Personal Tax Director

Saffrey LLP; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work policy

27 days annual leave

Life Assurance

Profit-sharing plan

Discretionary bonus scheme

Flexible benefits

Job summary

Saffery LLP seeks an experienced Personal Tax Director to lead and grow its Leeds private client tax team. You will manage complex advisory projects, develop important client relationships and drive cross‑office collaboration in a large, established practice.

The role emphasizes leadership, mentoring, and delivering high‑quality advice to wealthy individuals, business owners and their families, while supporting compliance across the tax function.

Qualifications

• Strong technical background across personal taxation and advisory work.
• Experience with entrepreneurs, business owners, and high-net-worth individuals.
• Proven leadership and ability to develop and grow a private client tax team.

Responsibilities

• Identify planning opportunities and oversee complex advisory projects.
• Lead on tax affairs for wealthy individuals and families, with entrepreneurial focus.
• Manage key relationships with high-net-worth clients and advisers.
• Lead client meetings to discuss advisory and compliance projects.
• Oversee WIP management, recoveries and billing for clients and projects.
• Provide technical support to the wider tax team to manage risks.
• Coach and mentor junior tax team members.
• Represent Saffery in Leeds and wider Yorkshire through networking and events.

Skills

Strong technical tax background

Leadership

Client relationship management

Mentoring/coaching

Business ownership experience

Job description

An experienced Personal Tax Director is being sought to be based in our Leeds office to help lead and grow the existing team.

The successful applicant will be responsible for leading on the delivery of complex advisory project work alongside holding a number of key client relationships. Whilst the role will be focussed on advisory work, the successful candidate will sit within the wider personal tax team and provide support and coaching to colleagues on more complex tax compliance matters where required.

This is a challenging and interesting client facing role which provides an excellent and un-paralleled range of work for someone with a strong tax background in all matters related to private clients and their business interests. In particular, the portfolio includes a number of entrepreneurs and business owners and therefore experience with OMBs and family businesses would be essential. The role provides a fantastic opportunity for the right candidate to progress their career with a leadership role in a large established personal tax team.

The Responsibilities

• Identification of planning opportunities and overseeing the delivery of complex multidisciplinary advisory projects, liaising with subject matter experts around the firm to ensure technically robust advice is delivered to clients.
• Dealing with tax affairs for wealthy individuals and families, with a particular focus on entrepreneurial and business owning clients and their associated business interests
• Working alongside partners on managing key relationships with high-net-worth private individuals and families and their third-party advisers.
• Leading client meetings to discuss and implement tax advisory and compliance projects.
• All aspects of financial management in relation to your clients and projects including responsibility for WIP management, recoveries and billing.
• Providing technical support to the wider team both in personal tax and across other disciplines to manage tax risks.
• Coaching and mentoring junior tax team members to assist in their personal and technical development to grow the next generation of advisers.
• Being a key representative of Saffery in the Leeds and wider Yorkshire marketplace, developing and building strong relationships with a range of intermediaries.

The Team

The Personal Tax team consists of over 120 employees spread over 9 UK offices (Bristol, Bournemouth, High Wycombe, Peterborough, Edinburgh, Inverness, Leeds, London and Manchester). The team delivers exceptional quality compliance and advisory services to a wide range of high-net-worth private clients, these include those with UK and offshore interests, property owners, business owners, partnerships and trusts.

The Office

Our Leeds office is home to 6 partners and over 90 staff. Our modern, purpose-built office space in Wellington Place is within walking distance of the city centre with easy access to bus and national rail services.

You

• Will have a strong technical background across all aspects of personal taxation with extensive experience of delivering complex advisory work, often working to tight deadlines.
• Will have strong experience in dealing with business owning clients and managing issues which span the personal and corporate arena.
• Will be a strong communicator able to adapt your delivery style to communicate with a range of clients and team members of all levels.
• Will be keen to represent Saffery in the Leeds marketplace, attending networking events and presenting externally at key intermediary events. Ideally you will have an existing network of intermediary relationships.
• Will have experience of coaching and mentoring team members and managing their personal development.

Rewards and Benefits

• A 35-hour working week with a hybrid working policy with the flexibility to work from home for up to three days per week (our core hours are 10-4)
• Excellent benefits including; contributory pension scheme, 27 days annual leave, Life Assurance cover and great flexible benefits and family friendly policies,
• Eligibility for the firm’s Profit-Sharing Plan. Paid in December.Eligibility for the discretionary bonus scheme

About us

Saffery LLP is an adviser to individuals and businesses across a range of sectors, providing market-leading accountancy, audit, business advisory, tax and VAT services. Founded in 1855, we are the UK’s 15th largest accountancy firm.

When you work with us at Saffery, you work with people who know your name, not just a job title. We’re a place shaped by friendly, intelligent people who are individually excellent and collectively exceptional. We’re committed to our clients, but also to our greatest asset – our people.

As a proud member of Nexia, a leading, international network of independent accounting and consulting firms, we’ve got access to local insight on a global scale.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

Equality, diversity and inclusion is a top priority for us. With our ED&I strategy, Everyone Belongs, we are building on our positive work culture and implementing initiatives to improve diversity and strengthen our equitable culture of inclusion, led from the top.

We hope you will apply to us, whatever your background, ethnicity, gender, age, sexuality, disability or neurodivergence, because individual differences equal collective strength. Built on values of excellence, integrity, collaborative, progressive and responsible, Saffery is where Potential meets Personal.