Head of Tax - 12 Month Fixed Term Contract

Trainline plc; City Of London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading travel technology company in the UK is seeking a Head of Tax for a 12-month maternity cover. This role involves providing strategic leadership across tax-related matters, managing relationships with tax advisors, and ensuring compliance with UK and EU tax regulations. The ideal candidate is a qualified tax professional with significant experience in corporate tax leadership and a strong understanding of international tax compliance.

Benefits

Private healthcare & dental insurance

Work from abroad policy

Two for one share purchase plans

Electric Vehicle Scheme

Extra festive time off

Family friendly benefits

Qualifications

• Significant experience in corporate tax leadership.
• Proven track record of managing outsourced tax arrangements.
• Strong understanding of UK and EU tax compliance.
• Experience in an in-house mixed tax role.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction of the tax function.
• Manage relationships with external tax advisors.
• Oversee outsourced compliance activities.
• Review UK tax returns and submissions.
• Ensure accurate tax payment calculations.
• Maintain robust tax governance.

Skills

Corporate tax leadership

Stakeholder management

International tax experience

Tax compliance knowledge

Education

Qualified tax professional (ACA, ACCA, CTA or equivalent)

Job description

About us

We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels.

Great journeys start with Trainline

Now Europe's number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 125 million monthly visits and £5.9 billion in annual ticket sales, we collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries. We want to create a world where travel is as simple, seamless, eco friendly and affordable as it should be.

Today, we're a FTSE 250 company driven by our incredible team of over 1,000 Trainliners from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid. With our focus on growth in the UK and Europe, now is the perfect time to join us on this high speed journey.

The Role

We're looking for an experienced Head of Tax to join Trainline's Group Finance team on a 12 month maternity cover to provide strategic oversight and leadership across all tax related matters. Reporting to the Finance Director with dotted line to CFO, this interim position plays a vital role in maintaining compliance, managing outsourced tax relationships, and supporting the business's continued growth across our core markets in the UK, Spain, France and Italy across all core taxes. The successful candidate will ensure effective governance, accuracy, and efficiency in all tax operations.

Key responsibilities

• Provide strategic direction and oversight of the organisation's tax function.
• Manage and strengthen relationships with external tax advisors (Big 4).
• Oversee the project management of outsourced compliance activities, ensuring deliverables are met on time and to a high standard.
• Review and support the preparation of UK tax returns and related submissions.
• Lead tax payment calculations and ensure all liabilities are met accurately and efficiently.
• Partner with internal finance and leadership teams to maintain robust tax governance and support broader business objectives.

What We're Looking For

• A qualified tax professional (ACA, ACCA, CTA or equivalent) with significant experience in corporate tax leadership.
• Proven track record of managing outsourced tax arrangements, ideally with Big 4 firms.
• Strong understanding of UK and EU tax compliance and reporting requirements.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage confidently with senior leadership and external advisors.
• Strategic thinker with hands on capability to manage both oversight and delivery where required.
• Experience in an in house, mixed tax role within a UK headquartered international group.
• International tax experience in France, Spain, or Italy ideally - All 3 is a bonus.
• Strong tax accounting and compliance knowledge, including group provisioning and audits.
• A track record of thriving in fast paced, dynamic environments and delivering under pressure.

Key Skills & Behaviours

• Hands on, proactive, and delivery focused.
• Strong communicator, able to influence and partner effectively across the business.
• Collaborative and supportive, with experience mentoring junior team members.
• Commercially pragmatic.
• Resilient and adaptable, comfortable balancing multiple priorities in a changing environment.

More information

Enjoy fantastic perks like private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work from abroad policy, 2 for 1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family friendly benefits.

We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days. Jump on supercharge your career from day one!

Our values represent the things that matter most to us and what we live and breathe everyday, in everything we do:

• Think Big - We're building the future of rail
• Own It - We focus on every customer, partner and journey
• Travel Together - We're one team
• Do Good - We make a positive impact

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. And we mean all forms of diversity - gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality and diversity of thought. That's why we're committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.

Interested in finding out more about what it's like to work at Trainline? Why not check us out on LinkedIn, Instagram and Glassdoor!