Senior Manager - Indirect Tax

Virgin holidays; Crawley; Hybrid; GBP 75,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading travel company is seeking a Senior Manager - Indirect Tax in Crawley to oversee their global indirect tax compliance, manage a small team, and liaise with HMRC and senior leaders. The ideal candidate will be a strong leader, fully qualified in tax, with excellent negotiation skills and the ability to simplify complex tax-related matters. The role emphasizes strategic impact and process improvement in a collaborative environment.

Qualifications

• Fully qualified CTA (or equivalent by experience) with in-depth knowledge of UK indirect tax and exposure to international tax issues.
• Strong people leader with proven experience coaching, developing, and inspiring a team.
• Skilled at translating complex tax matters into clear, actionable insights for non-specialists.
• Confident negotiator and influencer with experience engaging senior stakeholders and HMRC.
• Commercially astute with the ability to balance risk, make sound strategic recommendations, and problem-solve in fast-moving environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Group's indirect tax compliance function, ensuring obligations across VAT, APD, Customs, GST, sales and ticket taxes are consistently met.
• Oversee compliance processes, sign-off returns and payments, and drive optimisation of reliefs and claims to minimise liabilities.
• Maintain and strengthen a SAO-compliant tax control environment, with robust documentation, controls, and risk tracking.
• Provide clear, timely advice on UK and international indirect tax issues, supporting business projects and strategic initiatives.
• Build strong working relationships with HMRC, tax authorities, advisors, and senior colleagues, acting as a trusted voice and negotiator.

Skills

People leadership

Indirect tax knowledge

Negotiation skills

Process improvement

Commercial acumen

Education

Degree-educated

Qualified CTA or equivalent

Job description

Overview

Location: VHQ, Crawley, 3 days on site in line with our hybrid working model

Contract Type: Permanent

Hours: 37.5 per week, Monday to Friday

Closing Date: 10th November 2025

Department: Finance

Reports to: Head of Tax

In a nutshell

At Virgin Atlantic, every journey we take is powered by precision, collaboration, and a determination to do things brilliantly differently. As our Senior Manager - Indirect Tax, you'll play a pivotal role in ensuring the Group's global indirect tax compliance is watertight, efficient, and future-ready. From overseeing the calculation and payment of £400m in taxes each year to shaping our compliance framework, this is a role where you'll be at the heart of keeping our business resilient and trusted. You'll partner with senior leaders, HMRC, and advisors while coaching and developing a small but impactful team. This is your chance to step into a role where technical excellence meets strategic influence - and where your expertise will help Virgin Atlantic soar even higher.

Day to day

• Lead the Group's indirect tax compliance function, ensuring obligations across VAT, APD, Customs, GST, sales and ticket taxes are consistently met.
• Oversee compliance processes, sign-off returns and payments, and drive optimisation of reliefs and claims to minimise liabilities.
• Maintain and strengthen a SAO-compliant tax control environment, with robust documentation, controls, and risk tracking.
• Provide clear, timely advice on UK and international indirect tax issues, supporting business projects and strategic initiatives.
• Build strong working relationships with HMRC, tax authorities, advisors, and senior colleagues, acting as a trusted voice and negotiator.
• Proactively identify opportunities for process improvements, efficiencies, and enhanced governance across the tax function.
• Lead, coach, and develop a team of two direct reports, fostering growth and accountability.
• Manage advisory projects, from legislative changes through to HMRC sign-off, balancing internal delivery with external advisor support.

About you

• Fully qualified CTA (or equivalent by experience) with in-depth knowledge of UK indirect tax and exposure to international tax issues.
• Strong people leader with proven experience coaching, developing, and inspiring a team.
• Skilled at translating complex tax matters into clear, actionable insights for non-specialists.
• Confident negotiator and influencer with experience engaging senior stakeholders and HMRC.
• Commercially astute with the ability to balance risk, make sound strategic recommendations, and problem-solve in fast-moving environments.
• Experience of identifying tax efficiencies and driving process improvements.
• Pragmatic, positive, and resilient - you see solutions where others see challenges.
• Degree-educated and with the professional credibility to command trust at senior levels.

Be yourself - Our differences make us stronger

Our customers come from all walks of life and so do our colleagues. That's why we're proud to be an equal opportunity employer and actively encourage applications from all backgrounds. At Virgin Atlantic, we believe everyone can take on the world - no matter your age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disabilities, religion, or beliefs. We celebrate difference and everything that makes our colleagues unique by upholding an inclusive environment in which we can all thrive. So that everyone at Virgin Atlantic can be themselves and know they belong.

To make your journey with us accessible and individual to you, we encourage you to let us know if you'd like a little extra help with your application, or if you have any individual requirements at any stage along your recruitment journey. We are here to support you, so please reach out to our team, () feeling confident that we've got your individual considerations covered.

Additional information

At Virgin Atlantic, our leaders empower teams to thrive through collaboration, innovation, and excellence. Explore our Leadership Recipe and discover the 20 core ingredients that define what it means to lead with us, driving our mission to be the most loved travel company and achieve sustainable profit. Want to learn more? Click here