International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist I - Term

Harvard University • Cambridge, MA

41d • Hybrid

About The Position

The International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist (IPTC Specialist) is part of the IPTC team in the Financial Administration Department (FAD) and provides dedicated support to the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS). The International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist I role is well suited for someone who values helping others, working carefully with detailed information, and developing expertise in a specialized area. Using established guidance, this position supports international faculty, staff, students, guests, and suppliers by validating tax residency status and eligibility for tax treaty benefits. The specialist develops and applies knowledge and skills to determine the appropriate tax treatment for standard payment types and collaborates with other FAD units on payment and tax compliance matters. Additional customer service, administrative, and compliance-related duties may be assigned as needed. This is a one-year term position, with the possibility of extension.

Requirements

• Ability and interest in learning specialized payment-related tax and immigration concepts, with the ability to apply established guidance carefully and consistently in a customer service environment
• Minimum of 1 year of financial, administrative, customer service, compliance, higher education, or other relevant work experience.
• Ability to handle confidential information with discretion
• Strong organizational skills and ability to manage multiple tasks, deadlines, and follow-up items.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with Microsoft Office, Excel, PeopleSoft, or other financial systems is helpful.
• Strong interpersonal skills and interest in working with people from a wide variety of countries and cultures.
• Collaborative working style and ability to build positive relationships with colleagues and customers.
• Experience in higher education, finance, tax, payroll, immigration, compliance, or customer service is helpful but not required
• Speaking one or more languages besides English is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Develop knowledge of Harvard’s processes for determining tax residency classifications and apply payment-related tax rules for international payees.
• Review routine tax residency classifications for international faculty, staff, students, guests, and vendors using established procedures and guidance.
• With training and support, evaluate requests for tax treaty benefits based on the payee’s relationship with Harvard, immigration status, country of residence, and type of income.
• Process routine payment tax reviews in Harvard systems and help identify items that may need follow-up or correction.
• Respond to questions from international students, faculty, staff, guests, and vendors with clear, professional, and practical guidance.
• Help payees understand the steps needed to document their U.S. tax status or potential eligibility for tax exemption.
• Provide customer service to FAS units inquiring about the status of their payees, following up on inquiries through timely, successful resolution.
• Provide support through email, phone, online appointments, and in-person interactions.
• Track open cases, pending payee documentation, and follow-up items to support timely resolution.
• Prepare, organize, and securely transmit tax-related documents to the IRS or other parties as required.
• Support scheduling, preparation, and follow-up for online or in-person payee appointments.
• Assist with data entry, document uploads, and status updates in Harvard systems.
• Monitor shared inboxes or case queues and route inquiries to the appropriate team member when needed.
• Contribute to other team priorities and duties as assigned.

Benefits

• Generous paid time off including parental leave
• Medical, dental, and vision health insurance coverage starting on day one
• Retirement plans with university contributions
• Wellbeing and mental health resources
• Support for families and caregivers
• Professional development opportunities including tuition assistance and reimbursement
• Commuter benefits, discounts and campus perks

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed