Senior Tax Manager in London

Location

Hybrid (Offices in London or Manchester)

Salary

£70,000 - £80,000 DOE (Plus London weighting up to £90,000)

Reports to

Managing Director

Directly Manages

Team of 5

Summary

Williams Stanley & Co is looking for a Senior Tax Manager to lead the next stage of development of our Tax function.

This isn't a replacement role in the traditional sense.

We're using a change in leadership as an opportunity to invest further in Tax, build greater depth across the department and create a function that combines strong technical delivery with genuine commercial ownership.

You'll join an established and profitable Tax department with a strong existing team and client base.

The role combines senior technical leadership with client ownership, advisory work, commercial responsibility and team development.

You'll have significant autonomy to shape how the department develops and work closely with the Managing Director and wider leadership team.

A big part of the opportunity is developing the capability already within the team rather than creating a structure where everything has to flow through the most senior person.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Tax team, building capability and succession underneath the senior role.
• Set clear responsibilities and ensure work is delegated at the appropriate level.
• Coach and develop team members, giving them increasing exposure to technical work, advisory and client ownership.
• Identify recruitment, training and development requirements.
• Build a scalable operating model as the department grows.
• Create an environment where the team can operate effectively without becoming dependent on one individual.
• Own senior relationships across the Tax client portfolio, including our most complex and highest-profile clients.
• Act as a trusted adviser to founder-led and owner-managed hospitality businesses.
• Lead complex client conversations without routine escalation to the Managing Director.
• Provide practical, commercially focused advice rather than simply technical answers.
• Identify advisory opportunities across the wider Williams Stanley & Co client base.
• Work collaboratively with other departments to identify Tax opportunities earlier in the client relationship.
• Commercial ownership
• Own scoping and pricing of Tax advisory work.
• Ensure advisory work does not commence without appropriate scope and fee agreement.
• Own Tax WIP, recovery and commercial performance.
• Identify scope creep and agree fee variations with clients.
• Help develop and grow profitable recurring and advisory Tax revenue.
• Support new-business conversations where senior Tax input is required.
• Understand the commercial performance of the department as well as its technical output.
• Technical
• Act as the senior technical point of escalation across the Tax department.
• Provide high-quality advice across a broad mixed-tax portfolio.
• Review complex Tax work and manage technical risk.
• Lead transaction, restructuring and higher-value advisory work where appropriate.
• Provide oversight across areas including Corporation Tax, Personal Tax, SEIS/EIS, share schemes and other specialist work where appropriate.
• Coordinate international and cross-border matters with external specialists.
• Work with fractional/specialist Tax advisers where deeper expertise is required.
• Maintain appropriate professional, technical and review standards.

We don't expect one person to personally hold every area of Tax expertise. Good judgement around when to use specialist support is an important part of the role.

• Wider mandate
• Provide senior oversight across associated areas including SB&Co and Company Secretarial, working closely with the team members who own those functions day to day.
• Work closely with Management Accounts and other departments to improve cross-departmental quality, ownership and accountability.
• Ensure upstream accounting or information issues affecting Tax are identified and escalated early.
• Help identify and develop opportunities across the wider client base.
• Contribute to the firm's wider commercial and strategic agenda.

About You

We're looking for someone who combines strong technical Tax knowledge with commercial judgement, client confidence and the ability to develop people.

You'll ideally be

• CTA qualified, or have equivalent senior Tax experience.
• An experienced Tax Manager / Senior Tax Manager, or ready to step into a Senior Tax Manager role.
• Experienced within an accountancy practice or professional services environment.
• Strong in advising owner-managed and entrepreneurial businesses.
• Broadly experienced across mixed Tax, with strong Corporation Tax knowledge.
• Comfortable reviewing complex work and acting as a senior technical escalation point.
• Commercially confident and comfortable discussing scope and fees directly with clients.
• Experienced in WIP, recovery and profitability.
• Strong at building relationships with founders and senior decision-makers.
• Experienced in developing, coaching and delegating to junior team members.
• Comfortable using external specialists rather than needing to personally hold every area of technical expertise.
• Someone who wants to build and shape a department rather than simply inherit a portfolio.

Hospitality or leisure sector experience would be advantageous but isn't essential.

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