Tax Compliance Team Lead

Since its creation in 2014, Harbour has grown to become one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse independent oil and gas companies.  Today, Harbour is producing between 475,000 and 485,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with significant production in Norway, the UK, Germany, Argentina and North Africa. Harbour benefits from competitive operating costs and resilient margins, and a broad set of growth options including near-infrastructure opportunities in Norway, unconventional scalable opportunities in Argentina and conventional offshore projects in Mexico and Indonesia. With low GHG emissions intensity and a leading CO2 storage position in Europe, Harbour remains committed to producing oil and gas safely and responsibly to help meet the world’s energy needs. Harbour is headquartered in London with approximately 5,000 staff and contractors across its operations and offices. 

Ours is an inclusive workplace where individuals can bring their whole selves to their job and feel recognised for the value they add. We are committed to creating a genuinely inclusive and supportive working environment to ensure everyone has a positive experience at work.

At Harbour Energy, we aim to recruit, retain and promote our people based on their unique skills, regardless of race, gender or background. We need excellent people to help shape and develop the future of our company. Could this be you?

If so, we want to hear from you.

Purpose of Role:

• Lead the monthly, quarterly and annual tax compliance cycle for the Mexico BU, ensuring that tax obligations are prepared, reviewed, filed and documented accurately and timely fulfilment of all statutory obligations including income tax returns, VAT and WHT entity workpapers and tax reconciliations.
• Oversee statutory tax audit processes (SIPRED) and informative returns, coordinating with external advisers and internal stakeholders as required.
• Ensure compliance governance is maintained across all tax compliance workstreams, providing provision support to the forecasting team and managing registry and corporate updates,
• The role is expected to maintain robust entity-by-entity tax workpapers, control compliance calendars, manage interactions with the Mexican tax authorities, and support current and deferred tax reporting in coordination with Finance and Reporting teams.

Critical Responsibilities (MAE/MATTE/HSES*):

• Ensuring that all activities are carried out in a safe manner complying with all regulatory requirements, legislation and Harbour Energy HSES Procedures.

Ethics and Compliance Responsibilities:

• Ensure that all activities and behaviours are carried out in accordance with Harbour Energy’s Ethics and Compliance Policies and Procedures, and to complete any compulsory compliance training as required.
• The role is responsible for ensuring that tax filings, calculations, workpapers and representations to tax authorities are accurate, complete, timely and properly supported. The role must not support aggressive, unsupported or undocumented tax positions and must escalate any potential non-compliance, errors, omissions, conflicts of interest or control failures.
• The position must ensure that interactions with tax authorities, external auditors, tax advisors, suppliers and internal stakeholders are conducted professionally and ethically. The role must also protect confidential tax, financial, legal and commercial information, and support compliance with anti-bribery, anti-corruption, sanctions, procurement and conflict of interest requirements where relevant to tax processes.

Areas of Accountability, Responsibility and Competence:

Tax Compliance and Reporting

• Manage the monthly tax compliance cycle including SAT obligations, provisional payments and supporting documentation.
• Lead preparation of the annual income tax return and entity-level tax workpapers, ensuring completeness and accuracy.
• Oversee tax reconciliations between financial records and tax filings, resolving discrepancies and maintaining supporting workpapers, for, CUCA, CUFIN, tax losses, tax depreciation and amortization.
• Coordinate SAT interactions including responses to notices, audit support and voluntary disclosures.
• Ownership of entity-by-entity tax workpapers.
• Review of reportable transactions / relevant transactions and other informative filings.
• Control of tax compliance calendars, filings, acknowledgements and supporting evidence.
• Supervision of the VAT & Indirect Tax Adviser and coordination of the External Senior Tax Adviser to ensure quality, timeliness and consistency of tax deliverables.

Statutory and Informative Filings

• Manage the statutory tax audit process (SIPRED), coordinating with external auditors and ensuring timely submission.
• Oversee informative returns and reportable matters filings, ensuring obligations are captured and submitted within regulatory deadlines.
• Preparation and control of DIOT, DIM and other local tax information returns, where applicable.
• Maintain accurate registry and corporate updates in line with tax authority requirements.

Governance and Provision Support

• Maintain compliance governance framework across all tax compliance workstreams, identifying process improvements and control gaps.
• Provide tax provision support to the forecasting team, supplying current-year compliance data and estimates as required.
• Escalate complex or novel compliance issues to the Tax Manager, providing structured analysis and recommended approach.
• Identify, escalate and follow up on tax risks, exposures, inconsistencies and remediation actions.

People Management

• Line-manage direct reports, reviewing outputs, prioritising workload and ensuring quality and timeliness of deliverables.
• Coach direct reports through on-the-job guidance, regular feedback and targeted support on career progression.
• Set individual objectives and conduct formal performance reviews, aligning development priorities with the Tax Manager’s broader team plan.

Critical Skills*, Qualifications, Experience, etc.:

Technical Skills:

• Strong knowledge of Mexican tax legislation including ISR, VAT, indirect taxes, SAT compliance frameworks and SIPRED requirements.
• Ability to prepare and review entity-by-entity tax workpapers and tax reconciliations.
• Ability to manage tax calendars, acknowledgements, evidence files and compliance trackers.
• Ability to assess tax authority notices, electronic reviews and required response documentation.
• Proficiency in tax compliance software and ERP systems (SAP or equivalent) used for tax reporting and reconciliation.

Non-Technical Skills:

• Strong ownership and accountability.
• High attention to detail and quality orientation.
• Strong organisational and planning skills, with the ability to manage multiple compliance deadlines simultaneously.
• Clear communication skills, capable of explaining compliance requirements to non-specialist stakeholders.
• Problem-solving mindset and escalation discipline.

Professional Experience:

• Experience managing tax compliance functions within a multinational corporation, preferably in the oil & gas or energy sector.
• Track record of managing statutory tax audits and SAT interactions, with experience coordinating external advisers.

Education:

• Professional accounting or tax qualification (e.g. CPA, ACCA, CIMA or equivalent) preferred.

Language:

• English: Proficient (written and spoken).
• Spanish: Intermediate or above.

Harbour Principles and Values:

• Strong alignment with and commitment to the core values and behaviours of Harbour Energy.

Inclusive recruitment is a vital part of our diversity, equity and inclusion strategy. Whatever your background, if you feel you need an adjustment during our selection process to suit your needs, please let us know, and we will be happy to help.

For further information or support on any of these points, please reach out to us at careers@harbourenergy.com