Tax Associate Director, US

Reports to the Head of Investor Services, US 

About the role 

The purpose of this position is to establish and lead Aztec’s US tax capability, supporting the delivery of high-quality tax compliance and operational tax support across US client portfolios. The role will initially provide significant support to Investor Services, including the investor tax lifecycle from onboarding data capture through to coordination with clients’ tax advisers and tax preparers, while also supporting the wider tax obligations of US funds, partnerships, corporations, SPVs and other client entities.

The position will contribute to the assessment, design and development of Aztec’s wider US tax compliance service proposition, operating model and business plan, working with US leadership and Group Tax.

You will be the subject-matter expert who will build the operating model to enhance our clients’ experience – bringing technical depth to W-8/W-9 review, strengthening controls around tax refund cheque tracking and state tax payments, and partnering with our technology teams to automate K-1 collection, FATCA/CRS and data extraction. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who thrives in an ambitious, fast-scaling environment and is committed to delivering high-quality work under tight, deadline-driven tax cycles.

As an Associate Director, you will contribute to the development and implementation of Aztec’s US tax strategy and scalable operating model, translating strategic objectives into clear operational and commercial plans. You will lead cross-functional and multi-jurisdictional initiatives, develop strong internal and external relationships, support profitable growth, and help build the people, processes and capabilities required for a high-performing US tax function. You will achieve this by collaborating across our multi-jurisdictional teams (US, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and Channel Islands) to deepen relationships, being open-minded and embracing change whilst valuing diverse perspectives and channeling a ‘can-do’ attitude. You will support business and people growth, help develop the next generation of talent, and help position Aztec as the golden source of investor tax data for our clients.

Key responsibilities:

Client and Business Development

• Act as Aztec’s senior US tax subject-matter expert, supporting Investor Services and wider client-facing teams across the tax lifecycle and the tax compliance obligations of US funds, partnerships, corporations, SPVs and investors.

• Lead, together with US leadership and Group Tax, the assessment and development of Aztec’s US tax compliance service proposition, including market analysis, service design, delivery options, pricing, financial modelling and implementation planning.

• Lead or support the identification, scoping and development of new and expanded US tax compliance opportunities, ensuring that proposed services remain within Aztec’s approved service and risk perimeter.

• Develop a relevant network of clients, intermediaries, advisers and service providers to support market intelligence, business development and the future growth of Aztec’s US tax services.

• Work effectively within Aztec’s multi-service and multi-jurisdictional client teams to ensure information is shared effectively and relationships are built and maintained across US, UK, Luxembourg, Ireland and Channel Islands.

• Build and maintain trusted relationships with clients’ in-house tax teams and their external advisers, coordinating clear roles, hand-offs and SLAs with clients’ appointed tax advisers to eliminate ambiguity over ownership.

• Deliver high levels of client satisfaction across the Tax service client base, proactively surfacing recommendations rather than waiting for requests.

• Support the Tax leadership and Business Development team in the pricing of new tax services opportunities and pilot programs.

Operations

• Provide technical oversight and leadership across relevant US tax compliance and tax-related operational processes, including investor, fund and entity-level obligations.

• For W-8/W-9 forms, investor data, K-1 tracking, refund cheques and payments, client-facing teams retain routine data collection, processing and record maintenance, while the tax team – and in particular the Associate Director – defines technical requirements, controls and escalation criteria, reviews complex cases and provides technical oversight.

• Technical tax form review: Perform and review technical, end-to-end review of W-8/W-9 forms – moving beyond completeness checks to accuracy, tax classification, withholding implications and expiry tracking – embedding this into the onboarding and periodic review process.

• Data ownership & golden source: Take ownership of investor tax data capture at onboarding, ensuring Aztec holds clean, structured, validated tax attributes (books & records) that can be shared with clients’ advisers, reducing reliance on manual data scraping.

• K-1 collection & tracking: Drive the acceleration and automation of K-1 collection, validation and tracking (partnering on tools such as Aztec Xtract) to move away from manual, Excel-based processes and improve capture rates and turnaround.

• Tax refund check controls: Own and strengthen the control framework for US tax refund check tracking, including a single-source tracker, clear status tracking (outstanding / received / deposited / written off), custody, reconciliation and 4-eyes review.

• Tax & payments: Oversee tax payment processing and support evaluation of automated tax payment solutions, improving cash visibility, forward-looking payment notification and escalation timing between clients, advisers and the US team.

• FATCA / CRS: Support and scale Aztec US involvement in FATCA/CRS processes, partnering with technology to handle volumes through automation.

• Coordinate with clients’ third-party advisers and tax authorities, and act as a technical escalation point for the wider Investor Services and US team.

• Coordinate with client’s auditor/tax preparer as needed, assist on ad-hoc projects and unusual notices (e.g. proactively monitoring for items such as IRS Form 8986).

• Consistently and comprehensively deliver Aztec’s internal control framework and processes, and build the process work flows, documentation, deadline calendars, FAQs and operating memos that embed US tax knowledge across the team.

• Provide technical oversight across the broader US tax compliance scope, including:

- federal, state and local tax compliance affecting funds and client entities;

- partnership and corporate tax matters; sales and use tax, where relevant to Aztec’s service scope;

- tax automatic exchange of information, including FATCA and CRS;

- withholding and investor tax reporting;

- tax registrations, payments, assessments and non-contentious correspondence;

- coordination of compliance work completed by external tax providers; -

- identification and escalation of matters requiring formal tax advice.

• Oversee the operational and technical interface with approved external tax providers, including scope definition, data requirements, service levels, deliverable monitoring and escalation, while ensuring that responsibility for preparation, technical positions and filing is clearly allocated under the relevant delivery model.

• Support the design, assessment and implementation of in-house, outsourced and co-sourced tax compliance delivery models, including the associated controls, responsibilities, costs and operational requirements.

Finances

• Lead or support the development and delivery of the US tax services budget and financial business case.

• Develop pricing models for new tax compliance and tax assistance services in collaboration with Group Tax, Finance and Business Development.

• Monitor revenue, costs, margins, pipeline, utilisation and performance against the approved business plan.

• Support negotiations with external providers and evaluate the commercial implications of in-house, outsourced and co-sourced delivery models.

• Take responsibility for relevant Tax management information and contribute to the future financial management of the US tax function.

Governance and Change

• Lead or materially contribute to Group and/or jurisdictional-specific Tax service projects, as required, including the design of the US tax operating model.

• Partner with the technology and transformation teams to embed digital tax data capture, automated validation and regulatory/tax reporting into our platforms.

• Establish and maintain robust governance with clients and their advisers – defining SLAs, hand-offs, responsiveness expectations and quarterly service reviews – and ensure global alignment across all jurisdictional teams.

• Support the design of pilots and enhanced operating models, clarifying the division of responsibilities between Aztec and clients’ external tax advisers.

• Implement the agreed US tax service strategy and business plan.

• Own business risk assessments within the role’s area of responsibility.

• Provide oversight of external tax provider governance.

• Ensure alignment with Group Tax standards, service definitions and governance.

Skills, knowledge, expertise:

• 10+ years of relevant tax experience, ideally within alternative investments / private markets, funds or fund administration (partnership tax, investor tax reporting, FATCA/CRS).

• Strong technical knowledge across relevant US fund, partnership, corporate, investor and regulatory tax matters, including partnership and corporate income tax compliance, W-8/W-9 documentation, withholding, K-1 and K-2/K-3 reporting, FATCA/CRS, federal and state tax payments, and sales and use tax where relevant.

• A Big 4 / public accounting background is desirable; relevant professional qualification (e.g. CPA / EA) is desired.

• A relevant undergraduate degree (Accounting / Finance / Business).

• Experience building or improving processes, controls and documentation – with the credibility to be the technical sign-off and to stand behind Aztec’s work with clients and their advisers.

• A data-driven, technology-forward mindset – comfortable partnering on automation and data-extraction initiatives to reduce manual effort and risk.

• The ability to work collaboratively with diverse, multi-jurisdictional client teams and to coordinate effectively with external advisers.

• Attention to detail to ensure the delivery of consistent and high standards, particularly in high-risk, control-sensitive areas.

• Excellent organizational, communication and people skills, with the ability to translate technical tax matters for non-tax stakeholders.

• A commitment and desire to deliver high levels of client service, and to help develop the next generation of talent.

• Ability to think critically and creatively, and to work under pressure within tight, deadline-driven tax cycles.

• Strong understanding of the distinction between tax compliance, operational tax support and tax advisory, with the judgement to maintain the approved service perimeter and escalate matters appropriately.