EMEA Tax Controversy Lead

About the team: The Tax Team at TikTok helps ensure that our company and all our products are tax‑compliant throughout different regions and countries. The Tax Team provides support to internal requests and works with multiple different stakeholders to support product and business launches and new features.

Position Summary: Reporting to the EMEA Director of Tax & Treasury, as EMEA Tax Controversy Manager, you will take ownership of managing tax audits, inquiries, and disputes across the EMEA region. You will partner closely with the international tax team, finance, legal, external advisors, and cross‑functional business teams to manage interactions with tax authorities, mitigate tax risk, and successfully resolve controversies while protecting the company’s financial and reputational position across our EMEA operations.

• Manage and lead end‑to‑end tax audits, inquiries, and dispute resolution across the EMEA region (covering corporate tax, indirect tax, transfer pricing, and digital services tax).
• Drive strategy and resolution for complex tax disputes, including Transfer Pricing, Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) negotiations, Mutual Agreement Procedures (MAP) and tax litigation in connection with both corporate income tax and VAT issues.
• Formulate, own, and execute strategies to effectively defend the company’s tax positions and minimize financial risks during tax controversies.
• Act as the primary point of contact for tax authorities across EMEA, fostering constructive, professional, and transparent relationships.
• Draft, review, and submit technical responses, position papers, appeals, and settlement proposals to regional tax authorities.
• Work closely with Finance, Legal, Business, Product, and other internal stakeholders to gather facts and build robust defense cases.
• Liaise with and manage external tax and legal advisers, optimizing resource allocation and ensuring high‑quality defense strategies.
• Identify, assess, and manage tax risks across the region, translating audit findings into actionable improvements for the broader tax compliance and advisory teams.
• Maintain a strong internal control and governance framework for tax controversy aligned with EMEA Tax Framework and Global Tax policy.
• Drive process improvement and scalable infrastructure for tracking, managing, and reporting on the EMEA audit portfolio to senior leadership.
• Proactively monitor changes in tax controversy trends, dispute resolution mechanisms, and audit focus areas by tax authorities in the region.

Minimum Qualifications: Significant years of dedicated tax controversy, tax litigation, or complex tax advisory experience, ideally featuring a mix of large public accounting firms, top‑tier law firm, and in‑house roles within a multinational corporate environment. Qualified in a professional Accountancy/Tax Qualification (e.g., ACA, ATT, CTA) or qualified as a Legal/Tax Attorney. Solid knowledge of EMEA tax principles (corporate, indirect, TP) and a deep understanding of tax dispute resolution and audit procedures. Effective oral and written communication skills, with the ability to articulate complex tax arguments clearly and persuasively to tax authorities. Strong business acumen with the proven ability to translate complex tax concepts into practical, actionable business advice. Demonstrated experience managing large‑scale tax audits and negotiating confidently with tax authorities. Strong project management skills, capable of driving multiple audits across different jurisdictions simultaneously.

Preferred Qualifications: TMT/technology industry experience is a preference. Experience in high‑growth, innovation‑driven organisations is a strong plus. Thrives in collaborative, fast‑paced environments with competing priorities and evolving regulatory change.