Indirect Tax Accountant
Location: 5-day onsite in London or Paris office
Job type: Full time; 5-days onsite work
Job Overview
We are looking for an ambitious Indirect Tax Accountant to join our newly formed European Tax team. As our business expands rapidly across 15–20 European jurisdictions, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape the indirect tax compliance function from the ground up.Based in our London hub, the Indirect Tax Accountant will take ownership of VAT compliance across Europe, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and risk mitigation. This is a high-visibility role ideal for a junior tax compliance professional.
What You Will Achieve
Compliance & reporting
- Manage VAT compliance for 15–20 European jurisdictions, ensuring 100% on-time filing of VAT returns, EC Sales Lists (ESL/VIES), and Intrastat declarations.
- Manage VAT reporting for e-commerce activities.
- Coordinate with external tax agents and fiscal representatives to ensure quality and timeliness of deliverables.
- Report to the Head of European Tax for the approval of the filings.
Controls, Reconciliation & Data Quality
- Perform, in collaboration with the accounting team, monthly reconciliations between VAT filings and general ledger accounts (NetSuite), investigating and resolving variances.
- Audit local VAT accounts and expense booking practices to ensure correct VAT treatment of transactions (deductibility, reverse charge, non-deductible expenses).
- Maintain and validate tax codes in NetSuite; partner with IT/Finance to automate data extraction and reduce manual intervention.
Business Partnering
- Serve as the first point of contact for Operations and Finance teams on routine tax queries (e.g., invoice requirements, cross-border shipment documentation, customer VAT status).
- With the collaboration of the Head of European Tax, advise on the VAT treatment of new business initiatives.
- Develop simple guidance and training sessions for local finance teams to improve self-sufficiency on basic VAT compliance.
Risk Management & Continuous Improvement
- Document identified risks and positions taken.
- Monitor legislative changes in the field of indirect tax across Europe.
- Partner with the Head of European Tax to identify opportunities to automate repetitive tasks and standardize processes across jurisdictions to improve efficiency.
What You Will Need
- Experience: 3-4 years of experience in indirect tax.
- Background: Mix of Big Four advisory experience (strong technical foundation) and in-house industry experience (business acumen).
- Industry: Experience in retail, e-commerce, or distribution is highly preferred.
- Jurisdictional Knowledge: Compliance experience in at least 2 European countries, including at least one of: UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain.
- Technical Skills: Strong grasp of EU VAT principles (reverse charge, triangulation, OSS/IOSS, import VAT deferral).
- Systems: Proficient with ERP systems (NetSuite experience is a strong plus) and Excel.
- Language: Fluent in English (mandatory) + working knowledge of at least one other European language (Spanish, Italian, or German preferred).
Other Skills
- Risk Mindset: Proven ability to identify, document, and escalate tax risks.
- Communication: Ability to explain VAT concepts to non-tax colleagues (Finance, Operations, Logistics) clearly and concisely.
- Autonomy: Comfortable working independently with cross-border stakeholders.
- Mindset: Excited about joining a newly team creating internal processes rather than in a well-established team.
Pay: From £45,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
