Associate Director - International External Reporting

About the role

We are seeking an experienced Associate Director – Tax Operations to lead and elevate our indirect and direct tax operations in Mumbai.

You will report to the Head of International External Reporting and play a key role in international indirect tax operations, EMEA direct tax operational oversight, and operating model transformation. This position is leadership-oriented and requires strong governance, vendor management, and process optimisation skills within an outsourced and co-sourced delivery model.

You will manage a team of 7 professionals and work closely with internal and external stakeholders to ensure compliant, efficient, and future-ready tax operations.

What will you do

Lead and Oversee Operational Tax Delivery

• Oversee the end-to-end delivery of EMEA indirect tax operations, ensuring consistent quality, compliance, and timely execution across jurisdictions.
• Ensure indirect tax documentation, reporting and control requirements are met; support preparation of deliverables aligned with regulatory obligations.
• Provide senior oversight of EMEA direct tax operational support, including US GAAP tax provisioning, transfer pricing activities, and tax forecasting.

Tax Compliance Governance & Audit Support

• Provide governance support for direct and indirect tax compliance and oversight, monitoring processes to ensure alignment with global tax policies and internal control frameworks.
• Serve as an escalation point for operational tax issues and audit queries.

Vendor Management & Operational Leadership

• Lead performance management and service quality oversight for external delivery partners (e.g. managed service provider and co-source advisor).
• Coordinate with outsourced providers to ensure SLAs, KPIs and service levels are met; escalate and remediate performance or quality gaps.
• Contribute to the development and refinement of standard operating procedures and documentation for recurring processes.

Transformation, Technology & Process Improvement

• Support technology and transformation initiatives impacting tax operations, including technology implementations (e.g., Vertex, indirect tax engines), statutory change (e-invoicing), and operating model optimisation.
• Identify areas for automation, process improvement, and cost optimisation; support implementation of tax technology and reporting tools.
• Contribute to internal dashboards, compliance reporting, and operational metrics that support visibility and continuous improvement.

People Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, mentor, and develop the Mumbai tax operations team; foster a high-performance, collaborative culture.
• Build and maintain strong working relationships with key stakeholders including Indirect Tax, International External Reporting, and Regional/Local Controllership.
• Support tax training and capability building across teams where required.

What will you bring

• Qualifications: Chartered Accountant (CA) — mandatory.
• Experience: Minimum 5+ years post-qualification, including in-house multinational tax operational experience; prior Big 4 experience strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience in indirect tax compliance and governance, ideally within a multinational or shared services/outsourced environment.
• Solid understanding of international indirect tax rules (VAT/GST) and operational tax requirements.
• Experience with vendor/outsourced delivery models, performance management, and process improvement.
• Exposure to US GAAP tax provisioning, transfer pricing operational oversight, and managing audit support activities.
• Strong stakeholder management and leadership capabilities, with a commercial mindset and focus on cost optimisation.

What you need to know

• Working model: Hybrid in Mumbai.
• Travel: Some international travel expected.
• Team: Lead a team of 7, with the potential to grow.
• Role focus: Operational delivery, transformation, governance, and vendor management (not a tax advisory role).
• Reporting line: Reports to the head of International External Reporting Team