The Vacancy

We are looking for a Senior Associate specialising in Group and International Tax for our Tax and Reward group.

About Macfarlanes

Macfarlanes is a pre-eminent law firm that serves a global client base in private capital, private wealth, M&A and disputes. Personal connection, an entrepreneurial spirit and a commitment to excellence are at the heart of our firm. These values drive our ability to deliver exceptional outcomes for our clients.

We are big enough to undertake the most complex and demanding mandates yet small enough to know each other well and to be agile, adapting to the needs of our clients. We seek to strengthen the firm by recruiting talented people from all backgrounds who want to build long-lasting and impactful careers with us. Our culture is challenging and supportive, creating an environment where individuals can thrive.

What this means for you

As an experienced Associate, you will focus on sophisticated, hands-on client advisory work within a collaborative, Partner-led team. You will run matters with genuine autonomy, work at the heart of complex client engagements and help deliver high-quality advice as part of a team that uniquely combines corporate tax and private client expertise. Macfarlanes is the only UK firm ranked Band 1 by Chambers for both corporate tax and private client tax.

You will work alongside Partners and colleagues who value technical excellence, and your work will be recognised for its quality and depth. You will be trusted to manage and deliver on complex matters, building strong relationships with clients and colleagues while playing a substantive role in delivering practical, high-quality advice.

A significant proportion of our work involves advising UK and international privately owned groups on cross-border structuring, multi-jurisdictional tax risk management and international tax developments. This is sophisticated, multi-jurisdictional work involving collaboration with specialist advisers in overseas jurisdictions and close engagement with clients and their wider advisory teams.

Your ongoing professional development will be supported by the breadth and complexity of the work, while you will also contribute actively to the team's knowledge base. Our culture is collaborative and collegiate, with colleagues sharing expertise across the group and contributing to the development of our collective technical knowledge.

You will be part of a close-knit, supportive team focused on delivering outstanding advisory work for clients. Your expertise and contribution will be genuinely valued, and you will work with colleagues who care deeply about the quality of the advice we provide.

Practice overview

Our Tax & Reward practice consists of nine partners, four Senior Counsels, 14 Senior Associates, 26 Associates, eight trainee solicitors and three Senior Knowledge Lawyers.

Our Tax & Reward group is rated as one of the leading tax advisory practices in the City. The group provides integrated tax advice for UK and international privately owned groups, combining corporate tax and private client expertise. Clients are often founder-led or family-controlled and face distinct tax, structuring and governance challenges. As with any tax practice in a City law firm, a proportion of our work is transaction-based, supporting corporate, financing, real estate and investment fund transactions, while a substantial and increasing part of our practice involves giving free-standing tax advice to clients of the group.

The role

The successful candidate will undertake a broad range of high-quality work across the tax practice. Core responsibilities will include:

• Ability to perform at a high level on complex advisory matters for group and international clients, across a wide range of UK and cross-border tax issues. This includes advising on tax-efficient structuring of domestic and international operations, group reorganisations, demergers, returns of value and ownership restructuring, as well as planning and strategy for international tax developments.
• Client Management: Delivering excellent client service and managing matters end-to-end (with appropriate delegation), operating with minimal supervision and acting as a trusted point of contact for clients. You will work directly with high-value private groups and their wider advisory teams on sophisticated, often multi-jurisdictional, engagements - including matters involving corporate tax, employment tax and personal tax dimensions.
• Technical Excellence: Producing high-quality, well-reasoned tax advice across a range of advisory matters, including residence and domicile issues, governance across jurisdictions, transfer pricing, diverted profits tax, and multi-jurisdictional tax risk management. The role also involves working alongside our private client teams on succession planning, estate and inheritance tax strategy for founders and families, and multi-generational transitions.
• Team Development: Playing a material role in the development of junior associates by leading and supervising on client matters, sharing technical expertise, and actively contributing to the team's knowledge base, collective expertise and training programme.

This job description encompasses the main duties of the role and is by no means exhaustive. It is anticipated that duties may vary from time to time according to the needs of the practice area.

The candidate

We are seeking a Senior Associate to join Macfarlanes' Tax team, working within the group and international tax practice led by Greg Price and Sarah Ling. This is a highly technical role requiring a well-rounded individual with significant advisory experience across a broad range of tax matters.

• minimum of five years' PQE or equivalent post training professional experience;
• a broad spectrum of tax advisory experience; and
• demonstrated ability to manage client matters and effectively supervise and delegate to associates and trainees.

The ideal candidate will bring substantial experience in a senior capacity from at least one of the following environments:

• Government: HMRC or HM Treasury, with a focus on international tax policy and large business matters.
• Professional Services: A Big 4 or other leading accountancy firm, operating at Senior Manager level or above within a recognised international tax advisory practice. Candidates should have worked predominantly on international tax advisory matters and/or corporate M&A transactions, rather than compliance or audit engagements.
• Legal: A reputable law firm, where they will have gained significant responsibility and exposure to high-quality, complex international tax work.

Application screening

Any offer of employment with us is subject to our pre-employment checks which are conducted by a third-party screening provider. These checks will be initiated with your consent, and your CV will be sent to the provider by us. The screening will include but is not limited to your employment references, professional and academic qualifications including grades and any criminal records. Your offer will be subject to the successful completion of these checks.

Our commitment to inclusion

Inclusion is one of our key priorities and it is a goal we are actively working towards. We believe that an inclusive, forward-thinking culture is intrinsically important and enables us to provide innovative solutions to our clients.

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, bringing different perspectives and experiences, making Macfarlanes an exciting and stimulating place to work. We seek to recruit the best candidates, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, social or economic background, religion, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic.

As part of this commitment, we will ask you certain diversity data questions. We would really appreciate you and/or your recruiter completing these questions when submitting an application to Macfarlanes as this data enables us to measure our progress and identify any actions needed to continue to support an inclusive culture. This data is anonymised to maintain the privacy of applicants. If you have any questions relating to how this data is used, please contact a member of the recruitment team.

Should you require any adjustments during the application and/or interview process, please do not hesitate to inform your recruiter or a member of the recruitment team. Please note, the job description is available in other accessible formats (for example, large print).

We are a Disability Confident Employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who best meet the essential criteria for the role. If you would like to apply through the Disability Confident Interview Scheme, please email the recruitment team at recruitment@macfarlanes.com.

The Company

The Company has experienced unprecedented growth over the past few years. We have a vast number of employees, and provide support to clients from all over the country.