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Senior Manager, Tax Operations

Kirkland, WA

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About Sweeney Conrad

At Sweeney Conrad, our foundation of “people first” begins with our employees—because we know the success of our firm stems from the relationships within it. We consider our employees family and foster a positive work culture, encouraging a healthy balance between work and life; building a career over having a job; continuing education and skill development; and being actively involved in the Puget Sound community where we live, work, and play.

We’re proud of our employees and our culture and have been recognized by Accounting Today as one of the “Best Accounting Firms to Work For” and by Puget Sound Business Journal as one of “Washington’s Best Workplaces”. For more information, visit www.sweeneyconrad.com.

About Ascend

Backed by private equity from people-focused Alpine Investors, Ascend is building a dynamic platform for regional accounting firms that enables them to stay independent while accessing the resources of a Top 25 firm to help them grow. Ascend provides access to growth capital, robust talent acquisition and training, leading quality management resources, best-of-breed technology, AI tools, an offshore captive, shared back-office services, a catalytic leadership system, and modernized equity incentives so that firms can surmount today’s industry challenges to reach their full potential. For more information, visit www.ascendtogether.com.

Senior Manager, Tax Operations

The Senior Manager, Tax Operations will lead our tax administrative team.  This role blends people leadership, workflow ownership, process improvement, and technology enablement. The right person will bring confidence, sound judgment, and a practical mindset—someone who can improve how the department works while building strong relationships with managers, team leaders, and the Tax Practice Leader.

This role also serves as a member of the Tax Management Team, which includes the Tax Practice Leader and the tax team leaders. That means direct access to decision-makers and meaningful influence on department priorities, process changes, staffing decisions, and operational strategy. This position reports directly to the Tax Practice Leader of the Tax Department and is based in Kirkland, Washington, with an on-site work schedule.

 Specific Duties Will Include

  • Lead, coach, and develop the tax administrative team; clarify roles, set expectations, build accountability, create growth and cross-training opportunities, and lead the tax intern coaching program
  • Own performance management for tax administrative staff, including coaching, performance reviews, compensation decisions, and development planning
  • Partner with the Tax Practice Leader, tax team leaders, managers, and firm operations leaders to improve the day-to-day effectiveness of the tax department
  • Recommend, implement, document, and monitor process improvements across the tax service delivery lifecycle, including onboarding, organizers, engagement letters, document flow, scanning, return assembly and delivery, e-filing, and other core administrative processes
  • Champion change by proactively identifying opportunities to use technology, automation, workflow tools, and AI to improve efficiency, consistency, visibility, and service quality
  • Help improve the quality, accuracy, and reliability of tax department data by ensuring key software systems and databases are properly maintained, kept up to date, and used consistently across the team
  • Drive improvements in tax workflow and scheduling to improve visibility, balance workloads, and reduce bottlenecks during busy season and throughout the year
  • Help reduce administrative burden on tax leaders so they can spend more time on client service, technical work, staff development, and business development
  • Support hiring and onboarding within the team, including first-day readiness, role clarity, training coordination, and integration into the department
  • Identify department-wide and individual training needs and partner with internal and external resources to improve adoption of tax processes, systems, and best practices
  • Lead or support the management of tax technology platforms and vendors, including optimization of current tools, evaluation of new solutions, contract coordination, invoice review, and better utilization of existing systems
  • Help oversee outsourcing processes and support consistent execution across internal and external resources.
  • Maintain reporting, dashboards, and operational tracking tools so leaders can make informed decisions about workload, staffing, deadlines, and process priorities
  • Contribute as an active member of the Tax Management Team and help turn strategic priorities into practical, executable plans
  • Perform other duties as assigned by the department managers

 The successful candidate will have

  • Bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, operations, or a related field preferred
  • 7+ years of leadership, operations, practice management, or tax administration experience in public accounting, tax operations, or a comparable professional services environment
  • Experience with tax workflow, document management, scheduling, e-filing, return delivery, or practice management tools
  • Direct people-management experience, including coaching, performance reviews, and compensation decisions
  • Experience overseeing workflow, scheduling, and resource coordination in a deadline-driven setting
  • Demonstrated success improving processes, leading change, and implementing more efficient ways of working
  • Strong people skills, sound judgment, and the ability to work effectively with managers, senior leaders, and a wide range of personalities
  • A genuine interest in technology, automation, and AI, along with the confidence to evaluate opportunities and help lead adoption
  • Effective communication, project management, and organizational skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and SharePoint 
  • Demonstrated experience in managing multiple tasks and in organizing and prioritizing work assignments and ongoing duties  
  • Ability to communicate effectively and timely in writing and verbally with colleagues, clients, and other external partners 
  • Ability to work effectively in a diverse team environment 

While not required, the following skills would be considered an asset

  • Certifications: CPA or EA
  • Education: MBA or other advanced degree

Benefits:

The pay range for this role is $125,000 - $175,000 per year. This range includes the anticipated low and high end of the pay range for this position. Actual compensation may vary based on various factors, including experience, education, and/or skill level.

For employees working 30 or more hours per week, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as dependent coverage; Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts; and employer-paid life and disability insurance; and a 401(k) plan with employer match. We also provide flexible time off (PTO) and 12 paid holidays.

At Ascend, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Ascend hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.

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