Manager, Indirect Tax, MENA

• Standard Chartered is one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting international banks. Once you have joined the team, we offer many opportunities to expand and grow your career.
• Reporting to the Head of Tax, assisting to manage the end-to-end UAE tax affairs for Indirect Taxes, group reporting including but not limited to indirect tax matters relevant to business, operations, products, Group Tax’s initiatives as well as a support the Country’s indirect tax compliance with Group's requests; as well as a strong focus on indirect tax risk-management. Role also has exposure to indirect tax advisory and compliance support for other Middle East markets like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Iraq and Jordan.
• This role should appeal to a tax professional interested in further developing their career in financial services in a dynamically evolving environment.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategy

• Effective monitoring of controls and processes required by Group Tax policies and Procedures as process owner / risk owner (where appropriate) for indirect taxes.
• Promoting general awareness of indirect tax developments amongst stakeholders.

Business

• Assist in providing advice and propose solutions to support business requirements (including assisting in industry engagement and liaison with local tax authorities)
• Respond to routine indirect tax queries from the local business and support functions.

Processes

• Manage, review and submit indirect tax returns in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, including managing Tax Centre of Excellence support centre staff (GFS Tax CoE).
• Manage, review, validate and reconcile accounting records with indirect tax returns and source systems and ensuring Tax GL accounts are substantiated periodically.
• Support periodic audits by tax authorities (including preparing tax authority audit files) thereby ensuring effective and efficient resolution of all audit issues raised.
• Provide support in ensuring all indirect tax related documentation, statutory records, registers are maintained as per legal requirements.
• Assist reviewing, interpreting and analysing existing, new and amended regulations related to Middle East indirect tax regimes (including E-Invoicing) to ensure compliance, applicability and implementation throughout the bank’s branches ensuring to undertake impact assessments.
• Maintain effective control procedure over all aspects of the indirect tax processes including process note and documentation. Proactively advise on processes that are required as well as assisting in the design, development and implementation of new policies and procedures (and review of existing process notes, guidance notes, manuals etc.)
• Provide support in performing health check reviews on Target Operating Model and compliance activities including identification of deficiencies in processes, systems and procedures, perform tax compliance checks and recommend control improvements/corrective actions with tax processes to ensure that any tax non-compliance is addressed, and all tax related reporting submissions are done on timely basis.
• Monitoring changes in local country’s business, product, strategy, etc & provide input into the sign-off of key governance documents such as Country Addendums, changes in group corporate structure, etc
• Provide regular updates to Regional Tax Leads on compliance status, obtain buy-in to recommendations, escalate issues and manage risks within Enterprise Risk Framework.
• Review and submit periodic group and local tax reporting of UAE entities, including extending support to Country Finance Managers for other Middle East countries.
• Provide support to Group Tax projects and initiatives.

People & Talent

• Lead through example and build the appropriate culture and values
• Work in collaboration with Group Tax, GFS Tax CoE, risk owners and process owners
• Participate in training operated by the Group, keep abreast of local developments and participate in delivery of training to business and other support functions/internal stakeholders to ensure awareness of applicable indirect tax regimes including the GFS Tax CoE.

Risk Management

• Support in embedding indirect tax processes in business activities in accordance with group tax policies and standards ensuring the control environment adequately mitigates the inherent tax risks as assessed through the risk framework.
• Support the Process Owner under the Group’s Risk Management Framework (including relevant Operational Risk Framework ownership for Tax.
• Identify, document and escalate risks and ensure appropriate management

Governance

• Awareness and understanding of the regulatory framework, in which the Group operates, and the regulatory requirements and expectations relevant to the role.
• Continue to develop and improve framework to assist CFO as risk owner and discharge first line obligations and responsibilities for indirect taxes.
• Engage with finance teams & assist in local stakeholder management on Indirect Tax requirements, including assisting the RCO periodic tax declarations for Group in explaining reporting processes, governance & control models & other processes implemented.

• Professional Accountancy or Taxation qualification, CA/ACCA / CPA/ ADIT or CTA equivalent
• Minimum 6 years with indirect tax experience in In-house tax function or Big 4 accounting firm; Banking experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of indirect tax laws and regulations
• Ability to work under pressure and meet deadline
• Strong written and verbal communications skill in English. Arabic is advantageous
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, able to simplify complex tax matters for business stakeholders
• General knowledge of indirect tax legislation together with understanding of banking products
• Experience with Middle East tax Indirect tax regulations is desirable.
• Strong influencing and collaboration skills; able to drive alignment of teams within and across the organizational boundaries
• Technical knowledge on VAT Advanced
• Understanding of accounting principles, and its implications on Tax reporting Core
• Practical experience in compliance, reporting systems and tools Advanced
• Arabic language is preferred Core
• Leadership Competencies & Leadership Level
• Take the Lead:
• Build Resilience:
• Collaborate:
• Communicate:
• Deliver Sustainably:
• Achieve Results Line:
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to drive change effectively with staff of all levels Advanced
• Sound knowledge of information technology.

We're an international bank, nimble enough to act, big enough for impact. For more than 170 years, we've worked to make a positive difference for our clients, communities, and each other. We question the status quo, love a challenge and enjoy finding new opportunities to grow and do better than before. If you're looking for a career with purpose and you want to work for a bank making a difference, we want to hear from you. You can count on us to celebrate your unique talents and we can't wait to see the talents you can bring us.

Our purpose, to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, together with our brand promise, o be here for good are achieved by how we each live our valued behaviours. When you work with us, you'll see how we value difference and advocate inclusion.

Together we:

• Do the right thing and are assertive, challenge one another, and live with integrity, while putting the client at the heart of what we do
• Never settle, continuously striving to improve and innovate, keeping things simple and learning from doing well, and not so well
• Are better together, we can be ourselves, be inclusive, see more good in others, and work collectively to build for the long term

In line with our Fair Pay Charter, we offer a competitive salary and benefits to support your mental, physical, financial and social wellbeing.

• Core bank funding for retirement savings, medical and life insurance, with flexible and voluntary benefits available in some locations.
• Time-off including annual leave, parental/maternity (20 weeks), sabbatical (12 months maximum) and volunteering leave (3 days), along with minimum global standards for annual and public holiday, which is combined to 30 days minimum.
• Flexible working options based around home and office locations, with flexible working patterns.
• Proactive wellbeing support through Unmind, a market-leading digital wellbeing platform, development courses for resilience and other human skills, global Employee Assistance Programme, sick leave, mental health first-aiders and all sorts of self-help toolkits
• A continuous learning culture to support your growth, with opportunities to reskill and upskill and access to physical, virtual and digital learning.
• Being part of an inclusive and values driven organisation, one that embraces and celebrates our unique diversity, across our teams, business functions and geographies - everyone feels respected and can realise their full potential.