Indirect Tax Accountant

Bristol Myers Squibb; Chester; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free on-site parking

On-site gym

Hybrid working

Career development

Competitive Benefits

Job summary

Bristol Myers Squibb in Chester is seeking an Indirect Tax Accountant to support VAT compliance across multiple European and international markets. You will work within a Centre of Excellence environment, handling multi‑currency, multi‑jurisdiction VAT tasks using Excel and tax technology.

The role offers hybrid working, strong growth opportunities, and exposure to international tax operations within a global pharmaceutical leader.

Qualifications

• BA/BSc or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in VAT compliance, ideally multi‑jurisdiction European markets.
• Strong Excel skills and ability to work autonomously.
• SAP or Oracle experience is a real advantage.

Responsibilities

• Support VAT compliance across European and international markets.
• Prepare VAT returns monthly, bi‑monthly, quarterly and annually.
• Coordinate VAT submission approvals with internal stakeholders.
• Assist with VAT audits and post‑submission documentation.
• Maintain VAT general ledger reconciliations and resolve items.

Skills

VAT compliance

Excel

SAP/Oracle

Analytical

Autonomous working

Education

BA/BSc or equivalent

Tools

SAP/Oracle

Job description

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Why join us

You will join a collaborative, international tax team with broad EMEA exposure, genuine ownership and opportunities to influence how indirect tax compliance is delivered. Our Chester Business Park location offers practical on-site amenities and a flexible working environment.

What It Offers

• Free on-site parking Convenient parking at the Chester site.
• On-site gym Fitness facilities available at the workplace.
• Hybrid working A 50% site / home working model supporting collaboration and flexibility.
• Career development International exposure, coaching and opportunities to broaden technical expertise.
• Competitive Benefits Access to the company benefits package and wellbeing resources.

Tax compliance might not sound like the most glamorous corner of a global pharmaceutical company. But stay with us because this role is more interesting than the job title suggests.

Here’s the thing about working in the Tax Centre of Excellence at a company like Bristol Myers Squibb: you’re not just filing returns. You’re ensuring that a global pharmaceutical business—one that is actively developing and delivering life‑changing medicines across multiple international markets—meets its regulatory obligations in some of the most complex VAT environments in the world.

The stakes are real. The exposure is significant. And the opportunity to grow, both technically and professionally, is genuinely exceptional.

What does the role actually involve?

You’ll support VAT compliance obligations across a group of European and international markets—working within a professional, high‑performing team that takes pride in accuracy, timeliness, and quality.

In Practice, Your Work Will Span

• Preparing VAT and indirect tax returns—monthly, bi‑monthly, quarterly, and annual—across multiple European markets, using Excel and indirect tax return preparation technology. This isn’t a single‑market role. You’ll develop genuine multi‑jurisdiction fluency
• Managing sales listings, domestic listings, purchase listings, Intrastat, and SAF‑T filings — building hands‑on familiarity with the full landscape of European indirect tax compliance obligations
• Coordinating VAT submission approvals — working with internal stakeholders to ensure returns are reviewed, signed off, and submitted accurately and on time
• Raising VAT payment requests and maintaining compliant documentation — handling the end‑to‑end post‑submission process with the attention to detail it demands
• Preparing VAT and Sales General Ledger reconciliations — identifying and resolving discrepancies, following up on open items, and ensuring the books reflect reality
• Supporting VAT compliance queries from the business — acting as a knowledgeable, reliable point of contact for colleagues across the organisation who need guidance on indirect tax matters
• Assisting with VAT audit preparation — helping to compile and present information to tax authorities when required, gaining direct exposure to the audit process in a multinational environment

What’s genuinely in it for you?

• Multi‑country VAT expertise that’s hard to come by. Most tax roles give you depth in one market. This role gives you breadth across multiple European jurisdictions — building a level of international indirect tax expertise that is genuinely valuable and not easy to acquire elsewhere. If you want to become a technically credible European VAT professional, this is one of the best environments in which to do it.
• The shared services experience that opens career doors. Working within a Centre of Excellence in a shared services environment is increasingly the model for world‑class finance and tax operations. That experience — understanding how global processes are designed, standardised, and managed at scale — is a career asset that sets you apart from peers working in more traditional tax roles.
• SAP and technology fluency in a global system environment. You’ll work with SAP (or Oracle) and purpose‑built indirect tax technology — building systems proficiency that is directly transferable and commercially valued across finance and tax careers. In an era where technology literacy is inseparable from professional effectiveness, this matters.
• Excel skills that become genuinely advanced. You already have strong Excel skills. In this role, you’ll apply them in complex, multi‑entity, multi‑currency, multi‑jurisdiction contexts — the kind of real‑world data environment that takes technical competence to a different level.
• Access to a professional, high‑performing team. The Tax COE Europe team is experienced, collaborative, and committed to high standards. You’ll work alongside peers who take their craft seriously, with the opportunity to learn from colleagues who have built deep expertise in European indirect tax. The professional environment here is one that makes you better at what you do.
• Influence and visibility beyond the tax function. You’ll work with internal stakeholders across the business — building relationships, managing queries, coordinating approvals, and communicating clearly with colleagues at multiple levels of the organisation. That cross‑functional exposure, and the communication skills it develops, builds a professional profile that goes well beyond technical tax knowledge.
• A seat inside a global pharmaceutical company. Understanding VAT compliance through the lens of an international pharmaceutical business is genuinely distinctive. You’ll develop insight into the commercial, regulatory, and operational environment of one of the most complex industries in the world - context that sharpens your professional judgement and adds real depth to your technical expertise.

Is this you?

• You’ll hold a BA/BSc or equivalent qualification and bring demonstrable experience in VAT compliance, ideally with exposure to multi‑jurisdiction European markets. You’re highly proficient in Excel, comfortable working autonomously, and organised enough to manage competing deadlines across multiple markets simultaneously.
• Experience with SAP or Oracle is a real advantage, though not essential. What matters most is that you’re analytically sharp, communicate clearly and professionally and bring the kind of collaborative, team‑oriented approach that makes a shared services environment work well for everyone.
• You’re reliable, thorough and quality‑driven - not because someone is watching, but because you hold yourself to a high standard.

Why BMS, and why Chester?

Our European Capability Centre in Chester brings together talented finance, tax and operational professionals in a collaborative, modern working environment. You’ll be part of a broader BMS community that is contributing to a company whose medicines are making a genuine difference to patients around the world.

That context gives the work - even work as process‑intensive as VAT compliance - a different kind of meaning. The company you’re keeping the books compliant for is one that is actively changing what’s possible for patients. That’s not nothing.

Chester itself is a vibrant, well‑connected city - with excellent transport links, a strong professional community, and a quality of life that makes it a genuinely attractive place to build a career.

If this sounds like the right next step for your tax career - we’d love to hear from you.

We hire for skills and capabilities, not just credentials – if this role excites you, but doesn’t perfectly match your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway.

How We Work

Where you work matters – because collaboration, innovation and patient impact happen in many settings. Our roles are structured across four work models: site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design. The model assigned to this role is based on its core responsibilities. Learn more at https://careers.bms.com/ways-of-working.

Supporting People With Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [e-mail]. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Bristol Myers Squibb is Disability Confident – Employer

A UK Government scheme

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

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R1607740 : Indirect Tax Accountant