Job Description

Hiring Range: $111,574 to $183,300

Actual pay may vary based on experience, skills, and market factors; additional compensation may apply. Eastern offers a robust benefits and retirement package. Please see the description of benefits included with this job posting for additional information.

The Senior Manager of Tax Operations is responsible for the overall leadership, governance, and continuous improvement of the wealth tax operations function. This role ensures delivery of high-quality tax services to clients, strengthens relationships with Account Officers and internal stakeholders, oversees vendor performance, and maintains a robust control environment aligned with regulatory and audit expectations. The role requires deep expertise in trust and wealth-related tax matters and the ability to operate effectively in a highly regulated environment.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide strategic leadership and oversight of the tax operations function, ensuring accurate, timely, and high-quality delivery of tax services to clients.
• Partner closely with Account Officers and Relationship Managers to support client needs, address complex tax-related inquiries, and deliver a high level of service and responsiveness.
• Ensure the team consistently delivers a strong client experience by maintaining high standards for accuracy, timeliness, and communication.
• Act as an escalation point for complex client situations, ensuring issues are resolved effectively and professionally.
• Serve as the primary relationship manager for external tax vendors.
• Establish and monitor service level agreements (SLAs), performance metrics, and quality standards.
• Conduct regular vendor reviews and hold partners accountable for accuracy, timeliness, and service delivery.
• Lead issue resolution and escalation with vendors, driving corrective actions and long-term improvements.
• Collaborate with vendors on process enhancements, system integrations, and capacity planning.
• Lead initiatives to continuously improve the tax operations function, focusing on scalability, efficiency, and control.
• Drive standardization of processes, policies, and controls across the organization.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of comprehensive documentation, including SOPs, workflows, and control frameworks.
• Identify opportunities to leverage technology (e.g., SharePoint, workflow automation tools) to enhance efficiency and auditability.
• Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure operational effectiveness.
• Ensure full compliance with IRS, state, and regulatory requirements applicable to tax operations.
• Maintain a strong control environment, including oversight of reconciliations, reviews, and approvals.
• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal audit, external audit, and regulatory examinations, ensuring timely and accurate responses.
• Address audit findings and regulatory matters by developing and implementing remediation plans.
• Proactively identify and mitigate operational and compliance risks.

PROBLEM SOLVING & DECISION MAKING

Exercises a high level of independent judgment in managing operational, regulatory, and client related issues. Balances risk, client impact, and operational efficiency when making strategic decisions. Leads resolution of complex, cross-functional issues with significant business impact.

REQUIREMENTS

Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, or a related field required.

• Advanced degree or professional certification preferred (e.g., CPA, JD, or equivalent).

• 6–10+ years of experience in tax operations, wealth management, or financial services.

• Direct experience with trust and fiduciary tax matters, including familiarity with Forms 1041, trust distributions, and fiduciary tax considerations.

• Significant experience managing complex tax processes and working with external tax vendors.

• Prior leadership or management experience preferred.

Skills/Knowledge

• Deep expertise in wealth and fiduciary tax reporting, withholding, and compliance requirements.

• Strong understanding of trust, estate, and high-net-worth client tax considerations.

• Proven ability to engage with Account Officers and clients to resolve complex tax questions and provide operational guidance.

• Strong leadership, team development, and stakeholder management capabilities.

• Demonstrated success in vendor management and performance oversight.

• Experience leading process improvement, standardization, and control design initiatives.

• Strong understanding of audit, regulatory expectations, and risk management frameworks.

• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to translate complex tax concepts into actionable guidance for business partners.

Working Conditions:

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

While performing the duties of this job, the employee must be able to remain in a stationary position 50% of the time. The employee frequently is required to operate a computer and other office productivity machinery, such as a calculator, copy machine, and printer. The employee is occasionally required to move about inside the office to access file cabinets, office machinery, etc. They also occasionally travel to locations outside of the facility, to attend meetings, trainings, events, and other business activities. The employee occasionally positions self to maintain or access files in file cabinets. The employee must have the ability to communicate information and ideas so others will understand. Must be able to exchange accurate information in these situations. The employee frequently observes details at close range (within a few feet of the observer). The employee must occasionally lift and/or move boxes or equipment up to 20 pounds across office for various needs.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Persons holding this position are generally subject to inside environmental conditions having the lighting, temperature, and noise level of an open floor-plan office environment (moderate, but occasionally loud at times). This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, and filing cabinets.