Phd jobs in United Kingdom

Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions businesses need to navigate today’s changing world.

Our clients are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

The firm's specialist Innovation & Technology Group, based in London, at the Baker Street office, comprises engineers, software programmers and scientists as well as specialist finance professionals such as auditors and tax accountants all of whom are experienced in claiming R&D tax relief. The Innovation and Technology team provide the following services:

• Claiming R&D tax relief

• R&D Allowances (RDAs)

• Grants

• Patent Box

• International R&D relief

The successful candidate will get the opportunity to work as part of the wider Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (CMA) tax team, in a diverse team of highly successful tax and industry specialists. The CMA team provides bespoke taxation services to its clients and deals with all queries from basic compliance through to high-level advisory work. It prepares tax returns and computations, carries out tax planning/consultancy work, and deals with HMRC, clients and third parties.

We’ll help you succeed

Our clients trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with clients and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who can work pro-actively, managing your own tasks, but you’ll also be confident collaborating with others, communicating regularly with senior managers, Directors, and BDO’s Partners to enable us to serve our clients effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to our clients.

This is a client facing role where the consultant will be working with customers primarily in the Financial Services, Fintech and Crypto sectors. A key aspect for this role will be the ability to translate complex ideas into non-technical concepts and communicate these to a broad client base. You’ll also be:

• Undertaking the financial assessment of claims and preparing the financial disclosure which will be submitted to HMRC

• Preparation and submission of the R&D Additional Information Form and Pre-Notifications

• Ensuring R&D claims meet the requirements of the relevant tax legislation and guidelines

• Liaison with our technical tax staff on the preparation of tax documents comprising these R&D claims for submission of claims to HMRC

• Supporting R&D Tax Relief claims in the event of HMRC R&D enquiries

• Supporting in the preparation of Patent Box claims

• Continuously developing own knowledge and skills and to keep technical knowledge up to date

You will be required to work closely with the senior financial and technical staff of our clients across the Financial Services and other sectors and will be responsible for analysing the costing elements of their R&D projects. You will also have extensive client communication. As well as working directly with existing clients, you will also be offered the chance to support business development opportunities and cross-sector R&D and Patent Box claims.

Key Skills and Qualifications Needed

When you join us, we’ll make your growth our priority. If you can demonstrate the following skills, we can help you go far. We are looking for someone with:

• A recognised university degree (MSc/MEng and/or PhD) in a field of Information Technology or Computer Software, with minimum 2-3 years of work experience in your chosen industry as an engineer, scientist, or technical role, with a good sector knowledge.

• Experience working with software clients or software related R&D tax claims as an R&D tax practitioner, with strong sector knowledge.

• Experience in dealing with technological challenges faced by industry professionals, such as software architectural design, the enhancement or improvement of software development processes, development of new tools/APIs and improvement to existing tools/APIs.

• Excellent communication (both spoken and written), curiosity, awareness and an interest in the fields of science, technology and innovation.

• An active interest in the financial services, fintech and crypto sectors

• Interact readily with other technical professionals, have outstanding interpersonal skills and excel in eloquence and concise summary of information.

• Strong attention to detail and first-time accuracy is essential, as well as an interest in project and company finances, strong numerical ability and the application of tax treatment.

• Proactive in the approach to new work opportunities, whilst being a team player and having an ability to work on own initiative.

• Ability to project a professional, credible image, trustworthy and able to maintain strict confidentiality.

• Ability to travel to clients' premises for meetings and on-site reviews as well as other offices as needed.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to the business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer everyone the opportunity to work in ways that suit them, their teams, and the task in hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value for the companies we work with and satisfying experiences for our colleagues, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy.

Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.