Director, Tax Operations

Carson Group•Omaha, NE

1d•Onsite

About The Position

This role is responsible for the operational management of the firm’s tax preparation program, which is built on outsourced return preparation delivered through vetted external partners. The Director will own the processes required to move tax engagements from onboarding through filing, holding those partners accountable to the standard our clients and advisors expect. This includes overseeing workflow, service levels, documentation, recordkeeping, quality controls, issue resolution, and compliance with established policies and procedures. This position is primarily responsible for the operational execution and oversight of the tax preparation program rather than providing technical tax advice. This role does not prepare tax returns; preparation is performed entirely by external partners.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business, operations, or related field required.
Minimum of eight years of experience in tax operations, tax preparation, financial services operations, accounting operations, or related environment required.
Working knowledge of individual income tax preparation processes and tax-season workflows required.
Strong project management and process management skills with demonstrated ability to manage high volumes and competing deadlines required.
Experience developing and maintaining operational controls, procedures, and documentation required.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy and follow-through required.
Ability to work effectively across all internal and external partners is required.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills required.

Nice To Haves

Experience managing third-party service providers or outsourced operational relationships strongly preferred.
CPA, EA, or other tax credentials are preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the operational success of the firm’s outsourced tax preparation model, ensuring returns are completed accurately, timely, and in accordance with established quality and service standards.
Serve as the primary relationship owner and day-to-day point of contact for external tax preparation partners.
Oversee the end-to-end operational workflow for tax preparation engagements, from client onboarding and document collection through the partner’s preparation and review, to filing and engagement closeout.
Maintain visibility into engagement status, volumes, deadlines, outstanding requirements, and exceptions, proactively identifying risks to timely completion.
Establish regular operating cadences with external partners and internal stakeholders to review performance, capacity, service levels, and escalations.
Monitor partner performance and coordinate resolution of operational issues.
Support partner due diligence, contract reviews, and ongoing performance evaluations.
Develop scalable operating processes that support tax-season readiness, capacity, planning, consistent service delivery, and continued growth of the firm’s tax preparation offering.
Establish and maintain operational controls that support accurate, timely, and compliant tax preparation.
Ensure appropriate review, approval, escalation, documentation, and recordkeeping practices are followed in accordance with policies, regulatory requirements, and applicable retention standards.
Monitor and address material quality, operational, client, and regulatory risks, including errors, corrections, missed deadlines, complaints, and other service issues.
Partner with internal stakeholders to distinguish operational matters from issues requiring technical tax review judgement, escalating significant concerns to appropriate leadership.
Maintain written procedures, controls, checklists, and supporting documentation for the tax preparation process.
Support internal reviews, audit, regulatory inquiries, and other oversight activities.
Serve as the central escalation point for operational issues involving tax preparation engagements.
Provide advisors with clear visibility into engagement status, deadlines, outstanding requirements, and next steps.
Develop consistent advisor and client communications throughout the tax preparation lifecycle.
Coordinate resolution of complex or sensitive service issues with internal leadership and external partners.
Identify recurring service issues and implement improvements to simplify the experience for clients and advisors.
Develop and maintain reporting on key operational metrics, including engagement volume, completion rates, turnaround times, extensions, outstanding items, error rates, and service-level performance.
Provide leadership with regular reporting on tax-season progress, risks, partner performance, and capacity.
Analyze trends, operational data, and stakeholder feedback to identify opportunities to improve efficiency, quality, scalability, and client experience.
Partner with internal teams to improve workflow tools, integrations, automation, and reporting.
Perform additional tasks, duties, and responsibilities as needed or assigned by leadership to support departmental and organizational objectives.