Head of Tax Compliance

Our client is seeking an experienced Head of Tax Governance to take ownership of group-wide tax compliance, risk management, and internal controls across a large, complex international organisation. This is a senior leadership role with broad cross-functional exposure and direct engagement with CFO and board-level stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Own and develop the Tax Compliance Management System (TaxCMS) in accordance with IDW PS 980, including risk analysis, reporting, and rollout across group companies.
• Build and maintain global tax risk profiles and deliver semi-annual risk reporting to the GRC Committee, CFO, and Global Head of Tax.
• Define and monitor group-wide key controls (ICS) and lead special audits (ISAE 3000, Public CbCR, IDW PS 980).
• Manage tax disputes, legal cases, and compliance violations, including criminal investigations.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Compliance, Legal, HR, and Risk Management; represent Group Tax in major projects (e.g. Pillar 2, S/4HANA).
• Maintain tax guidelines and manuals, deliver training, and ensure MDR/DAC6 compliance.
• Manage external consultants, oversee budget and quality assurance, and lead the team.

Your Profile

• Degree in taxation; Steuerberater qualification or equivalent strongly preferred.
• Several years of management experience, including board/CFO-level stakeholder engagement.
• Strong knowledge of national and international tax law.
• Experience developing tax risk management systems and internal control frameworks.
• Familiarity with tax criminal investigations, special audits, and legal case management.
• Fluent in German and English (written and spoken).
• Analytical, structured, and resilient, with strong communication and presentation skills.
• Comfortable in complex, multicultural environments with solid change management capabilities.