Location
London

Hours
Full Time

Salary
Competitive, commensurate with experience

About the Role
The Senior Manager will lead the organisation's VAT risk governance across multi-jurisdictional operations. This hands-on leadership role combines deep technical VAT expertise with proven experience in designing, embedding, and continuously improving VAT risk frameworks and assurance programmes. You will ensure operational practices are robust, scalable, and fully aligned with regulatory obligations, while providing actionable insights to senior leadership and proactively mitigating VAT exposure. The role involves close collaboration with tax colleagues, business operations, internal audit, and risk monitoring teams to embed controls into business processes, challenge operational readiness, and influence decision-making across the organisation.

Key responsibilities include leading the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of VAT risk and assurance frameworks, control methodologies, and operational procedures; overseeing assurance activities and guiding analysts in data collection, testing, and evaluation of control effectiveness; critically reviewing VAT requirements from advisory teams to identify gaps or conflicts prior to rollout; fostering cross-functional collaboration to embed robust controls and implement process improvements; challenging operational readiness for new controls and processes; reporting to senior leadership on VAT risk exposure and remediation progress; maintaining a dynamic VAT assurance programme that evolves with regulatory changes and business growth; and supporting integration of VAT risk considerations into regulatory changes, strategic initiatives, and operational transformations.

Experience
- Extensive VAT advisory experience with deep expertise in VAT risk management, governance frameworks, and operational de-risking.
- Proven ability to interpret complex VAT legislation, evaluate operational impact, and translate requirements into practical, scalable controls and processes.
- Experience leading multi-disciplinary teams integrating VAT policy, assurance, and operational functions.
- Strong track record in multi-jurisdictional environments managing cross-border VAT risks and influencing senior stakeholders.
- Experience in large, matrixed organisations, ideally with exposure to regulated industries and high-volume transactional environments.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

About you
- Proven leader and mentor, fostering high-performance, accountable teams with a culture of quality, rigor, and continuous improvement.
- Collaborative and able to work cross-functionally to embed controls and drive operational decision-making.
- Detail-oriented with a proactive approach to mitigating VAT risk across business processes and systems.

Qualifications
- Recognised professional tax qualification, chartered accountant, or relevant legal degree preferred.
- Experience in top-tier consulting or advisory firms (Big 4 or equivalent) or strong VAT advisory experience in multi-jurisdictional contexts.
- Practical experience embedding controls and driving operational decision-making in large, regulated corporate environments.
- Extensive VAT advisory and risk management expertise focused on identifying, managing, and mitigating VAT exposure within complex operational environments.