Senior Tax Manager

Distinct | North America; Oakbrook Terrace (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Distinct | North America is seeking a senior Trust & Estate professional in Illinois to join an independent CPA firm of 50–100 people. You’ll have autonomy, influence the practice, manage relationships, and advise clients directly without heavy oversight.

The work spans trust and estate compliance and planning, HNW tax planning, partnerships, and S Corps/C Corps. CPA is required; a JD is a plus, but not essential. Hours are realistic and burnout is avoided.

Qualifications

• CPA certification is required.
• Experience in trust & estate compliance and planning.
• Ability to manage client relationships without heavy oversight.
• Experience with HNW clients and complex tax scenarios.

Responsibilities

• Lead trust & estate work for high-net-worth clients.
• Provide planning and advisory services to families and trusts.
• Review complex work and advise clients directly.
• Help shape the practice's future direction.

Skills

Autonomy

Client relationships

Trust & Estate experience

Tax planning

Education

CPA

JD (nice to have)

Job description

If you’re at the stage of your career where you don’t need someone looking over your shoulder, but you’re definitely not done growing either, this is a really interesting opportunity.

You’ll have plenty of autonomy in how you work, alongside the opportunity to develop further, influence the practice and have a genuine impact on where the firm goes next.

This is an independent CPA firm of around 50 to 100 people with a strong HNW and Trust & Estate practice. They already have highly experienced people in this space, but client demand continues to grow and they want to add another senior professional to the team.

The client base includes HNW individuals, multigenerational families, trusts and estates, alongside closely held businesses and their owners.

So while Trust & Estate experience is important, you’re not going to be boxed into doing one thing all day.

The work includes:

Trust and estate compliance and planning

HNW tax planning and advisory

Partnerships, S Corps and C Corps

At this level, you’ll be trusted to manage relationships, review complex work and advise clients directly without unnecessary layers of oversight.

There is also an opportunity to help shape the future of the Trust & Estate practice. If you enjoy the technical side but also want to have an influence over how a practice develops, there is room to do that here.

And the hours are realistic.

Nobody is pretending busy season is 40 hours a week, but they do not expect 65+ either.

Busy season typically averages around 55 to 60 hours. Once it is over, people go back to a normal working week.

The firm has actually invested in getting this right. They brought in an external consultant to review hours, engagement and turnover, then made changes based on what they found rather than accepting burnout as part of public accounting.

It has worked. Staff turnover is low and people tend to stay.

The team itself is a mixture of specialists and generalists, so there is flexibility to shape the position around what you’re particularly good at and the work you enjoy most.

CPA is required. A JD would be a big plus, but it is not essential.

It is a good middle ground for someone who still wants sophisticated tax work and interesting clients, but does not want all the layers that can come with a much larger firm.