Overview
This role is for a State & Local Tax Director focused on High Net Worth Individual, Estate, and Trust tax consulting, leading and expanding the organization’s State & Local Tax (SALT) practice.
The SALT practice includes 300+ professionals across the U.S., providing a full spectrum of state and local tax services. In this position, you will serve as a senior leader delivering residency, domicile, controversy, and related state income tax services to high net worth individuals and families.
The role works closely with Private Wealth practice leaders to build a differentiated national capability serving high net worth individuals, families, business owners, executives, and family offices.
Responsibilities
- Serve as a senior strategic advisor to high net worth individuals, families, business owners, executives, and family offices on their most significant state income tax matters.
- Lead the firm’s most complex residency, domicile, and multistate individual income tax matters, including planning engagements, audits, appeals, and controversies; act as the senior escalation point for difficult technical and judgmental issues.
- Provide executive-level quality and risk oversight for significant engagements, including review of higher-risk positions, technical analyses, controversy strategies, documentation, and client communications.
- Partner with Private Wealth practice leaders to establish and execute a coordinated strategy for delivering residency and state income tax services to high net worth clients nationally.
- Develop and maintain relationships with Private Wealth partners and senior professionals; identify opportunities within the existing client base where residency and state income tax expertise can add value.
- Lead business development and revenue growth by originating opportunities, developing new client relationships, expanding existing relationships, and maintaining a strong pipeline of prospective engagements.
- Build and maintain a network of external referral sources, including attorneys, wealth advisors, family offices, investment professionals, bankers, and other trusted advisors.
- Lead significant prospective client meetings and proposals, articulate value, develop engagement strategies and pricing, and help convert opportunities into long-term client relationships.
- Establish market presence through thought leadership, including articles, technical alerts, external speaking engagements, webinars, conferences, and relationships with organizations serving high net worth individuals and their advisors.
- Monitor legislative, regulatory, administrative, and judicial developments and help establish technical positions, client messaging, and market response.
- Help define and continuously improve practice methodologies, technical resources, engagement approaches, documentation standards, and quality control processes.
- Maintain executive oversight of a portfolio of significant client relationships and engagements with focus on client satisfaction, technical quality, risk management, engagement economics, and long-term relationship development.
- Provide strategic direction and appropriate oversight to Senior Managers and Managers, ensuring accountability for independent execution and delivery.
- Develop Senior Managers, Managers, and emerging leaders through coaching on technical judgment, executive presence, client relationship management, business development, delegation, and team leadership.
- Create opportunities for team members to develop client relationships and market visibility, transitioning responsibilities and relationships to build depth and succession.
- Participate in recruiting, retention, performance management, promotion, succession planning, and other talent initiatives.
- Collaborate with SALT and Private Wealth leadership on strategic planning, resource needs, investments, market opportunities, revenue goals, and other initiatives supporting the continued growth of the High Net Worth Residency practice.
- Represent the organization in the marketplace and contribute to its reputation as a leading advisor to high net worth individuals and families on complex residency and state income tax matters.
Requirements
- 4-year degree
- 12 years of professional experience
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required; Master’s, JD, LLM, or other advanced degree preferred.
- CPA, CMI or JD/LLM required.
- Extensive state and local tax experience, including deep technical expertise in individual income taxation, residency and domicile, statutory residency, income sourcing, and significant state tax audits and controversies; professional services experience strongly preferred.
- Demonstrated success generating new business, expanding client relationships, developing referral sources, and building a strong marketplace presence and sustainable pipeline.
- Proven ability to lead through others, including developing senior professionals, delegating effectively, building accountability, and attracting and retaining high-performing talent.
- Executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation, and relationship-management skills.
- Demonstrated thought leadership through writing, speaking, training, or other market-facing activities.
- Ability to balance growth, client service, technical quality, talent development, engagement economics, and risk management across a significant portfolio.
- Strong entrepreneurial mindset and demonstrated interest in building and expanding a specialized professional services practice.
- Eligibility to work in the U.S. without sponsorship required.
Compensation & Benefits
Pay rate ranges for this position:
- National pay rate range: $233,760 to $455,850
- In California: pay rate range is $257,140 to $455,850
Actual compensation is influenced by factors including skills, prior experience, qualifications, degrees, professional certifications, work arrangements, and geographic location. A comprehensive compensation and benefits package is offered to eligible employees.
Location
U.S. (with compensation range provided for California)