As Tax Manager, and as the first tax hire within the team, you'll be responsible for owning all aspects of Zopa's UK tax compliance and reporting, ensuring the business meets its statutory obligations while maintaining a strong tax control framework. You'll be the subject matter expert for UK taxation, partnering with teams across Finance and the wider business to provide practical tax advice and ensure tax considerations are embedded into business decisions.
You'll work closely with our external tax advisers where appropriate, while taking ownership of our in-house tax processes and continuously improving the efficiency, governance and automation of our tax reporting.
A day in the life:
Own the preparation and submission of the annual UK Corporation Tax returns and VAT returns for all Zopa entities, working with external advisers where required.
Own and manage all other applicable UK tax filings such as CT61 returns, Stamp Duty Reserve taxes.
Manage the preparation and submission of UK R&D tax relief with the support of external advisers; being the main point of contact for our Product teams inputting into the R&D claims.
Act as the primary point of contact for HMRC, managing enquiries, correspondence and tax compliance matters.
Identify opportunities to improve key tax processes through automation, standardisation and enhanced controls.
Support the preparation and submission of the annual Senior Accounting Officer (SAO) certification and maintain an appropriate control framework and policies.
Own and maintain the Group's tax risk register, ensuring ongoing and emerging tax risks are appropriately identified, documented and mitigated.
Support the year-end audit process by preparing tax disclosures, tax provisions and responding to auditor queries.
Provide tax advice and support (utilising tax advisors where appropriate) to Finance, Product, Treasury, Legal and other teams on new products, transactions and commercial initiatives.
Build relationships with other business functions, appropriate tax authorities, and professional advisory firms to identify our needs and priorities and undertake appropriate tax planning.
Monitor changes in UK tax legislation and assess their impact on the business, ensuring timely implementation where required.
Be an engaged, pragmatic and pro-active member of the financial control team, helping to make tax more accessible and understood across the wider business- including providing training to teams where appropriate.
About you:
ACA, ACCA and/or CTA qualified (or equivalent).
Strong experience managing UK corporate tax compliance within financial services or banking.
Experience preparing UK Corporation Tax returns and VAT returns.
Good understanding of UK direct and indirect tax legislation, including Corporation Tax, VAT, CT61, SDRT and R&D tax relief.
Experience supporting Senior Accounting Officer (SAO) obligations and tax governance frameworks.
Excellent analytical skills and strong attention to detail.
Strong Excel skills and confidence working with large datasets.
Experience working with HMRC and managing external advisers.
Comfortable working independently and taking ownership of all aspects of tax compliance.
A continuous improvement mindset, with an interest in leveraging technology and AI to improve tax processes and controls.
Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, with the ability to explain complex tax matters to non-tax audiences.
Bonus points for:
Experience with preparing VAT returns within ERP systems such as SAP
Experience implementing tax process improvements or finance transformation initiatives.
Exposure to transfer pricing or international tax would be advantageous, although not essential.
At Zopa we value flexible ways of working.
We value face-to-face collaboration and a good work-life balance. This hybrid role requires you to come to our London office 2-3 days a week.
You'll also have the option of working from abroad for up to 120 days a year!* But no matter where you are, we’ll make sure you’ve got everything you need to thrive, both in your work and home life, from day one.
*Subject to having the right to work in the country of choice
Diversity Statement
Zopa is proud to offer a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives, and backgrounds leads to better products for our customers and a unique company culture for our people. We are made up of nearly 50 nationalities, have a DE&I forum made up of Zopians wanting to make a difference and we are proud of our culture where everyone can bring their full self to work. Our approach to DE&I is reflected in our hiring process so please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments.
Our approach to AI in interviews
At Zopa, AI isn't something we're testing out — it's part of how we work every day. As a proud partner of Jobs 2030, we're committed to building AI fluency across our workforce, and we expect Zopians to use AI as part of how they do their jobs.
Because of that, we want to be transparent about how we think about AI use during our hiring process.
Behavioural and competency-based interviews: please don't use AI. These conversations are designed to understand you — your experiences, your judgment, and how you've approached real situations. An AI-generated answer can't tell us that. What it can do is get in the way of us finding out whether we're the right fit for each other.
Technical interviews: it depends on the role. Some technical stages actively welcome AI use, others don't. Your Talent Partner will let you know what's expected at each stage. Where AI is part of the assessment, we'll be interested not just in the outcome, but in how you used it – the tools you chose, your reasoning, and the decisions you made along the way.
Skills Required
- ACA, ACCA, CTA qualified, or equivalent
- Strong experience managing UK corporate tax compliance within financial services or banking
- Experience preparing UK Corporation Tax returns and VAT returns
- Good understanding of UK direct and indirect tax legislation, including Corporation Tax, VAT, CT61, SDRT and R&D tax relief
- Experience supporting Senior Accounting Officer obligations and tax governance frameworks
- Excellent analytical skills and strong attention to detail
- Strong Excel skills and confidence working with large datasets
- Experience working with HMRC and managing external advisers
- Ability to work independently and own tax compliance activities
- Continuous improvement mindset and interest in using technology and AI to improve tax processes and controls
- Strong stakeholder management and communication skills, including explaining complex tax matters to non-tax audiences
- Experience preparing VAT returns within ERP systems such as SAP
- Experience implementing tax process improvements or finance transformation initiatives
- Exposure to transfer pricing or international tax
What We Do
We’re Zopa, and we want to make money work better for you. Our diverse team is united in their mission of creating simple, fair and honest financial products that have the customer’s needs at their heart. We’re proud that this dedication is reflected in our excellent rating on TrustPilot. We’ve always been unapologetically honest with our customers, and value the same in return. Their feedback helps us shape what we build, so we can provide a bank fit for today, and for the future. We’re not the new kids on the block though - we’ve been a pioneering force in finance for 16 years. In 2005, we built the first ever peer-to-peer (P2P) lending company, giving our customers access to loans built for real-life and intelligent investments backed by cutting-edge tech. In 2020, we launched Zopa Bank, meaning we could offer more – like fixed term savings backed by FSCS protection and a credit card to help customers take control of their finances. We’ve lent out over £6 billion and are proud to have made money work better for over half a million people across the UK, whether they were looking to borrow or save.
