Head of Tax, Americas

Clifford Chance US LLP is seeking a full-time Head of Tax, who will be responsible for leading the tax function across the Americas region.

The role will oversee the preparation and delivery of relevant tax filings and tax declarations, manage tax risks and controls, and develop and implement tax policies and procedures in line with local requirements and the firm's global tax framework.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead the tax function for the Americas region, ensuring tax matters are managed effectively, consistently and in line with the firm's global tax strategy.
• Act as the key point of contact for local and regional tax matters, providing practical and commercially focused advice to senior stakeholders.
• Build strong relationships with regional leadership, Finance, HR, partner compensation colleagues, the global accounting team in Delhi, partners and the Central Tax team.
• Manage, supervise and develop team members, ensuring appropriate review, support and development.
• Provide training and guidance to local Finance and business teams to improve tax awareness and strengthen compliance.

Tax advisory and policy:

• Develop, promote and implement tax policies and procedures across the Americas region, in line with local tax requirements and the firm's global approach.
• Advise on US tax matters, including corporate tax, partnership tax, state and local tax, partner tax issues, employment taxes, payroll taxes and the tax treatment of employee and partner benefits.
• Support the management of tax matters in Brazil and the wider Americas region, working with local Finance teams and external advisers as required.

Compliance, reporting and controls:

• Oversee the timely and accurate filing of all relevant corporate, partnership, state, local and individual partner tax returns, working with external advisers where appropriate.
• Manage and coordinate the preparation of US resident partner income tax returns.
• Oversee the calculation, reconciliation and release of partner tax reserves to fund partner tax payments.

Partner tax and compensation matters:

• Act as a key contact for partners and the firm in respect of US tax and partner compensation related queries.
• Oversee US partner tax accounting and related processes.
• Work closely with the Central Partner Remuneration team to ensure partner tax matters are managed accurately and efficiently.

Risk management and projects:

• Monitor, evaluate and manage regional tax risks, escalating matters appropriately to regional leadership and the Central Tax team.
• Support and lead US, Brazil and wider Americas tax related projects, as well as other regional or global tax initiatives as required.

Qualifications:

• Significant US tax experience, ideally gained in a professional services firm, law firm or complex international business.
• Strong technical knowledge of US federal, state and local tax matters, including partnership tax, partner tax issues, multi-state taxation and tax nexus considerations.
• Experience of both tax compliance and advisory matters is essential, together with the ability to manage tax risk in a complex organisation.
• A Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance or a related field is required.
• A Master's degree in taxation is desirable.
• CPA qualification, with a tax specialism, or an equivalent professional qualification and experience, is preferred.