Job Description

Who is Ezra? Ezra provides B2B digital lending solutions for emerging markets in partnership with mobile and digital wallet operators and financial service providers. Ezra supports 24 operations in 23 countries, across Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Our key office locations are in Nairobi, Kenya and Dubai, UAE. Our flagship products are Advance Credit Service (ACS), Nano and BNPL. ACS is an airtime or data advance offered to prepaid mobile subscribers at the point of low credit. Nano is a micro cash advance offered to mobile wallet users on demand. BNPL facilitates payment installments for products and services As a FinTech company, our business is entirely technology and data driven, from determining subscriber eligibility, generating relevant offers, managing risk, loan issuance, recovery, optimizing performance and reporting, reconciliation and billing. Each day we process approximately 21M loan requests and 1.4 TB of data across our markets. This process needs to be robust, reliable and secure. But it doesn't end there. We're exploring new ways of using our platform and transactional data to improve our products and develop new product opportunities. Context of the role As a Tax Manager at Ezra you will play a pivotal role in spearheading our market development initiatives, leveraging your profound tax expertise. This position demands a unique blend of tax acumen and strategic market expansion skills, ensuring the seamless integration of tax strategies with our business growth objective while also ensuring basic tax compliance and governance is kept up to date across the company. Responsibilities Lead tax planning strategies with a keen focus on supporting Ezra's market expansion, particularly in new and emerging markets such as Africa and Middle East Advise, collaborate and mentor stakeholders to implement the most optimized legal, contract and tax structures and solutions for entry to new markets and continents and empowered to manage and document all tax governance and risks associated with all new market development. Proactively seek new tax incentives and opportunities that align with and support market development initiatives. Conduct regular reviews and optimization of the business model in relation to tax solutions for existing and new commercial arrangements. Monitor and advise on tax risks/exposures and subsequent mitigation strategies. Oversee tax planning activities within the Ezra Group, including manging the effective tax rate of our entities, transfer pricing policies and tax issues that may arise on commercial transactions. Develop a broad network with stakeholders across Ezra to be a trusted partner and advisor for all tax matters. Reviewing business agreements and contracts which involve cross border transactions to advise on the most optimal structure considering indirect and direct taxes. Manage external tax agents to ensure tax compliance within the group, including corporate tax, transfer pricing, GST, VAT and any other taxes. Liaise with the tax authorities on ongoing tax audits (if any). Work closely with other teams in finance to advise on the tax impact on accounting treatments adopted and optimised tax approach on clearing intercompany balances. Work closely with other teams outside of finance, including Legal, HR and commercial teams where needed to obtain relevant information on dealings with potential tax impacts. This may include employee share schemes, corporate restructuring and withholding tax matters. Manage existing tax incentive reporting and milestones. Actively look out for new incentives that may be applicable to the group. Provide specialized tax advice on restructuring, mergers & acquisitions, and market entry strategies, coordinating with external tax advisors as needed. Monitor tax developments and tax legislative changes that may impact the group. Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Business Administration, or a related field. 3-5 years of working experience in tax management, tax advisory, or a similar role. Experience working with UAE tax regulations including VAT and corporate tax and in dealing with the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) and other regulatory bodies. Advanced skills in using accounting software (e.g., SAP, Oracle) and tax compliance tools. Strong ability to communicate complex tax issues in a clear, concise manner to non-tax professionals. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Proven track record of thriving in fast-paced, dynamic environments, with a strong sense of responsibility and ownership over projects

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