Trust & Taxation Manager

A leading UK law firm with a network of offices from the South Coast to Scotland, working together as one national team. An innovative practice and the first top 100 law firm to achieve “Gold Standard” Investors in People, our values and culture are not just words on our website but are the heartbeat of the firm. The lack of barriers between departments, a real lack of hierarchy, zero tolerance for arrogance and pomposity makes Shoosmiths a fantastic place to work.

Our specialist Wealth Protection team is experienced in managing and implementing the strategies required to safeguard our clients' personal wealth and business assets. They are renowned for providing the specialist knowledge needed for even the most sensitive of cases.

Our expertise ranges from the formal preparation of Wills and trusts to legal advice on probate matters, inheritance tax and succession planning, mental capacity issues, dealing with the Court of Protection and charity law matters. Our clients expect solutions that combine expertise, diligence and imagination to protect their assets and safeguard their wealth.

Thoughtful and informed planning as well as professionally executed strategies are the hallmarks of the service provided by Shoosmiths' Wealth Protection team. They have proven expertise in advising high net worth individuals ranging from salaried professionals and high profile business leaders to stars of stage and screen, National Lottery winners, establishment figures and landed estates.

Shoosmiths are seeking to appoint a Trusts & Tax manager to join our Wealth Protection team. Please note, whilst ideally this role would be in Manchester or Leeds, this role can be based in any of the other following UK offices: Birmingham, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Nottingham, Thames Valley or Solent.

The key responsibilities of the Trusts & Tax Manager are:

• Day-to-day supervision of the Trusts & Tax team whose remit is to manage our trust portfolio on a day to day basis and whose responsibilities include payments to HMRC and beneficiaries, investment of trust funds, cash flow management, preparation of annual trust accounts and tax returns, dealing with FATCA registration and all HMRC and other necessary compliance.
• Ensuring all deadlines are met on tax payments, income tax and inheritance tax return submissions and income / capital distributions.
• To supervise the completion of the preparation and submission of annual tax returns of both in-house and external clients.
• To supervise the completion of the preparation and submission of any necessary inheritance tax returns of both in-house and external clients.
• Probate matters relating to tax or trusts including the preparation of estate accounts and estate tax returns.
• To provide tax advice and guidance on trust matters / personal tax issues and other estate planning when required either directly or via colleagues.

In addition to the above, the Trusts & Tax manager will utilise a number of different systems and protocols on a day-to-day basis and will also be responsible for identifying improvements to these systems. 

• Demonstrable experience of trust accounts and tax return preparation is essential.
• Demonstrable experience in managing more junior team members is essential.
• Thorough understanding of general legal and taxation principles of trust administration and personal taxation. 
• Knowledge of SRA principles to ensure full compliance is preferable but in house training can be provided.
• To be considered you will have worked in a similar role advising clients with trust and tax matters where you will liaise with intermediaries such as stockbrokers, insurance brokers and land agents.
• As well as having a strong technical background, you should also be confident in client management and have the ability to build relationships easily with both new and existing clients.

Shoosmiths is a committed Equal Opportunities employer promoting equality of opportunity. This means that everyone who either applies to or works for the firm is treated equally, whatever their gender, age, ethnic origin, nationality, marital status, disability, sexual orientation or religious beliefs.