Tax & Expense Operations Manager - 15-Month FTC

Legal & General; Cardiff; Hybrid; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Performance bonus

Pension contribution

Life assurance

Healthcare Plan

At least 25 days holiday

Electric car scheme

Employee discounts

Sustainable offices

Job summary

Legal & General (L&G) seeks a Tax & Expense Operations Manager to lead a talented team delivering accurate tax, expense ledger, cost allocation and balance sheet activities. You will partner with Finance and Group Tax to improve efficiency, resilience and centralisation of operations.

The role requires a qualified accountant or equivalent experience, strong accounting knowledge and VAT expertise, and proven leadership.

Qualifications

• Qualified accountant or equivalent experience
• Strong knowledge of accounting principles and financial controls
• Practical understanding of tax processes and VAT
• Experience with cost allocations, forecasting and cross-charging
• Proven leadership and team development experience
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills
• Advanced spreadsheet and financial modeling abilities
• Clear communication and sound judgement in a fast-paced environment

Responsibilities

• Lead a high-performing tax & expense operations team
• Build partnerships with Finance and Group Tax for effective decisions
• Maintain robust financial control framework across tax and expense activities
• Oversee day-to-day deliverables and service demands for accuracy
• Review key deliverables including tax submissions and balance sheet reconciliations
• Coordinate inputs across divisions and drive process improvements
• Lead change initiatives across systems and processes
• Promote an inclusive environment and empower colleagues

Skills

Accounting principles

Financial controls

Operational finance

Tax knowledge (VAT)

Cost allocation

Forecasting

Financial approvals

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Advanced spreadsheet skills

Financial modeling

Clear communication

Job description

Legal & General (L&G) is a leading UK financial services group and major global investor.

We’ve been safeguarding people’s financial futures since 1836, and strive to build a better society, while improving the lives of our customers and creating value for shareholders.

We are one of the world’s largest asset managers and provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these underpin our retirement and protection solutions: we are an international player in pension risk transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income.

Our Group Functions provide the services that all areas of the business need. This requires a talented and diverse team behind the scenes, who enable everyone at L&G to do what they do best.

Joining us means helping to improve the lives of our customers and contributing to the success of the business every day.

Please note this is a fixed-term contract until Q1 2028.

Legal & General (L&G) is a leading UK financial services group and major global investor.

We’ve been safeguarding people’s financial futures since 1836, and strive to build a better society, while improving the lives of our customers and creating value for shareholders.

We are one of the world’s largest asset managers and provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these underpin our retirement and protection solutions: we are an international player in pension risk transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income.

Our Group Functions provide the services that all areas of the business need. This requires a talented and diverse team behind the scenes, who enable everyone at L&G to do what they do best.

Joining us means helping to improve the lives of our customers and contributing to the success of the business every day.

Please note this is a fixed-term contract until Q1 2028.

Job Description

Join Legal & General as a Tax & Expense Operations Manager and lead a talented team responsible for delivering accurate, timely and well-controlled tax, expense ledger, cost allocation and balance sheet activities. You’ll build strong partnerships across Finance and Group Tax while improving the efficiency, resilience and centralisation of operational services.

What you’ll be doing:

• Leading, motivating and developing a high-performing team, providing clear direction and supporting individual growth
• Building collaborative relationships with business partners and senior stakeholders to support effective decision-making
• Maintaining a robust financial control framework across tax, expense accounting, cost allocations and balance sheet activities
• Overseeing day-to-day deliverables, workloads and service demands to ensure consistently accurate and timely outcomes
• Reviewing and approving key deliverables, including cost allocations, tax submissions and balance sheet reconciliations
• Coordinating inputs across divisions and constructively challenging processes to improve efficiency, quality and customer outcomes
• Leading change initiatives across systems and processes, from impact assessment and testing through to implementation
• Creating an inclusive and supportive environment where colleagues are empowered to improve services and deliver positive customer outcomes

Who we’re looking for:

• A qualified accountant or someone with equivalent relevant experience
• Strong knowledge of accounting principles, financial controls and operational finance processes
• Practical understanding of tax processes and controls, particularly VAT
• Experience of cost allocation, forecasting, financial approvals, expenditure reporting and cross-charging methodologies
• Proven experience of leading, motivating and developing successful teams
• Strong influencing and stakeholder management skills, with confidence constructively challenging senior colleagues
• Advanced spreadsheet and analytical skills, including experience developing and maintaining financial models
• Clear communication, sound judgement and the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, changing environment

Whatever your role, we reward performance and behaviour with a package that looks after all the things that are important to you. Here are some of the benefits we offer:

• The opportunity to participate in our annual, performance -related bonus plan and valuable share schemes
• Generous pension contribution
• Life assurance
• Healthcare Plan (permanent employees only)
• At least 25 days holiday, plus public holidays, 26 days after 2 years’ service. There’s also the option to buy and sell holiday
• Competitive family leave
• Participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand-new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice (permanent employees only)
• There are many discounts we offer – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online
• We’re creating net‑zero carbon workplaces by 2030 by investing in our sustainable, modern offices across the UK, all designed to bring people together and elevate the in‑person experience

Additional Information

At L&G, we believe it's possible to generate positive returns today while helping to build a better future for all.

If you join us, you’ll be part of a welcoming, inclusive culture, with opportunities to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences. Guided by leaders with integrity who care about your future and wellbeing. Empowered through initiatives which support people to develop their careers and excel.

We care passionately about outcomes rather than attendance and are therefore open to discussing all kinds of flexible working options including part-time and job shares. Although some roles have limited flexibility due to customer demand, we accommodate requests when we can.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet every single criterion in this advert. Instead, think about what you excel at and what else you can bring in terms of strengths, potential and connection to our purpose.