Private Client Tax Senior Manager / Director

PKF FRANCIS CLARK; Exeter; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accountancy firm in Exeter is seeking an experienced Senior Manager or Director specializing in trust taxation. In this role, you will lead the Trust Tax team, ensuring compliance and providing expert advisory services to high-net-worth clients. You will inspire your team while driving growth in the trust practice. The firm offers competitive financial and wellbeing benefits and a supportive culture.

Benefits

Group life assurance - up to four times core salary

Private medical insurance

Cycle to work scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a Senior Manager or Director role focusing on trust taxation.
• Ability to lead and inspire a team of advisors.
• Up-to-date technical knowledge in taxation and trust services.

Responsibilities

• Ensure compliance with legislative and ethical standards.
• Lead a team of advisors to resolve client issues efficiently.
• Act as principal on a portfolio of high-net-worth clients.

Skills

Leadership

Tax compliance

Client engagement

Problem-solving

Education

ATT or CTA qualified (or equivalent)

STEP qualification (desirable)

Job description

In a nutshell

Are you an experienced Senior Manager or Director with expertise in trust taxation, ready to take on a fresh and rewarding challenge in a firm dedicated to supporting your professional growth?

As a leader in our Trust Tax team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering an outstanding tax compliance and advisory service to our diverse portfolio of private client tax clients. This includes advising on complex trust structures, inheritance tax planning, and succession strategies, ensuring tailored solutions for high-net-worth individuals, families, and trustees. Your leadership will drive excellence in all aspects of our work, from compliance to sophisticated advisory projects.

Joining our team means stepping into a role where your insights and expertise will help shape the direction of our private client tax services, making a meaningful difference to our clients while furthering your career in an environment that values your contribution and development.

What you'll be doing day to day

• Ensure compliance with legislative and ethical standards within the Trust team
• Resolve client issues efficiently, meeting timescales and budgets
• Lead and develop a team of advisors
• Liaise with trustees, beneficiaries, individuals, and intermediaries to provide top-tier service
• Act as principal on a portfolio of trust and high-net-worth clients, reviewing and signing off advice
• Review and advise on trust accounts
• Play an active role in marketing and business development for trust services
• Support team growth and expansion of the trust business
• Upskill colleagues in other departments to manage risk and identify opportunities
• Meet with clients to assess and advise on tax planning, overseeing delivery by team members
• Work with Private Client tax partners to identify key opportunities and risks
• Promote firm-wide services, especially financial planning
• Ensure work is allocated effectively and departmental targets are met
• Assist in the running of the trust corporation

About you

• Previous experience in similar role
• ATT or CTA qualified (or equivalent) with up-to-date technical knowledge (STEP qualification is desirable)
• The ability to lead a team and inspire them to become the best advisors they can
• Highly motivated with the ability to engage with clients with significant levels of wealth and with colleagues at all levels
• Organised and able to plan time efficiently in order to meet deadlines
• Demonstrates a creative approach to problem solving with a strong desire to succeed

Why work at PKF Francis Clark

As the largest firm of independent chartered accountants and business advisers in South West England, PKF Francis Clark offers a breadth of opportunities to develop your career in the way that’s right for you.

Established in 1919, we’ve grown to a team of nearly 1,000 people, based across our offices in Bristol, Exeter, Plymouth, Poole, Salisbury, Southampton, Taunton, Torquay and Truro. This means we’re big enough to do challenging work for exciting clients, but small enough to maintain our friendly and supportive culture.

We work hard to ensure you can belong, be yourself and be brilliant as part of a forward-thinking team. This includes a flexible approach to hybrid working. And our focus on wellbeing and learning and development has been recognised nationally.

For the past three years, PKF Francis Clark has been certified as a Great Place to Work and ranked among the UK’s Best Workplaces. In 2025, we climbed four places to 20 out of 100 large organisations on this prestigious list.

We’re also in the UK’s top 10 Best Workplaces for Women (6 out of 100 large organisations), as well as being ranked among the Best Workplaces for Wellbeing (35 out of 100), Best Workplaces for Development (24 out of 100) and Best Workplaces in Consulting and Professional Services.

All these lists are compiled by workplace culture experts Great Place to Work. Our rankings are a direct result of feedback from our people in a confidential, independent annual survey.

The success rates of our trainees mean we’re also ranked 33rd in The Sunday Times Top 100 Apprenticeship Employers 2025.

While we’re proudly independent, we collaborate with colleagues around the world to enable our clients to succeed. PKF Francis Clark is a member of the PKF Global family of firms – together we’re the 12th largest provider of accountancy services in the UK. Being part of this international network provides opportunities to connect with like-minded accountants and business advisers in 150 countries.

Your core benefits

Financial benefits:

• Pension
• Group life assurance - up to four times your core salary
• Group income protection
• Health cash plan to help cover the costs of everyday healthcare

Health & Wellbeing benefits:

• Private medical insurance
• Option to buy 5 extra days holiday
• Counselling and support for you and your immediate family
• Virtual GP for you and your immediate family
• Cycle to work

Other benefits:

• Medicash Extras providing you with shopping and gym discounts
• Gifts for career and family milestones
• One volunteering day per year to support local organisations
• Emergency funding from the Francis Clark Charitable Foundation
• Electric vehicle lease scheme

Please note that some benefits are provided via a salary exchange and are subject to employee’s post exchange hourly rate remaining above the national minimum wage.