Senior Manager, Indirect Tax

Overview

This role supports the organization’s U.S. indirect tax compliance, reporting, audit support, advisory work, and process improvement, with a primary focus on sales and use tax. Reporting to the Indirect Tax Director, the Senior Manager, Indirect Tax provides technical expertise and day-to-day leadership across sales and use tax and other applicable U.S. state and local transaction taxes.

Key scope includes managing indirect tax issues specific to the construction industry, including taxability determinations, the tax treatment of construction materials and equipment, contractor and subcontractor transactions, exemption and resale certificates, project-specific exemptions, and varying state and local tax rules applicable to construction activities.

Responsibilities

• Manage U.S. sales and use tax compliance processes, including returns, payments, reconciliations, and related reporting.
• Oversee preparation and review of sales and use tax returns; ensure filings and payments are accurate and timely.
• Manage use tax accrual processes and identify transactions requiring self-assessment.
• Review sales and use tax accounts, accruals, and reconciliations to support financial reporting requirements.
• Maintain documentation and controls supporting indirect tax compliance and reporting.
• Coordinate with external service providers supporting compliance activities, as applicable.
• Escalate significant compliance issues and exposures to the Indirect Tax Director.

Taxability Reviews & Technical Analysis

• Lead and perform detailed sales and use taxability reviews of purchases, sales, services, materials, equipment, rentals, and other transactions across applicable U.S. jurisdictions.
• Research state and local statutes, regulations, administrative guidance, rulings, and other authoritative sources to determine appropriate tax treatment.
• Analyze taxability based on transaction nature, jurisdiction, customer/vendor, contract terms, project type, and use of property or service.
• Develop and document technically supportable taxability positions and recommendations.
• Maintain and update taxability matrices, decision frameworks, and other guidance used by Procurement, Accounts Payable, Billing, Operations, and project teams.
• Review transaction populations and purchasing categories to identify inconsistent tax treatment, overpayments, underpayments, and potential exposure areas.
• Provide guidance on appropriate tax coding and tax determination rules within ERP and tax technology systems.
• Monitor changes in state and local tax laws and update taxability positions and internal guidance accordingly.

Exemption & Resale Certificate Management

• Provide technical analysis and guidance regarding exemption and resale certificates, including when certificates may be issued to vendors or accepted from customers.
• Evaluate eligibility for resale, manufacturing, governmental, nonprofit, project-specific, and other applicable exemptions.
• Review exemption and resale certificates for completeness, validity, applicability, and compliance with jurisdiction-specific requirements.
• Advise cross-functional teams (Procurement, Accounts Payable, Billing, Legal, Operations, and project teams) on proper use of exemption and resale certificates.
• Develop and maintain policies, procedures, and controls governing issuance, acceptance, validation, retention, and renewal of exemption and resale certificates.
• Support certificate management processes and technology, including maintaining documentation to substantiate exempt transactions.
• Identify missing, expired, incomplete, or improperly applied certificates and coordinate remediation.
• Provide guidance regarding exemption documentation during sales and use tax audits and other taxing authority inquiries.
• Assess risks associated with improperly claimed exemptions and recommend corrective actions to the Indirect Tax Director.

Construction Industry Taxation

• Provide technical guidance on applying state and local sales and use tax laws to construction projects and operations.
• Analyze tax treatment of construction materials, equipment, rentals, services, and other project-related purchases.
• Evaluate contractor and subcontractor tax responsibilities across applicable jurisdictions.
• Analyze whether the organization is treated as the consumer or retailer of materials and equipment under applicable state and local rules.
• Advise on tax considerations associated with lump-sum, time-and-materials, cost-plus, and other construction contract structures.
• Evaluate project-specific exemptions and associated documentation requirements.
• Determine whether purchases may qualify for exemption or resale based on project structure, contractual relationships, jurisdiction, and ultimate use.
• Partner with Procurement, Accounts Payable, Legal, Operations, and project teams to ensure appropriate sales and use tax treatment throughout the project lifecycle.
• Support development of scalable processes for determining and documenting appropriate tax treatment of construction-related transactions.

Tax Technical & Advisory

• Serve as a senior technical resource on U.S. sales and use tax matters, including nexus, sourcing, taxability, exemptions, resale, and documentation requirements.
• Research and analyze complex state and local indirect tax issues and recommend positions to the Indirect Tax Director.
• Support the Director in evaluating tax implications of new projects, contract structures, vendors, customers, and business initiatives.
• Monitor relevant state and local legislative and regulatory developments and assess potential impacts.
• Provide practical guidance to business stakeholders on sales and use tax requirements.
• Assist in implementing tax strategies and initiatives established by the Indirect Tax Director.

Audits & Risk Management

• Manage day-to-day activities related to state and local sales and use tax audits, examinations, notices, and inquiries.
• Coordinate information requests and prepare responses to taxing authorities.
• Research and support technical positions taken during audits and controversy matters.
• Prepare and support taxability analyses and exemption documentation requested during audits.
• Identify potential tax exposures, overpayments, and refund opportunities; communicate findings to the Tax Director.
• Support voluntary disclosure agreements, refund claims, and other remediation initiatives as appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate documentation supporting material tax positions.
• Identify recurring exposure areas within construction purchasing and project activities and develop corrective processes.

Tax Technology & Process Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve and automate sales and use tax processes, controls, and reporting.
• Partner with the Indirect Tax Director and cross-functional teams on tax technology initiatives.
• Support configuration and maintenance of tax determination within ERP, procurement, accounts payable, billing, and tax technology systems.
• Translate taxability conclusions into tax rules, product or purchasing classifications, exemption logic, and system requirements.
• Assist with implementations, upgrades, integrations, and testing involving indirect tax functionality.
• Develop scalable processes and controls that support business growth, new projects, and increasing transaction volumes.
• Improve processes for use tax accruals, exemption documentation, certificate management, tax coding, and transaction review.
• Identify root causes of recurring tax issues and implement sustainable solutions.

Business Partnership

• Develop strong working relationships with Accounting, Finance, Legal, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Operations, Project Management, IT, and other business teams.
• Review contracts, project structures, purchase transactions, pricing calculations, and business arrangements for potential sales and use tax implications.
• Partner with project and procurement teams to address taxability and exemption considerations before transactions occur rather than relying solely on post-transaction remediation.
• Provide clear, practical guidance on whether transactions are taxable, exempt, or eligible for resale treatment and the documentation required to support determinations.
• Develop and deliver training to relevant teams on sales and use tax requirements, taxability, exemption certificates, resale certificates, and construction-specific tax issues.
• Escalate significant or strategic matters to the Indirect Tax Director as appropriate.

Team Leadership

• Provide day-to-day leadership, coaching, and technical guidance to indirect tax team members.
• Review work prepared by team members and external service providers.
• Assist the Indirect Tax Director with establishing team priorities and managing workloads and deadlines.
• Support professional development through coaching, feedback, and knowledge sharing.
• Promote accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and strong technical execution.

Requirements (Minimum Skills or Experience)

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Taxation, Business, or a related field.
• 15+ years of progressive tax experience, including significant experience in U.S. sales and use tax.
• Meaningful indirect tax experience within the construction, engineering, EPC, infrastructure, or a closely related project-based industry.
• Strong knowledge of state and local sales and use tax principles, including nexus, sourcing, taxability, exemptions, resale, and use tax accrual requirements.
• Demonstrated experience performing multi-state taxability reviews and developing documented taxability positions.
• Demonstrated experience analyzing, issuing, reviewing, and managing exemption and resale certificates and providing guidance on appropriate use.
• Strong understanding of sales and use tax issues affecting contractors and construction projects, including materials, equipment, subcontractors, contract structures, and project-specific exemptions.
• Demonstrated experience managing sales and use tax compliance and audits.
• Strong tax research, analytical, and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience working with ERP systems, tax engines, and/or tax compliance technology.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating within a broader tax organization.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with tax and non-tax stakeholders, particularly Procurement, Accounts Payable, Legal, Operations, and project teams.

Preferred Qualifications

• CPA, CMI, JD, MST, or other relevant professional designation or advanced degree.
• Significant experience managing sales and use tax matters across multiple U.S. jurisdictions.
• Experience supporting large-scale construction, infrastructure, energy, or capital projects.
• Experience developing and maintaining taxability matrices and exemption certificate processes.
• Experience with tax determination and compliance platforms such as Vertex, Avalara, or similar systems.
• Experience improving or automating use tax accrual, tax determination, certificate management, and transaction tax processes.

Compensation & Benefits

• Compensation range: $155,213.00 - $194,017.00
• Pay rate type: Salary

Location

U.S. (nationwide responsibilities across U.S. jurisdictions).

Work Authorization

Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without requiring employer sponsorship now or in the future.