Assistant Manager

Role Objective
Take end-to-end ownership of Kenya tax, statutory compliance, customer-related legal matters and regulatory cases, ensuring timely compliance, effective case management, protection of Company interests and minimization of tax, legal and regulatory risks.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage VAT, Income Tax, Withholding Tax, PAYE, Excise Duty, Customs/Import Taxes and other applicable Kenya taxes.
• Ensure timely and accurate tax returns, payments, statutory filings, tax computations, reconciliations and provisions.
• Monitor changes in Kenya tax laws, Finance Acts, KRA regulations and applicable statutory requirements.
• Manage KRA audits, assessments, notices, queries, objections, appeals and related correspondence.
• Prepare responses, supporting workings and documentation for tax assessments and coordinate with KRA and external tax consultants.
• Track tax demands, settlements, penalties, interest and outstanding tax matters to ensure timely closure.
• Maintain a comprehensive database of customer disputes, claims, recovery matters and legal cases.
• Coordinate with external lawyers on customer-related litigation, recovery cases, contracts, claims, disputes and legal notices.
• Track case status, financial exposure, provisions and expected recoveries and escalate high-risk matters to Management and Head Office.
• Monitor company licenses, registrations, permits and other regulatory requirements and ensure timely renewals.
• Provide tax advice on customer contracts, imports, inter-company transactions, capital expenditure, promotional schemes, discounts, credit notes and related-party transactions.
• Identify tax risks, incorrect deductions, compliance gaps and potential tax leakage before transactions are implemented.
• Reconcile VAT, WHT, PAYE, Excise and Income Tax ledgers with returns and SAP.
• Follow up tax credits and refunds and review tax implications of customer claims, credit notes and bad debts.
• Prepare monthly tax, legal and regulatory dashboards covering cases, exposures, penalties, provisions, status and required actions.

Qualifications & Experience

• CPA (K) / Chartered Accountant – Mandatory.
• 7–10 years’ relevant professional experience.
• Strong Kenya taxation experience, particularly with KRA matters.
• Experience in VAT, Income Tax, WHT, PAYE, Excise Duty and Customs.
• Experience managing tax assessments, objections and appeals.
• Strong exposure to corporate and customer-related legal matters.
• FMCG, manufacturing, dairy or beverage industry experience preferred.
• Strong SAP and Excel skills.
• Experience working with external tax consultants and legal advisors.
• Strong communication, negotiation and stakeholder-management skills.