Director Global Indirect Tax

Position Title Global Indirect Tax Director

Location Geneva

Reports to Global Head of Tax

Direct Reports ITX manager (vacant), Manager of SSC Indirect Tax Team &10+ functional reports (Poland), NA Indirect Tax Manager (US)

Scope Global

ABOUT “WELLA”

“Wella” is one of the world’s leading professional and retail hair companies. It is a beauty collective with a mission to enable consumers to look & feel like their true self. Its love brands, which include beauty icons such as Wella, Clairol, OPI, and ghd (all together “Wella”), are co-created by & designed for the beauty junkies of today & tomorrow. Following the signing of an agreement with global investment firm KKR for the divestiture of Coty’s Professional and Retail Hair businesses, “Wella” is on its way to become a fully independent, standalone company with its own management team and operational structures. At closing, our new company will have presence in over 100 countries and an estimated annual net revenue of $2.5 bn. “Wella” and its brands, are and will remain committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment.

ABOUT “YOUR FUNCTION” – PLEASE UPDATE IF APPROPRIATE

The finance function delivers an effective finance support service to the business to strengthen decision-making by providing timely and accurate reporting and business information. The appropriate financial control framework facilitates improvements in control in the business, promotes the management of financial risk to the organization and meets increasingly onerous statutory and regulatory requirements.

Join the team that is making a tangible difference for the future of Wella, and participate in one of the biggest transformations in the industry, driving and leveraging our culture of pride and performance!

THE ROLE

We are looking for a Global Indirect Tax Director to join our Finance team.

You will develop the Global Indirect Tax (“ITX”) function and related strategy. You will advise on VAT/GST and other similar consumption taxes to ensure they are properly applied to all WELLA companies transactions. You will proactively detect, prevent, and monitor ITX risks. You will identify and implement cost mitigation and cash flow savings initiatives. You will drive ITX best practices within the Finance team and wider business.

This is a great opportunity for an experienced and dynamic ITX professional to thrive in a fast-paced, challenging environment with significant growth and international expansion.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Is the subject matter expert / global process owner for global ITX matters, including environmental taxes (e.g., plastic packaging taxes, etc.).

• Develop and implement ITX strategic priorities in alignment with business model

• Monitor ITX legislative changes globally, analyze their impact and ensure global updates of ERP systems, manuals, policies etc.

• Be a true business partner: proactively engage with the various Business Units to understand their operation; effectively communicate ITX strategies and requirements to finance and business functions; provide ITX technical support to operational teams

• Oversee the ITX compliance and filing process, making the most of automated solutions to improve effectiveness efficiencies with a focus on continued improvement & standardisation

• Conduct ITX health checks, identify & manage ITX risk within the business and develop mitigation guidance

• Drive the project delivery of the company’s e-invoicing and e-reporting obligations

• Support Global Tax team and finance teams with managing ITX controversies, ITX advice (incl. customs) linked with transfer pricing matters

• Support, mentor and develop the ITS compliance teams within the Shared Service Centres in Poland and Mexico

• Use data analytics to identify key risks and opportunities better

• Optimize cash flow and balance sheet positions

• Manage global ITX third-party service providers (e.g., AvaTax by Avalara)

• Be responsible/owning ITX master data, ensuring it is accurate and up-to-date in systems

• Train relevant internal stakeholders on ITX matters

In this role, you will be interfacing with the following key stakeholders: Global Tax team members, Global Controlling, Global Treasury, Shared Service Centers, Regional and Local Finance, Supply Chain operations, External tax advisors, Tax authorities.

Essential:

• 8+ years of relevant ITX experience with Big 4 Advisory Firm, large international law firm or multinational tax department

• A Bachelor´s / Master´s degree in Tax, Economics, Finance, Accounting or Law

• Strong indirect tax expertise (excellence in EU VAT; good understanding of indirect tax in APAC; sales and use tax in the US; and VAT in Latam including Mexico; Swiss VAT expertise is a plus)

• Experience with implementing indirect tax solutions within an SAP environment

• Good understanding of IT systems and ability to work with IT analysts and project managers

• Knowledge of tax compliance and reporting software solutions (e.g. Avalara, Edicom, Sovos)

• Excellent communication and analytical skills. Strong ability to communicate complex or technical topics to non-tax experts in concise terms.

• Ability to influence and business partner at all seniority levels

• Able to adapt to change and react with speed, perseverance and tenacity.

• High level of reliability and personal integrity

• Ability to work across cultures with all levels of organization and with different functions.

• Fluent in English, both written and spoken, required.

• Ability to travel when required

Desirable:

• Working knowledge of any of the following languages would be a plus: French, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, etc.

• Experience in FMCG industry would be a plus

• Experience with customs duty management and the interaction with Transfer Pricing would be a plus