Direct Tax Manager

Aston Carter•Vernon Hills, IL

6d•$35 - $45•Hybrid

About The Position

The Direct Tax Manager leads a team of tax professionals and oversees U.S. income tax compliance, audits, planning, forecasting, and accounting processes. The role manages the global income tax compliance calendar, develops strategies to reduce direct corporate taxes and optimize their accounting impact, and supports the scalability and development of the Direct Tax team through performance management, training, coaching, and guidance. The manager oversees preparation and initial review of federal and state income and franchise tax filings and related workpapers, including consolidated and separate state returns, quarterly estimates, and annual extensions. The role also prepares and reviews quarterly and annual tax provision components, book-tax differences, tax footnote disclosures, effective tax rate calculations, and cash tax projections. It monitors U.S. tax legislation and supports compliance, transfer pricing, quarterly tax provision, and broader tax accounting activities. The position is a contract role based in Vernon Hills, Illinois, with a hybrid arrangement. The typical schedule is 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CST, with flexibility for occasional work outside those hours and periodic weekend support during peak tax periods. The team is described as a collaborative group of about five professionals. The role uses finance and tax technologies including Microsoft Office, Thomson Reuters tax software, Workday, Vertex, PeopleSoft, CCH, and iSeries.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and at least 5 years of relevant tax experience.
At least 2 years of experience leading others, directly or indirectly, in a tax or finance setting.
Strong knowledge of accounting for income taxes under ASC 740 and solid working knowledge of U.S. GAAP accounting principles.
Demonstrated expertise in tax accounting and income tax compliance, particularly federal and state income taxes.
Ability to support occasional extended hours and weekend work during peak periods while maintaining high-quality output.

Nice To Haves

Progressive responsibilities in global tax, corporate tax, and/or public accounting environments.
Hands-on experience or strong familiarity with Thomson Reuters tax software, such as UltraTax CS.
Interest in learning and applying GILTI, FTC, FDII, and BEAT rules developed under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, with learning agility on unfamiliar topics.
Ability to connect concepts across tax disciplines to support holistic tax planning and strategy.
Experience with or exposure to transfer pricing, quarterly tax provision processes, and broader tax accounting activities.
Familiarity with enterprise systems and tax-related technologies such as Workday, Vertex, PeopleSoft, CCH, iSeries, and other tax software tools.

Responsibilities

Lead a team of tax professionals in administering U.S. income tax compliance, audits, planning, forecasting, and accounting processes.
Manage the global income tax compliance calendar to ensure timely and accurate filing of required returns and related documentation.
Develop, propose, and enable strategies to reduce the corporate tax burden for direct taxes and optimize their accounting impact.
Provide performance management, training, coaching, and guidance to Direct Tax team members, supporting professional development, succession planning, and scalability of the function.
Assist tax leadership in maintaining relationships with external consultants and internal finance teams and support effective cross-functional collaboration.
Oversee preparation and perform initial review of income and franchise tax compliance, including federal and state consolidated returns and workpapers, separate state returns and workpapers, quarterly estimate calculations, and annual extension calculations.
Prepare and review quarterly and annual tax provision components, including book-tax differences and tax footnote disclosures for financial reporting.
Review effective tax rate calculations and cash tax projections for financial planning, forecasting, and decision-making.
Monitor new and pending U.S. tax legislation and assess potential impacts on the organization’s tax position and strategy.
Support activities across compliance, transfer pricing, quarterly tax provision, and tax accounting.