senior manager, Indirect Tax

Starbucks Coffee Company, a globally recognized leader in the coffeehouse industry, has set itself apart from the outset as a unique kind of company. Founded on a passion for celebrating coffee and its rich tradition, Starbucks is also deeply committed to creating a sense of connection among its customers, partners, and communities. Known not only for its extraordinary coffee but also for fostering exceptional leadership, Starbucks cultivates a culture grounded in service to others, innovation, and inclusion. This approach has made Starbucks a beloved brand worldwide, renowned for its welcoming atmosphere, community involvement, and dedication to sustainability.

As a Senior Manager of Indirect Tax at Starbucks, you will play a crucial role in leading the indirect tax compliance function with a strategic focus. This role requires expertise in Sales and Use Tax for the US and Canada, including multiple tax jurisdictions such as GST, HST, QST, PST, and experience with retail food and beverage taxes relevant to Starbucks’ retail operations. Additionally, this position encompasses oversight of foreign VAT, health and environmental taxes, and business property taxes. The Senior Manager will be charged with modernizing Starbucks’ tax operations by leveraging technology, data analytics, and process innovation. You will be responsible for implementing tax engines and platforms that enable automation and efficiency, transforming the indirect tax function into a tech-enabled strategic asset that scales with the company’s growth.

This role goes beyond traditional compliance duties; it is about driving change through automation of tax calculations and determinations, improving data integrity, and embedding tax considerations into upstream business processes and systems. Accurate and timely jurisdictional reporting is critical. The Senior Manager will manage professional fee expenses up to $500,000 and oversee a team responsible for indirect tax liabilities, exemptions, savings, and expenses exceeding $1.6 billion annually.

In this leadership role, you will oversee end-to-end US Sales and Use Tax and Canadian indirect tax compliance and foreign VAT reporting, ensuring all filings are accurate and timely. You will manage compliance service providers and ensure rigorous oversight of processes and business reviews each quarter. Collaboration will be key as you work closely with the indirect Policy and Planning team to translate new laws and regulatory changes into actionable requirements.

Driving the indirect tax technology roadmap is a vital part of this position. Leading initiatives involving platforms like Vertex O Series, Tax Performance Engine, Oracle EB-Tax, and others, you will lead implementations and optimizations of tax engines and reporting tools to automate compliance processes such as returns, reconciliations, and data ingestion. Partnership with IT and Finance is essential to integrating tax determination into ERP, POS, and legacy systems. Utilizing data analytics and visualization tools such as Alteryx, Power BI, and Tableau will enhance insights and controls, ensuring data-driven decision-making.

Continuous improvement is another critical responsibility. You will identify inefficiencies and redesign tax processes for scalability, establish standardized and automated workflows, reduce manual touchpoints, and improve data accuracy at the source. Building a culture of continuous improvement through Lean and Six Sigma principles will be instrumental to success.

This role demands strong cross-functional collaboration with Tax Data and Technology teams, Finance, Corporate Accounting, FinTech, Retail Operations, Digital Channels, and Supply Chain to embed tax requirements upfront in system design and support new business initiatives like store openings and product launches. You will foster a collaborative, inclusive environment to encourage innovation and proactive problem-solving within the tax team and across functions.

As a leader, you will mentor and guide team members to develop their professional skills and growth. Deep tax technical knowledge and advanced research skills are necessary to prepare and communicate tax requirement changes effectively. Educating internal business units on new tax requirements and best practices ensures organizational alignment and compliance, while championing upskilling in tax technology and data analytics tools.

The successful candidate will bring at least 10 years of multi-jurisdictional indirect tax experience with increasing responsibility, preferably in large private sector companies. Proven ability to effectively communicate complex tax requirements to non-tax colleagues and negotiate cross-functional decisions is essential. Candidates should have experience managing tax functional responsibilities, people, technology requirements, and vendors in a global environment. Educational credentials typically include a bachelor’s degree in accounting, business, finance, or related fields, with advanced degrees or certifications such as JD, CPA, or professional tax certifications preferred.

Starbucks offers a comprehensive benefits package to support you and your family, including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, disability coverage, paid parental leave, paid vacation and sick time, holidays, retirement plans, company stock programs, tuition coverage, financial well-being tools, and more. The company is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, providing equal opportunity employment and reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities.

If you are a strategic, innovative leader passionate about transforming tax operations through technology and collaboration, Starbucks invites you to join their team and inspire with every cup.