Private client tax senior manager

Primary Purpose of Role

The primary responsibility for this role is to deliver an efficient and robust tax return offering for both personal and trust clients. The candidate will lead, from an operational perspective, the private client tax team. The role will be an expert on private client and trust matters and will deliver assist the partner in the delivery of a significant amount, if not all, of the firm’s private client and trust advisory services.

The role will also oversee ancillary services to the tax return process and advisory projects such as 60-day CGT returns, trust IHT returns, trust registration service registrations, common reporting standard reporting and compliance led advisory work. The role will be responsible for the delivery of a profitable offering which provides a positive contribution to the firms profits after allocation of overhead costs.

The role will include some business development activities with a view to increasing the turnover of the department, but this will be subordinate to the primary objectives noted above.

Initial KPI minimum thresholds

Utilisation 70%
Recoveries - compliance 80%
Recoveries – advisory 100%

Key Duties

This list is provided to give guidance to the role and is not written in order of importance. Additionally, this list is not exhaustive but gives an overall outline of the key duties. As a growing firm your role may develop over time.

Work focussed requirements

1. Reviewing and/or signing out (as appropriate to the client) personal and trust tax returns of the PCTS team and providing guidance and assistance for the same prepared by the wider firm as required.
2. Taking a leading role in advisory projects and delivery of private client advisory work, in particular relating to trusts, with partner support as required on technical matters. Provision of high-quality advice and support to the clients of the firm. Advisory projects will depend on client needs.
3. Supporting and working together with the PCTS advisory partner on advisory projects.
4. Be responsible for work quality standards and improvement together with compliance and advisory process improvement.
5. Recognition as an expert both internally and externally, with respect to private client taxation (including trusts and inheritance tax) to include easy reference to key legislation and guidance material as it applies to these work streams.
6. Exposure to some of the firm’s key clients and managing these appropriately whilst continuously striving to maintain and improve these key relationships.
7. Involvement with complex clients with minimal partner support to include dealing with uncommon income and/or reliefs or dealing with specialist client types and industries.
8. Involvement with cross border and international tax considerations.
9. Dealing with enquiries into trust and personal tax returns as and when they arise, supported by the team where appropriate.
10. Liaise with HMRC, clients and third parties, as necessary.
11. Take ownership of jobs that you are involved in and the PCTS compliance function. Duties include billing, improving recoveries year on year for compliance work and between similar job types for advisory work, maintaining positive client relationships and being the point of contact on project work.
12. Work may include advice/compliance on offshore trusts or the receipt of income/gains from the same.
13. Continuous risk assessment and mitigation and promoting the same amongst the wider team to include identification of risks within our work-streams and development of effective risk mitigation processes to be implemented by the team.

Management and team focussed requirements

1. Management of the private client department compliance offering on a day-to-day basis. Being an ambassador for the team and firm both internally and externally, a role model and a recognised leader.
2. Ensuring, and being responsible for, all personal and trust tax returns being filed within a reasonable timeframe of the information being received.
3. Responsibility for the PCTS team achieving team KPIs including WIP management, billing, utilisation and recovery targets.
4. Line managing more junior members of the team to include ensuring they are meeting their key KPIs to include WIP, billing recovery and utilisation targets and expected work quality and keeping on top of their training requirements.
5. Mentoring and supporting more junior members of the private client tax team to enable progression through the team. Ensure that motivation is maintained to deliver a high standard of work to the client. Keep development plans in place through regular use of the appraisal process.
6. Be involved in the recruitment of more junior members of the team as appropriate.
7. Dealing with management administration such as holiday approvals, training contract obligations etc.
8. Oversee the private client tax department’s progress against turnover, new business, recoveries and utilisation targets, making appropriate recommendations for improvements should they be falling short.
9. Promote diversity and equality within the teams.

Business development focussed requirements

1. Looking out for networking and business development opportunities for the Firm, bringing new initiatives and sales opportunities to the Firm. Business development to include contribution to the firm’s external technical marketing and attendance at certain events.
2. Development of new working practices, processes and efficiencies to improve recoveries without reducing output quality.
3. Be a part of the firm’s growth ambitions contributing opinions and observations appropriately to the leadership team.

Initial KPI minimum thresholds

Utilisation 70%
Recoveries - compliance 80%
Recoveries – advisory 100%

This role can be based in Worcester or Birmingham.