VAT Senior Manager

The role

As a VAT Senior Manager, you oversee complex VAT engagements, providing strategic advice on VAT planning and compliance. You will manage key client relationships, mentor teams, and ensure that VAT returns are prepared accurately. Your role ensures high-quality service delivery and helps clients navigate complex VAT matters effectively.

Key accountabilities

Client Focus

• Demonstrates an understanding of client/customer needs not limited to service line
• Demonstrates exceptional client service (both internal and external) and understands its importance to Blick Rothenberg as well as clients
• Demonstrates the ability to look forward at industry and wider legislative (or otherwise) changes which may affect clients and proactively seeks to offer support where appropriate
• Is able to tailor services to match client requirements in regard to scope and deliverables, timing and cost of services provided
• Understands client core priorities and challenges and is able to advise on ways that their internal process and procedures could be reviewed to assist in their achievement
• Is able to confidently lead meetings with stakeholders
• Maintains a regular in-person dialogue with clients as a primary point of contact and uses this to improve client service and identify sales opportunities.

Technical Excellence

• Takes the lead in ensuring team members possess the necessary skills, knowledge and behaviours required to deliver accurate, high quality work for our clients through identification of and input into development opportunities / training
• Able to work collaboratively with other service lines on complex issues in order to reach a solution and takes the lead in communicating outcomes to clients
• Proactively communicates news of a technical or topical development within Blick Rothenberg in their areas of specialism
• Is aware of upcoming changes to applicable legislation / regulation affecting their service line and how this will affect Blick Rothenberg workflow, processes and the scope and approach to client service delivery.

Commitment

• Volunteers to lead or execute tasks that help achievement of departmental or office business plan and strategic objectives
• Builds morale in the wider team creating a working environment which fosters a positive approach and feeling of achievement and inclusion
• Proactively and professionally puts forward considered views to drive change and improve processes for the better.
• Attention to Detail
• Responsible for quality and takes pride in it at both a team and personal level. Continuous focus on raising team standards to ensure output is of a high quality and well presented
• Gives meaningful and insightful feedback to all members of the team
• Acts quickly to resolve quality issues raised and seeks to analyse the cause of such issues to rectify.

Driving Business Growth

Actively increases knowledge and awareness of business and competitive environment to seek out opportunities

• Has an established network of specific professional contacts relevant to their work through which business opportunities can arise
• Identifies opportunities to promote their specialist area to clients, prospects and external professional referrers with the aim of generating new referrals and work wins
• Is aware of team growth targets and understands their role in achieving these
• Demonstrates the ability to look forward at industry and wider legislative (or otherwise) changes which may affect clients and proactively seeks to offer support where appropriate.

Living Our Values

• New to Blick Rothenberg: Shows good understanding of our company values, and making good progress towards consistently demonstrating required behaviour

Skills & Experience

Technical Skills VAT Reviews/Healthchecks/Due Diligence/Advisory

• Proactively follows up opportunities identified and makes suggestions of introductions to other service lines, as appropriate

Tax advisory work and technical research

• Share VAT changes with the internal team for any VAT opportunities. Recognises wider impact of these changes and able to identify opportunities to use these to introduce other lines of service.
• Able to share the final advice after peer-review, with the client and discuss the outcome of the work with client. Able to add value by suggesting where further work would be beneficial either within own specialism or wider.
• Able to identify risks in Due Diligence projects and suggest resolutions bringing in other specialists where applicable

Liaising with HMRC

• Able to discuss HMRC’s decision with the client and colleagues
• Able to propose next steps and provide insight into HMRC’s approach and position, as appropriate. Proactive in suggesting solutions and able to think outside the box in terms of seeking resolutions.

Technical Seminars

• Able to organize and present at seminars/webinars for clients and contacts, involved in different sectors. Able to suggest formats and content.

Winning work (existing clients and new clients)

• Starting to be viewed as a national sector specialist throughout the wider firm
• Able to clearly recognise opportunities, monetise them and arrange BD meetings/calls with targets
• Proactive in publishing articles of interest internally and externally using a variety of mediums.

Other

Holds a accountancy and/or tax qualification or qualified by experience (e.g. ATT/CTA/ACA/ACCA/CA).