Employment Tax Compliance Lead

At IVC Evidensia, we are a leading veterinary services provider in Europe and North America with more than 2,500 clinics and hospitals across 19 countries and around 42,000 employees.  We aim to have an extraordinary impact on animal lives, supporting in the region of 25,000 animals every single day across our international network. IVC Evidensia exists to champion the long-term health and welfare of animals and deliver our purpose of Healthy Animals, Happy Owners.

This role provides an exciting opportunity to be an integral part of the growing IVC Evidensia Group Tax function with a dedicated Employment Tax focus. 

This newly created role, which will report to the Group ERS & Employment Tax Manager, will lead the transition of UK taxable benefits and expenses compliance in‑house, ensuring the business is fully prepared for mandatory payrolling of benefits‑in‑kind (PBIK) from April 2027 onwards. A key focus will be designing, building and owning the operating model, including the control framework, governance standards and testing strategy required to deliver payrolling of benefits‑in‑kind at scale (c.15,000 employees). 

Following the implementation of PBIK, the position will take ongoing responsibility for leading UK employment tax compliance activities, ensuring robust processes, continuous improvement and alignment with evolving HMRC requirements.

Key Accountabilities/Responsibilities: 

Benefits & Expenses Payroll Tax Compliance:
Lead the full operating model redesign required to bring benefits and expenses tax reporting in house for the purposes of PBIK, ensuring accuracy, auditability and readiness for mandatory go live in April 2027. 
Design and validate the end-to-end PBIK related processes, defining controls, approvals, data lineage, reconciliations and exception handling standards. 
Map, test and govern PBIK specific data flows across Fleet, UK Benefits, HR Operations, Payroll and Finance, ensuring complete, accurate and timely capture for all benefit types. 
Support the in-house Payroll team with the technical input required for PBIK related pay element design, tax/NIC treatment rules, starters/leavers logic, part period calculations, corrections and cumulative YTD validation, while Payroll retains full ownership of routine payroll processing. 
Act as the central point of contact for stakeholders, ensuring roles, responsibilities and data ownership are clearly defined and embedded ahead of PBIK go‑live, including close coordination with the in‑house Payroll team and the UK Benefits Team. 
Continuously monitor HMRC updates, legislative changes and PBIK implementation guidance, proactively assessing impacts on PBIK processes, systems and control frameworks, and leading any required changes. 
Lead the preparation and submission of P11Ds and the P11D(b) for any benefits or employee populations not within scope of PBIK, ensuring accurate Class 1A NIC calculation and timely filing until HMRC’s future transition to RTI reporting. 
As PBIK becomes fully embedded, this role will take ownership of ongoing UK employment tax compliance, maintain strong controls and driving continuous improvements, while continuing to provide tax technical support to Payroll for non-routine PBIK or employment tax related queries. 

Employment Tax Compliance: 
Support the Group ERS Manager with wider employment tax initiatives, including IR35/off‑payroll working and status determinations for the Support Operation Centre in Keynsham, Bristol. 
Assist with National Minimum Wage reviews and enhancements to payroll control frameworks. 
Support Global Mobility processes, including coordination with external tax advisers and data collection.

About You 
We’re looking for an experienced payroll and/or employment tax professional with the credibility and leadership capability to deliver a large‑scale employment tax compliance transformation focused on PBIK. You will combine strong technical knowledge with the ability to design processes, manage data complexity, lead structured testing and influence senior stakeholders, while ensuring robust day-to-day compliance is maintained post implementation. 

This role is ideal for someone who has led payroll change programmes, worked in payroll or employment tax consulting, or delivered complex process and system transformations in payroll and/or employment taxes.

Experience/Qualifications:

Essential:
Knowledge of UK payroll, benefit taxation rules and PAYE operational requirements, including starters/leavers, part‑periods and adjustments. 
Experience with taxable benefits (P11D/PBIK transitions or benefit-in-kind compliance). 
Practical experience with testing and working with payroll systems (experience with Dayforce is a bonus, not a requirement). 
Ability to work confidently with large datasets and manage multiple stakeholders across payroll, finance and HR. 
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to interpret legislation and apply it in an operational context.

Desirable:
CIPP qualification(s) and/or qualified tax adviser, with post‑qualification experience. 
Experience leading or supporting improvements in payroll systems or processes, ideally with some exposure to taxable benefits or data‑related changes. 
Knowledge of National Minimum Wage rules and regulations. 
Experience with Global Mobility processes (A1, S690, shadow payroll etc). 
Awareness of off‑payroll working rules (IR35), SDS processes and associated risk management. 
Experience working across multiple payroll or employment tax jurisdictions. 
Familiarity with project management principles (e.g., structured planning, risk and issue management, milestone tracking, delivery governance and use of frameworks such as RACI for clear role definition).

Behavioural Aptitude: 
Effective communicator able to build strong relationships with internal teams and external vendors. 
Ability to interpret, simplify and communicate technical requirements to non‑specialists. 
Highly organised, with strong written and verbal communication skills. 
Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to confidentiality. 
Strong time‑management skills with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple workstreams. 
Proactive, improvement‑focused mindset with a strong drive for change. 
Courage and resilience to operate in a highly complex and fast‑paced environment with multiple stakeholders, maintaining clarity and momentum under pressure. 
Ability to generate recommendations and propose well‑reasoned solutions even in situations of ambiguity or incomplete information.

Following receipt of your application, you will be contacted by one of our experienced hire recruitment team.

As a BAME and LGBTQ+ inclusive employer, we are keen to hear from candidates from all minority and diverse groups. As a Disability Confident Employer, we are keen to hear from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions and would be happy to discuss any reasonable adjustments needed during the recruitment process.

What We Offer: