Operations Tax Compliance Director – Wealth Management Operations

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services. The Firm’s employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments and individuals from more than 1,200 offices in 43 countries. As a market leader, the talent and passion of our people is critical to our success. Together, we share a common set of values rooted in integrity, excellence and strong team ethic. Morgan Stanley can provide a superior foundation for building a professional career – a place for people to learn, to achieve and grow. A philosophy that balances personal lifestyles, perspectives and needs is an important part of our culture.

Department Profile

Operations is one of the largest divisions in the firm and has diverse responsibilities, including correctly settling and recording millions of transactions per day, identifying and mitigating all operational risks, developing strong client relationships and partnering with technology to realize the full potential of IT and e-solutions. Throughout, the Operations department continually seeks ways to improve while actively supporting the development of new businesses, structures and markets.

Morgan Stanley US Operations Tax Compliance (OTC) group is a cross-divisional operational team with locations in New York, Jersey City and Utah, comprising three separate functions whose collective remit is to actively monitor and test, provide guidance and oversight and, deliver transparency and ongoing reporting on areas that require operational tax compliance improvements as it relates to U.S. IRS & State and, International tax regulations across the firm’s Retail, Institutional, and Corporate business lines.

OTC is seeking a Team Manager to support its Control & Program Management function. We are seeking a candidate to supervise and lead the team on various project initiatives critical to ensuring the firm has sufficient procedures, testing and controls in place to comply with various U.S. and International tax regulations. In addition, the function serves as the central reporting arm for the Tax Operations functions ensuring senior tax operations management have sufficient transparency into tax operations-related risks that may require action to mitigate the possibility of tax compliance or regulatory risk and exposure.

The ideal candidate is highly adaptable and capable of balancing multiple project initiatives at once to meet tight and enforced operational and annual deadlines for the firm and is highly analytical, intellectually curious with a strong desire to problem-solve. Additionally, must be able to develop a team of high performing analysts to analyze, assess, and evaluate areas of compliance risk with the objective to define potential solutions working collaboratively with our key partners in Tax Operations, Tax Advisory and the Tax Fleet.

Responsibilities

• Leading key team strategic initiatives/ad-hoc projects (e.g., automation & streamlining of OTC processes, enhanced metrics reporting, expansion of compliance program, etc.)
• Overseeing & assisting with documentation, withholding, and reporting testing and evaluation of Tax Operations processes and firm systems; inclusive of test plan design & execution
• Driving the review and improvement of controls that impact the firm’s ability to comply with documentation, withholding and information reporting regulations
• Overseeing & assisting with reviewing procedure documentation with an Audit/Risk viewpoint, including identifying and soliciting materials to assess/evidence line team adherence to their own procedures
• Managing the coordination and development of quarterly risk reporting and ensuring it provides for full transparency and delivered on a timely basis to senior management
• People Management & Career Development

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree
• 5-7 years of Financial Services Experience, ideally with Operations Tax experience
• 3-5 years supervisory experience in a Risk Management, Regulatory Control or Tax Compliance function
• Knowledge/familiarity with IRS Rules Chapter 3 (NRA), Chapter 4 (FATCA) and Chapter 61 (Back-up Withholding)
• Strong leadership & people management skills
• Strong presentation & excellent communication skills at all levels, both oral and written
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills; inclusive of sound judgement
• Advanced proficiency in MS Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

Role is Hybrid and will require in office attendance 3 days/week.

Expected base pay rates for the role will be between $68k and $125k per year at the commencement of employment. However, base pay if hired will be determined on an individualized basis and is only part of the total compensation package, which, depending on the position, may also include commission earnings, incentive compensation, discretionary bonuses, other short and long-term incentive packages, and other Morgan Stanley sponsored benefit programs.

Posting Date

Jan 21, 2023

Primary Location

Americas-United States of America-New York-New York

Education Level

Bachelor’s Degree

Job

Other

Employment Type

Full Time

Job Level

Director