Senior Tax Manager

Location: Hybrid/Rador, PA | Reports to: Head of Investor Services, US

About the role

The purpose of this position is to build and lead Aztec’s in-house US tax capability within Investor Services – owning the delivery of high-quality compliance and general administrative tax guidance (direct and indirect tax) across our US clients’ portfolios. This is a pivotal, client-facing role for someone who wants to help Aztec move from a completeness-only support model to a technical, end-to-end tax operating model – taking greater ownership of the investor tax lifecycle, from onboarding data capture through to coordination with clients’ tax advisers (e.g. PwC) on K-1 preparation and filing.

You will be the subject-matter expert who will build the operating model to enhance our clients’ experience – bringing technical depth to W-8/W-9 review, strengthening controls around tax refund cheque tracking and state tax payments, and partnering with our technology teams to automate K-1 collection, FATCA/CRS and data extraction. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives in an ambitious, fast-scaling environment and is committed to delivering high-quality work under tight, deadline-driven tax cycles.

As a Senior Manager, you will be responsible for driving strategic initiatives and taking ownership for leading processes and projects that align with organizational goals. You will achieve this by collaborating across our multi-jurisdictional teams (US, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and Channel Islands) to deepen relationships, being open-minded and embracing change whilst valuing diverse perspectives and channeling a ‘can-do’ attitude. You will support business and people growth, help develop the next generation of talent, and help position Aztec as the golden source of investor tax data for our clients.

Key responsibilities:

Clients and Business Development

• Act as the US tax subject-matter expert for Investor Services, giving clients confidence that Aztec can own and technically stand behind the investor tax lifecycle.

• Support senior leaders in identifying, scoping and proposing new and expanded tax service opportunities (e.g. end-to-end W-form review, K-1 data preparation support, FATCA/CRS enablement).

• Work effectively within Aztec’s multi-service and multi-jurisdictional client teams to ensure information is shared effectively and relationships are built and maintained across US, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and Channel Islands.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients’ in-house tax teams and their external advisers, coordinating clear roles, hand-offs and SLAs (e.g. with PwC) to eliminate ambiguity over ownership.

• Deliver high levels of client satisfaction across the Tax service client base, proactively surfacing recommendations rather than waiting for requests.

• Support the Tax leadership and Business Development team in the pricing of new tax services opportunities and pilot programs.

Operations

• Technical tax form review: Perform and review technical, end-to-end review of W-8/W-9 forms – moving beyond completeness checks to accuracy, tax classification, withholding implications and expiry tracking – embedding this into the onboarding and periodic review process.

• Data ownership & golden source: Take ownership of investor tax data capture at onboarding, ensuring Aztec holds clean, structured, validated tax attributes (books & records) that can be shared with clients’ advisers, reducing reliance on manual data scraping.

• K-1 collection & tracking: Drive the acceleration and automation of K-1 collection, validation and tracking (partnering on tools such as Aztec Xtract) to move away from manual, Excel-based processes and improve capture rates and turnaround.

• Tax refund check controls: Own and strengthen the control framework for US tax refund check tracking, including a single-source tracker, clear status tracking (outstanding / received / deposited / written off), custody, reconciliation and 4-eyes review.

• Tax & payments: Oversee tax payment processing and support evaluation of automated tax payment solutions, improving cash visibility, forward-looking payment notification and escalation timing between clients, advisers and the US team.

• FATCA / CRS: Support and scale Aztec US involvement in FATCA/CRS processes, partnering with technology to handle volumes through automation.

• Coordinate with clients’ third-party advisers and tax authorities, and act as a technical escalation point for the wider Investor Services and US team.

• Coordinate with client’s auditor/tax preparer as needed, assist on ad-hoc projects and unusual notices (e.g. proactively monitoring for items such as IRS Form 8986).

• Maintain appropriate records of our clients’ tax affairs, the work we provide on their behalf and associated filings, ensuring continuity year over year.

• Consistently and comprehensively deliver Aztec’s internal control framework and processes, and build the process work flows, documentation, deadline calendars, FAQs and operating memos that embed US tax knowledge across the team.

Governance and Change

• Contribute to Group and/or jurisdictional-specific Tax service projects, as required, including the design of Aztec’s future tax operating model.

• Partner with the technology and transformation teams to embed digital tax data capture, automated validation and regulatory/tax reporting into our platforms.

• Establish and maintain robust governance with clients and their advisers – defining SLAs, hand-offs, responsiveness expectations and quarterly service reviews – and ensure global alignment across all jurisdictional teams.

• Support the design of pilots and enhanced operating models, clarifying the division of responsibilities between Aztec and clients’ external tax advisers.

Skills, knowledge, expertise:

• 8+ years of relevant tax experience, ideally within alternative investments / private markets, funds or fund administration (partnership tax, investor tax reporting, FATCA/CRS).

• Strong technical knowledge of investor tax documentation (W-8/W-9), K-1s, withholding, state tax payments and refund processes.

• A Big 4 / public accounting background is desirable; relevant professional qualification (e.g. CPA / EA) is desired.

• A relevant undergraduate degree (Accounting / Finance / Business).

• Experience building or improving processes, controls and documentation – with the credibility to be the technical sign-off and to stand behind Aztec’s work with clients and their advisers.

• A data-driven, technology-forward mindset – comfortable partnering on automation and data-extraction initiatives to reduce manual effort and risk.

• The ability to work collaboratively with diverse, multi-jurisdictional client teams and to coordinate effectively with external advisers.

• Attention to detail to ensure the delivery of consistent and high standards, particularly in high-risk, control-sensitive areas.

• Excellent organizational, communication and people skills, with the ability to translate technical tax matters for non-tax stakeholders.

• A commitment and desire to deliver high levels of client service, and to help develop the next generation of talent.

• Ability to think critically and creatively, and to work under pressure within tight, deadline-driven tax cycles.