Transaction Tax Consultant to Director - EY, UAE/ Saudi Arabia

As a Transaction professional, you'll join an integrated global network of talented advisors working in a dynamic, fast-moving and commercially-driven environment. You'll actively establish, maintain and strengthen internal and external relationships and identify and escalate opportunities for Ernst & Young. You'll be responsible for the technical, operational and delivery aspects of projects and engagements, supervising and reviewing the work of multi-disciplinary/geographical teams, ensuring it's of a high standard and that it complies with our Quality & Risk Management policies. You'll draw on your knowledge and experience to help clients understand and address the tax implications of the transactions that are strategically important to them - acquisitions, disposals, refinancing, restructurings or initial public offerings (“IPO”) - and you'll be actively involved in the technical development and delivery of ideas to help clients mitigate transactional risk, enhance opportunity and negotiate effectively.

The position is based within our Middle East & North Africa (“MENA”) practice, a region that offers unique opportunities and is experiencing a high level of transactional activity. The influx of foreign investment as well as local companies expanding their outbound activities means that the MENA region offers Transaction Tax professionals a true hands-on experience in an emerging market as part of a growing and dynamic team. This transactional activity, whilst seen throughout the MENA region, arises particularly in a few key markets, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. These are M&A focal points for the MENA region in terms of growth, opportunity and transactions and we are seeking to strengthen our Transaction Tax team.

Job purpose
•To support the efficient and successful delivery of Transaction Tax services.

Client responsibilities

•Collaborate with a team of Transaction Tax professionals to combine diverse cross-border transaction experience with local Saudi Arabian tax/zakat knowledge across a broad spectrum of industries

•Participate in Transaction Tax engagements on a day-to-day basis, focusing on tax due diligence, tax structuring, SPA and tax model review as well as advising on the tax aspects of IPO-required materials (e.g. Management Discussion & Analysis reports, Headroom Analyses etc.)

•Work effectively as a member of a worldwide network of professional advisors, sharing responsibility, providing support, maintaining communication and updating senior team members on progress

•Be comfortable with a demanding role from a technical, project management and deadline-driven perspective for inbound/out-bound investment

•Work as part of a multi-jurisdictional/disciplinary team in terms of pursuing, managing and delivering engagements. As part of this there must be a drive to ensure that all deliverables meet the EY quality standard

•Quickly form strong relationships within our tax network and focus on developing links with our Transaction and Lead Advisory Practices. Such relationships are essential in order to be able to efficiently and professionally handle multi-geographical projects

•Participate and assist in preparing for meetings essential to the transaction process, e.g. meetings with the management teams of the buyer, seller or target or with their other advisors and providers of finance

•Manage the preparation of reports and schedules that will be delivered to clients and other parties

•Develop and maintain productive working relationships with client personnel. Manage a personal client portfolio in terms of dealing with and managing all the tax affairs of that client account, keeping them abreast of tax developments and advise on how it might affect their group

•Assist in managing engagement economics by organizing staffing, tracking fees and communicating issues to project leaders

•Participate in business development initiatives

•Ensure engagements comply with all aspects of internal risk management as well as managing the economics of all jobs

•Meet financial and non-financial KPIs on an annual basis

People responsibilities

•Help people to develop through the effective supervision, coaching and mentoring of staff

•Conduct performance reviews and contribute to performance feedback for staff

•Contribute to people initiatives, including recruiting, retaining and training Transaction Tax professionals

•Maintain an educational program to develop your technical and personal skills

•Understand and follow workplace policies and procedures

Technical skills requirements

•A bachelor's degree with strong academic credentials – taxation, accounting, business, finance or a related field essential. MBA, Masters of Tax or LLM in Tax would be a plus.

•Years of experience commensurate with the grade/role for which you are applying and entailing relevant Saudi Arabian tax/zakat experience, ideally within a Big 4 or similar environment.

•This experience should arise within the Transaction Tax space, clearly demonstrating a firm grasp of the transaction process including due diligence, tax structuring, transaction document review as well as dealing with the GAZT. Experience of and advising on the GAZT’s approach to and interpretation of the tax/zakat laws and regulations is a must

•A clear track record of advising on Saudi Arabian corporate income tax, withholding tax and zakat matters with knowledge/experience of customs duty matters being a plus

•An up-to-date knowledge of domestic and international tax developments such as the BEPS Action Plan, CbCR etc.

•Must have a relevant professional qualification such as ACA or CTA etc.

Additional skills requirements

•Excellent written and verbal English language skills. Arabic would be highly desirable

•Relevant consulting experience within a mature market

•Well-developed analytical and research skills and an ability to draw conclusions from often equivocal or conflicting data

•Broad exposure to transaction taxation

•Strong managerial, organizational, project management, analytical and verbal/written communication skills