Role Summary
The Group Tax Manager is responsible for leading and managing the tax function across WPP Scangroup’s operations in Africa. This role ensures tax compliance across jurisdictions, optimizing the group’s tax position, overseeing tax accounting processes, manages tax audits and risks, and is the primary tax point of contact for Africa to support the business within a broader multinational group structure .
Key Responsibilities
1. Tax Compliance & Operational Excellence
- Oversee and manage all tax compliance, reporting, and filings for entities across the region, ensuring timely and accurate submissions.
- Manage transfer pricing compliance across the region, including the preparation and maintenance of transfer pricing documentation ensuring alignment with Group transfer pricing policies and local regulatory requirements.
- Support the implementation and ongoing compliance with Pillar Two compliance for Scangroup, including data gathering and managing filing obligations
- Support year-end tax accounting and provision processes, including book-to-tax adjustments.Support and drive the Group's legal entity rationalisation programme across Africa, including simplification of intercompany balances, elimination of dormant or redundant entities, and streamlining of holding and operating structures to reduce complexity, cost, and compliance burden.
- Drive the standardization, automation, and continuous improvement of tax processes across the region.
2. Risk Management, Governance & Controversy
- Lead and manage live tax audits, disputes, and controversy matters across the region, coordinating with external advisors and local tax authorities to achieve optimal outcomes.
- Proactively monitor new audit exposures across jurisdictions and ensure all positions are well-documented and audit-ready.
- Identify and mitigate tax risks across the region.
- Ensure all tax positions are well-documented, audit-ready, and aligned with best practices.
- Stay abreast of evolving tax laws and regulations across African jurisdictions and globally, advising the business on their implications and update company policies accordingly.
3. Stakeholder Collaboration
- Partner with colleagues across global offices, shared service centers, and external advisors to ensure seamless tax operations.
- Provide tax advisory support on transactional matters as they arise across the business.
- Work with commercial finance teams to ensure tax factors — including withholding taxes, indirect taxes, and potential leakages — are identified and addressed upfront in cross-border proposals and contract structures.
- Educate finance and commercial teams on key tax risks in multi-jurisdictional service delivery (e.g., permanent establishment, transfer pricing, WHT) to embed tax awareness into everyday commercial decisions.
Qualifications, Experience, and Skills
- Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Law, or a related field. A Master’s degree or advanced tax qualification is an advantage.
- Professional qualification such as CPA, ACCA, CTA, or equivalent is required.
- Minimum 8 years of progressive tax experience.
- Strong technical knowledge of international tax rules, African tax regimes, and cross-border taxation.
- Proven track record in leading tax compliance, tax controversy management, and process improvement initiatives.
- Excellent understanding of financial statements, tax accounting standards (IAS 12), and Excel competency.
- Experience working with tax technology tools and a strong interest in automation and digital transformation.
- Excellent communication, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, matrix, and multicultural environment.
Key Relationships
- Internal: Group CFO, Group Financial Controller, Country Finance Directors, Business Unit Leaders, HR (for global mobility/payroll tax), and the Global WPP Tax Team.
- External: Revenue Authorities, External Tax Advisors, Audit Firms, and Legal Counsel.
About WPP-Scangroup
WPP-Scangroup is a subsidiary of WPP and is the largest marketing communications group in Sub-Saharan Africa. We operate a multi-agency model across multiple countries, delivering world-class creative, media, digital, and public relations services to leading global and local brands.