Senior Manager - Taxation

Company Description

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of “solutions” that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There’s another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks’ customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency. And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced and highly motivated tax professional to join our Global Tax team as a Senior Manager – Tax. Reporting to the Vice President – Global Tax, this role will lead the India direct tax function while supporting global tax compliance and governance across multiple jurisdictions.

This is a unique opportunity to work in a high-growth global SaaS organization, partnering closely with senior finance leadership and external advisors across geographies. The ideal candidate will combine strong technical tax expertise with the ability to drive execution, manage complexity, improve processes, and influence stakeholders across the organization.

The role requires a hands-on leader who can balance strategic thinking with operational excellence while helping scale the tax function in a dynamic and evolving global environment.

Key Responsibilities

India Direct Tax Leadership

• Own and manage all India direct tax matters, including corporate income tax compliance, advance tax, withholding tax, tax reporting, and regulatory filings.
• Lead quarterly and annual India tax provisioning activities and support broader global tax reporting requirements where necessary.
• Manage tax audits, assessments, inquiries, and litigation matters, including coordination with external consultants and legal advisors.
• Oversee transfer pricing compliance, documentation, and tax authority requirements for India entities.
• Act as the Tax SOX Controls Champion, ensuring effective design, execution, and documentation of key tax controls.
• Monitor changes in tax legislation and assess business impacts while proactively managing tax risks and opportunities.

International Tax & Global Compliance

• Coordinate tax compliance activities managed from India across key jurisdictions including Australia, Singapore, Germany, United Kingdom, Ireland, France, and the Netherlands.
• Partner with external tax advisors to ensure timely and accurate tax filings across jurisdictions.
• Support global transfer pricing compliance initiatives and advisor coordination.
• Assist the VP – Global Tax in managing global tax governance, compliance calendars, and risk management activities.
• Contribute to future readiness initiatives relating to OECD BEPS developments, including Pillar Two implementation and Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) requirements.
• Maintain awareness of global indirect tax developments, digital services taxes, VAT reporting frameworks, and U.S. sales tax considerations.
• Partner closely with the VP – Global Tax, Finance Operations leadership, and other cross-functional stakeholders for Quarterly and Annual book close, Tax Payments forecasting and Other requirements from HQ.

Stakeholder Management & Business Partnership

• Build strong relationships with external auditors, tax authorities, and global tax advisors.
• Provide practical tax guidance to business and finance teams on operational and strategic initiatives.
• Influence stakeholders effectively while balancing technical tax requirements with business objectives.

Tax Technology & Process Excellence

• Drive automation, standardization, and continuous improvement initiatives across tax processes.
• Support optimization of tax processes within systems such as NetSuite and related finance technology platforms.
• Exposure to tax technology tools, workflow automation, AI-enabled productivity solutions, and tax reporting systems will be highly valued.

Qualifications & Experience

• Chartered Accountant (CA) or an equivalent qualification is mandatory.
• 8–12 years of progressive experience in taxation, including significant experience in India direct tax matters.
• Exposure to international tax compliance and coordination across multiple jurisdictions is strongly preferred.
• Prior experience in a SaaS, technology, or multinational environment is highly desirable.
• Strong experience in tax provisioning, transfer pricing, tax audits, assessments, litigation management, and tax risk management.
• Experience working with external advisors and managing cross-border tax compliance processes.
• Familiarity with tax technology solutions, ERP systems (preferably NetSuite), and process automation initiatives is a plus.
• Working knowledge of India GST, global VAT frameworks, Digital Services taxes, and U.S. sales tax concepts is advantageous.

What Will Make You Successful

• Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and influencing skills.
• Strong technical expertise combined with a practical business mindset.
• Ability to navigate ambiguity and drive outcomes across multiple priorities.
• Strong ownership mindset with attention to detail and execution excellence.
• Passion for process improvement, scalability, and leveraging technology to solve problems.

At Freshworks, we have fostered an environment that enables everyone to find their true potential, purpose, and passion, welcoming colleagues of all backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, religions, and ethnicities. We are committed to providing equal opportunity and believe that diversity in the workplace creates a more vibrant, richer environment that boosts the goals of our employees, communities, and business. Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.