Associate Director – Employment Tax and Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)

Ideas | People | Trust

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

Working hard and working together, our Tax team thrives on keeping busy. Friendly, driven and diverse, they service our clients across the country and around the world. By providing expertise in many different specialist areas of tax, they collaborate across BDO to deliver wider business solutions. From meeting clients’ evolving business needs to managing changes to legislation, there are always fresh challenges to face in the Tax team. If you’re after a career that will keep you on your toes, we’ll give you the autonomy to drive your career forward.

We’ll help you succeed

Leading organisations trust us because of the quality of our advice. That quality grows from a thorough understanding of their business, and that understanding comes from working closely with them and building long-lasting relationships.

You’ll be someone who is both comfortable working proactively and managing your own tasks, as well as confident collaborating with others and communicating regularly with senior managers, directors, and BDO’s partners to help businesses effectively. You’ll be encouraged to identify and draw attention to opportunities for enhancing our delivery and providing additional services to organisations we work with.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Associate Director to lead and develop our Construction Industry Scheme (“CIS”) offering as part of our Employment Tax team. This role will include providing technical and practical advice to clients on all employment tax matters with a focus on the operation of CIS, including compliance, risk management and HMRC engagement.

The successful candidate will act as a key technical lead within the employment tax team, driving delivery across complex engagements, supporting client relationships and contributing to the firm’s national CIS capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Advisory & Technical Leadership
• Provide expert advice on all aspects of CIS, including:
• Advise on complex and high‑risk areas
• Lead technical input on large and complex client engagements across all aspects of employment taxes, ensuring high-quality, commercially practical advice
• Develop your own network of contacts internally and externally and start winning own work and cross selling
• Be responsible for coaching and developing junior members of staff.
• Compliance & Operational Support
• Support clients in meeting their CIS obligations
• Advise on remediation of historic compliance issues and implementation of best practice frameworks
• Provide guidance on record‑keeping and audit readiness
• HMRC Engagement & Dispute Management
• Act as a primary point of contact with HMRC on employment tax and CIS matters
• Represent clients in complex discussions with HMRC, ensuring robust technical positions are articulated and defended
• Monitor HMRC trends and enforcement activity to inform client advice
• Business Development & Client Relationship Management
• Build and maintain strong client relationships across real estate, construction and wider sectors
• Identify opportunities to provide additional advisory, compliance and training services
• Support the development of proposals, thought leadership and market-facing materials
• Manage the team providing CIS advice to client and contribute to growth of employment tax revenue streams
• Lead the CIS offering (reporting into the partners) and manage all financial aspects of our services
• Team Leadership & Internal Collaboration
• Provide technical oversight and mentoring to managers and junior team members
• Act as a central point of expertise within the firm’s CIS network, supporting colleagues nationally
• Work closely with Real Estate, VAT and other service lines on multidisciplinary projects
• Contribute to internal training and knowledge sharing
• Manage wider employment tax projects arising from clients and contacts

Skills & Experience

• Significant experience advising on CIS across a range of sectors (e.g. property, construction, large corporates, overseas investors)
• Strong technical knowledge of: CIS legislation (Finance Act 2004), Contractor vs subcontractor rules, Deemed contractor thresholds and exemptions
• Proven track record of dealing with HMRC enquiries, disclosures and technical negotiations
• Experience managing complex client relationships and leading engagements
• Commercial awareness and ability to translate technical rules into practical advice
• An in depth, up to date, knowledge of taxation with specialist knowledge and the ability to deal with complex tax issues beyond CIS (including income taxes, PAYE/NIC, benefits in kind)
• Project and staff management experience
• Ability to manage a substantial client portfolio profitably whilst being able to actively seek opportunities for developing new clients and for selling new services to existing clients
• Experience of dealing with client senior management and success in bids/proposals for new work
• Experience in marketing, commoditising new ideas and opportunities
• Demonstrable post qualified experience

• Strong leadership and team development capability
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• High attention to detail with a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach
• Ability to operate at a senior level with clients and stakeholders

Success Measures

• Delivery of high-quality, technically robust client advice
• Effective management of HMRC interactions and risk outcomes
• Growth in CIS-related revenue and client base
• Development of internal CIS capability and team expertise
• Seek innovative solutions to complex challenges.
• Leverage stakeholder relationships to deliver superior results.
• Lead large scale or complex projects within own area of expertise.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to the business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer every colleague the opportunity to work in ways that suit you, your teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value for the companies we work with and satisfying experiences for our colleagues, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.

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