VAT (Indirect Tax) Manager

PKF FRANCIS CLARK; Ebford; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading accountancy firm in the UK seeks a VAT Manager to manage a varied portfolio of clients, delivering high-quality VAT and customs advice. You will oversee complex assignments, support junior colleagues, and collaborate across departments. The ideal candidate has strong public practice experience and is CTA qualified. This role offers career development in a supportive firm that values inclusion and community.

Benefits

Pension

Group life assurance

Health cash plan

Counseling and support for families

Option to buy extra holiday

Cycle to work scheme

Gifts for career milestones

Qualifications

• Strong experience in public practice, capable of managing VAT client portfolios.
• Proven track record in handling complex VAT assignments.
• Proactive and self-motivated with a solutions focus.

Responsibilities

• Oversee complex VAT compliance and advisory work.
• Lead and coordinate assignments, ensuring quality outputs.
• Respond efficiently to client queries on VAT and customs.

Skills

VAT expertise

Team management

Client relationship building

Tax software proficiency

Strong communication skills

Strategic thinking

Education

CTA and/or ACA/ACCA qualified

Tools

Excel

Word

Outlook

Job description

In a nutshell

Are you a VAT expert looking for a new challenge? Do you thrive in a professional yet relaxed environment? If so, we have the perfect opportunity for you! As a VAT Manager, you’ll manage a varied portfolio of clients, delivering high-quality VAT, indirect tax, and/or customs advice. You’ll lead on complex assignments, support junior colleagues, and collaborate across departments to ensure exceptional service. With access to structured leadership development programmes and a supportive team culture, this is a fantastic opportunity to grow your technical and managerial skills in a forward-thinking firm that values inclusion, community, and sustainability.

Please note - we are not accepting CVs from recruitment agencies for this role.

What you'll be doing day to day

• Oversee a portfolio of complex clients, managing VAT, indirect tax, and/or customs compliance and advisory work
• Lead and coordinate complex assignments, drawing on input from specialist teams as needed
• Review team outputs, ensuring quality, accuracy, and proper documentation
• Respond to client queries on VAT and/or customs issues, resolving them or escalating to Directors/Partners
• Identify tax planning opportunities and present recommendations to senior leadership
• Ensure compliance with internal policies and risk management procedures
• Prepare budgets and fee proposals; monitor and manage fee recovery
• Act as a key liaison for clients and collaborate with colleagues across departments to deliver excellent service
• Support business development by identifying opportunities with new and existing clients
• Manage team resourcing, delegate work effectively, and ensure deadlines are met
• Provide coaching and feedback to junior team members, including regular 1:1s and performance reviews
• Promote ESG initiatives, including environmental awareness and community engagement
• Uphold values of fairness, transparency, and respect in all professional interactions

About you

• CTA and/or ACA/ACCA qualified (or qualified by experience); CTA study supports available
• Strong experience in public practice, with the ability to manage a VAT client portfolio
• Proven track record in handling complex VAT assignments
• Skilled in tax software and advanced use of Excel, Word, and Outlook
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong relationship-building abilities with clients and colleagues
• Strategic thinker with commercial awareness and sound judgement
• Proactive, self-motivated, and solutions focused
• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and resources effectively

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:

• 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: these benefits are provided via a salary exchange and are subject to the employee’s post-exchange hourly rate remaining above the national minimum wage.