Job Description

Job Ref:

THE1035

Branch:

thebigword UK - Shared Services

Location:

thebigword UK - Shared Services, Leeds

Salary/Benefits:

Great Salary, Hybrid Working in our Amazing Leeds Office Lots of Perks!

Contract type:

Permanent

Hours:

Full Time

Hours per week:

37.5

Posted date:

04/08/2025

Closing date:

06/09/2025

The Role Unveiled

Thebigword is one of Europe's leading language services companies, and we're expanding rapidly into the U.S. market with the backing of a leading private equity investor. This is a career-building opportunity for an ambitious finance professional to step into a pivotal, global role at a company that combines the scale and credibility of an established leader with the energy and agility of an entrepreneurial team.



You'll join a modernising finance team with fresh leadership looking for a partner to drive innovation, improve processes, and strengthen controls across a global footprint. You'll have the autonomy to make meaningful change, the platform to shape how the company handles audit, tax, and compliance, and the chance to do work that impacts investor confidence and enterprise value every day.

Your Role in Action

As Senior Manager - Audit, Tax and Controls, you will lead the company's global audit and tax agenda and partner with the Finance Director and CFO to drive stronger governance, smarter processes, and better coordination across geographies. This is not a "keep the lights on" role, the right candidate will challenge legacy approaches, design and implement better ways of working, and turn patchy or imperfect data into reliable insights and processes. You'll be the person who sees inefficiency as an opportunity, not a frustration, and who can make things happen in a complex, global environment.



You'll lead statutory audit and tax activity across the UK, US, Netherlands, and India (with oversight of smaller markets like Japan and China) and will serve as a strategic oversight point for controls and compliance, working in partnership with the Senior Manager - Accounts, to ensure that day-to-day accounting controls support audit readiness, risk management, and statutory obligations, while coordinating closely with internal teams, external advisors, and dotted-line colleagues around the world.

Audit Tax Leadership

Lead and manage all group audits (UK, US, and others), ensuring on-time delivery of financial statements, tax returns, and compliance filings. Partner with the CFO and Finance Director to drive a coordinated global audit approach that reduces duplication and wasted effort between UK and US auditors. Own the annual RD tax credit process, working with internal development leads and external tax advisors. Manage the UK tax submission process (preparation, queries, and CFO sign-off) and coordinate tax compliance across all other operating countries. Maintain a full understanding of each group company's PL and balance sheet, including transfer pricing adjustments and intercompany flows.

Controls Compliance

Support the Finance Director in designing and strengthening the company's control and risk frameworks, ensuring they are practical and scalable. Partner with the Senior Manager - Accounts, who manages day-to-day accounting controls, to ensure those controls align with audit readiness, risk management, and statutory obligations. Serve as a senior point of review for work done by other finance teams--ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency. Provide advice on policy decisions (e.g., travel and expense policies, vendor compliance, treasury processes) from a risk and compliance perspective. Track and enforce compliance deadlines (statutory, tax, audit) across the group, making sure nothing slips through the cracks.

Process Change Leadership

Evaluate current audit and tax processes and tear down and rebuild where needed - not just tweak - so the business has simpler, smarter, and faster ways of working. Work with tax and audit vendors to set clear expectations, hold them accountable, and coordinate more efficient work globally. Co-lead, alongside the Senior Manager - Accounts, the integration of improvements coming from the upcoming Finance Transformation, Data Tools project. Map peak audit/tax timelines and proactively secure surge support from the wider finance team to ensure bottlenecks don't derail critical filings.

Cross-Border Coordination Stakeholder Management

Manage relationships with UK and US auditors, overseas tax advisors, and other external partners. Provide dotted-line oversight of overseas finance team members (particularly in India) on tax and compliance matters. Work closely with the CFO, Finance Director, and senior management to ensure the audit/tax function supports strategic decision-making and growth.

The Perfect Match: Your Skills Talents

You'll succeed in this role if you are:

Proactive and unflappable

- you thrive when things are messy or unclear and are comfortable "starting from scratch" when needed.

A change maker

- you don't just follow processes, you design them, improve them, and have the confidence to push for smarter ways of working.

Takes ownership and works independently

- you're comfortable operating with minimal supervision and driving outcomes forward.

Detail-oriented but pragmatic

- you care deeply about accuracy, but you balance it with a commercial mindset and focus on outcomes.

A global thinker

- you've worked in or alongside multinational organisations and understand the nuances of coordinating across jurisdictions.

Comfortable with data and tools

- you don't shy away from large and imperfect datasets and can work through the noise to find clarity, whether using spreadsheets or more advanced tools such as SQL, Alteryx, or similar platforms.

Comfortable navigating complex tax and audit concepts

- you can cut through jargon, understand key issues, and work with advisors to get to practical, actionable solutions.

Guides and mentors colleague

s - you can support, coach, and hold team members to high standards, even those that don't report to you directly.

Drives accountability with stakeholders

- you set expectations with auditors, tax advisors, and internal teams, and ensure follow-through.

Qualifications Experience

Core Credentials Framework Knowledge

Qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA, or equivalent). Demonstrated experience managing multi-country group audits (UK required; US strongly preferred). Strong working knowledge of IFRS and UK GAAP; exposure to US GAAP is highly desirable. Experience with corporate tax compliance in the UK and awareness of US tax requirements. Familiarity with transfer pricing arrangements and how they affect intercompany accounting and reporting. Experience managing RD tax credit claims and liaising with advisors to prepare supporting documentation. Understanding of VAT in the UK/EU and awareness of US sales tax considerations.

Process Improvement Mindset

Track record of improving or redesigning processes, particularly in audit, tax, or compliance functions. Comfortable working with imperfect data and implementing practical solutions.

Tools Communication Skills

Strong Excel and data manipulation skills, with bonus points for experience using SQL, Alteryx, or similar tools to work with larger datasets. Confident communicator able to engage with senior stakeholders, including Board-level.

We are eradicating the final barrier of global communication!

At thebigword, we specialise in language solutions, translating over 1 billion words annually, support more than 250 languages and handle millions of interpreting minutes each year. As one of the largest language service providers globally, we utilise the greatest minds and boundary shattering technology to deliver phenomenal quality at scale to both our clients and linguist network. We're proud that our services support thousands of people every single day, from those using the National Health Service to global brands across the world such as google, Honda, and Unilever.

Joining our team is not just a career, it's being part of something much bigger!

Equal Opportunities:

At thebigword, we prioritise the physical and mental health of our global teams. We are a Level 3 Disability Confident Leader, have signed the Menopause Workplace Pledge, and are proud to have signed the Mental Health at Work Commitment. Should you require reasonable adjustments for your interview or subsequent employment, please notify our team. Our mission is to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams, celebrating differences and encouraging everyone to join us and be themselves at work. To find out more about our dedication to Equality, Diversity Inclusion, and our EDI Committee, click here: https://careers.thebigword.com/pages/our-commitment

Perks That Make You Smile!

See all of our amazing perks, here: https://careers.thebigword.com/pages/perks-uk