interest in the role and for the written elements of your application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience. Such applications will unlikely be progressed to interview.

We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyoneon our website.