Head of Direct Tax

Sainsbury’s

Looking for a role where your work has real visibility, real influence, and real balance? At Sainsbury’s, you’ll have the opportunity to shape strategy within one of the UK’s best-known and most dynamic retail groups—while enjoying the flexibility and support to thrive professionally and personally.

As a FTSE-listed business, we operate at pace and at scale. That means exciting complexity, meaningful challenges, and the chance to see the impact of your work across our stores, brands, and customer experience. If you’re ready to lead with confidence, influence senior stakeholders, and drive the direct tax agenda across a major organisation, this could be the ideal next step.

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Location & Working Pattern

• Base location: London or Coventry Store Support Centre

• Hybrid working: Home and office-based

• Office attendance: Approximately 2 days per week

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About the Opportunity

Joining Sainsbury’s as Head of Direct Tax is an opportunity to take ownership of a critical area of the business and lead direct tax strategy across a diverse and high-profile group of companies.

In this role, you’ll work across the wider Sainsbury’s Group, supporting businesses including Sainsbury’s Supermarkets, Argos, Nectar, and other Group entities. You’ll provide expert tax leadership, guide strategic decision-making, and ensure strong compliance and reporting standards are maintained across the organisation.

You’ll be trusted to lead, encouraged to bring fresh ideas, and supported by a collaborative team that values expertise, initiative, and continuous improvement.

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Why Join Sainsbury’s

This is more than a technical leadership role—it’s a chance to influence the future direction of direct tax within a business that values innovation, pace, and partnership.

What makes this role stand out:

• Strategic influence across a major UK retail group

• Autonomy to lead key decisions and shape the direct tax agenda

• Exposure to a broad and varied business portfolio

• Opportunities to support and influence major corporate projects

• A collaborative environment where your ideas will be heard

• Ongoing development in a business where there is always something new to learn

At Sainsbury’s, you’ll be empowered to make things happen and supported every step of the way.

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What You’ll Be Doing

As Head of Direct Tax, you will lead the Group’s direct tax function, ensuring robust compliance, insightful advisory support, and strategic alignment with wider business priorities.

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading all direct tax matters across the Group

• Overseeing direct tax compliance and reporting requirements

• Ensuring the accurate and timely fulfilment of HMRC obligations

• Providing high-quality direct tax advice to multiple business areas

• Setting and owning the strategic agenda for direct tax

• Partnering with project teams on significant corporate initiatives

• Reviewing the tax implications of new systems, business processes, and operational changes

• Supporting and developing the direct tax team, setting direction and enabling strong delivery

• Building productive relationships with key internal and external stakeholders

• Applying sound judgement to technical issues and making informed tax decisions

• Driving improvements and change initiatives to support business transformation and control

This role requires a balance of technical excellence, commercial awareness, leadership capability, and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment.

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About You

You are an experienced and commercially minded tax leader with a strong background in direct tax compliance, reporting, and advisory work across complex business structures.

You know how to combine technical depth with practical business thinking. You’re confident advising senior stakeholders, simplifying complex matters for non-specialists, and leading a team with clarity and purpose. You’re also someone who thrives in a changing environment and can identify opportunities to improve processes, controls, and outcomes.

You will likely bring:

• Extensive experience managing direct tax reporting, compliance, and advisory activity

• A strong track record of operating successfully in an in-house tax environment

• Deep technical knowledge, including transfer pricing

• Experience applying tax accounting principles, systems, and processes

• The ability to influence and communicate effectively across technical and non-technical audiences

• Strong leadership capability with experience managing, developing, and supporting teams

• A proactive, adaptable approach and the confidence to manage competing priorities

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Essential Criteria

To succeed in this role, you should demonstrate:

• In-house experience delivering tax reporting, compliance, and advisory work, including accurate and timely HMRC submissions

• Proven technical tax expertise, including transfer pricing and the application of tax accounting principles

• Experience leading a team, including setting direction, maintaining standards, and supporting performance

• The ability to explain complex technical tax matters clearly to non-technical stakeholders

• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to work collaboratively across functions

• The capability to manage multiple priorities independently and perform effectively under pressure

• Experience contributing to change programmes, including process improvement or reporting system transformation

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Our Culture & Inclusion

At Sainsbury’s, inclusion is central to who we are. We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, and we want every colleague to feel welcomed, valued, and able to succeed—wherever they work and whatever their background.

You’ll find an environment where trying something new is encouraged, development is taken seriously, and great work is recognised and celebrated. We also support flexible working wherever possible, helping colleagues balance their work and personal lives in a way that works for them.

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Reward & Benefits

When you join Sainsbury’s, you’ll have access to a wide range of benefits designed to support your finances, wellbeing, future plans, and life outside work.

Financial & lifestyle benefits

• 10% colleague discount at Sainsbury’s, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks

• Discount increases to:

• 15% off at Sainsbury’s every Friday and Saturday

• 15% off at Argos every payday

• Access to a pension scheme

• Life cover

• Eligibility for a performance-related bonus of up to 65% of salary, depending on company performance, paid in cash and shares

• Season ticket loans

• Cycle to work scheme

• Health cash plans

• Pay advance, giving you access to some of your pay before payday

• Discounts from hundreds of other retailers

Health & wellbeing support

• Annual holiday allowance

• Option to buy additional holiday

• Employee assistance programme

• Eligibility for private healthcare

Travel support

• Company car cash allowance

• If your role involves 10,000 business miles or more, you may choose a car instead

Family-friendly benefits

• Up to 26 weeks’ pay for maternity or adoption leave

• Up to 4 weeks’ pay for paternity leave

Please visit www.sainsburys.jobs for full details of the benefits available. Please note that eligibility criteria and length of service requirements may apply.

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Ready to Make an Impact?

If you’re looking for a senior tax leadership role where you can shape strategy, influence change, and make a visible difference across a major retail business, Sainsbury’s offers the scale, pace, and opportunity to help you do exactly that.

Join us as Head of Direct Tax and help shape what’s next.