Tax Senior Officer

As the Tax Senior Officer and a member of the Finance Department team, you are expected to support the implementation and administration of the University of Sharjah's UAE tax compliance framework, with a focus on VAT and UAE e-Invoicing requirements, by executing tax compliance activities, preparing and reconciling tax data, monitoring compliance controls, maintaining accurate tax records and documentation, and coordinating with relevant stakeholders

UAE VAT Compliance and Financial Reconciliation
1.Support the preparation and timely filing of periodic UAE VAT returns by preparing VAT return data, reconciliations, working papers, supporting schedules and documentation in accordance with the established compliance calendar.
2.Prepare and maintain detailed VAT schedules covering output VAT, input VAT, Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM), imports, adjustments, and other relevant transactions.
3.Perform monthly reconciliations between VAT return data, source transaction records, sub-ledgers, and General Ledger accounts, investigate discrepancies, and coordinate required corrections.
4.Review tax invoices, contracts, purchase and sales transactions, and supporting documentation to verify appropriate VAT treatment in accordance with approved tax guidelines, escalating complex or unusual tax matters to the Senior Tax Specialist.
5.Prepare quarterly residual input tax recovery calculations and annual adjustment workings in accordance with established methodologies, ensuring complete supporting documentation for review.

UAE E-Invoicing Implementation and Operational Control
6.Provide hands-on operational support for the University's UAE e-Invoicing implementation and ongoing compliance, including customer and supplier master-data validation, mandatory invoice-field checks, tax-code mapping and transaction mapping.
7.Coordinate with Finance, Digital Technologies, Procurement, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and Accredited Service Providers (ASP) on system integration activities, workflow configurations, User Acceptance Testing (UAT), and resolution of identified defects.
8.Validate e-Invoice and credit-note data, monitor rejected transactions, validation failures and system errors, and follow up with the relevant business and technical teams for timely correction and resubmission.
9.Prepare and maintain e-Invoicing reconciliation reports, exception logs, operational procedures, controls, compliance checklists and supporting documentation, and provide day-to-day user guidance in accordance with approved procedures.

FTA Audits, Refunds and External Relations
10.Review, understand, and strictly adhere to all relevant institutional policies, procedures, and tax guidelines to carry out daily operational tasks effectively.
11.Support VAT refund claims, FTA queries, information requests, verification exercises, assessments and tax audits by preparing accurate schedules, reconciliations, working papers and supporting documentation.
12.Compile and validate information and supporting documents required for submissions or responses to the Federal Tax Authority, ensuring completeness and accuracy before review by the Senior Tax Specialist.
13.Coordinate assigned documentation and routine information requirements with external tax advisors, implementation partners, and external auditors, escalating technical or interpretation-related matters to the Senior Tax Specialist.
14.Prepare accurate and timely tax compliance reports, exception reports, reconciliation summaries, and other management information in accordance with departmental requirements.
Systems, Process Improvement and Institutional Support
15.Coordinate with IT and ERP teams on the maintenance of tax-code matrices, interface requirements, and tax-related reporting enhancements within Oracle Fusion.
16.Coordinate with colleges, departments, and administrative units to collect required tax documentation and provide day-to-day guidance on compliance procedures.
17.Monitor updates to UAE VAT and e-Invoicing regulations, assisting in updating tax manuals, compliance checklists, and internal awareness materials.
18. Identify recurring tax compliance issues, reconciliation gaps, and process weaknesses and recommend practical improvements to strengthen accuracy, efficiency, and internal controls.
19. Execute additional professional duties and departmental

• Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, Finance, Taxation, or a relevant discipline.
  

• 4-6 years of UAE experience in a similar role, with at least 2 years hands-on UAE VAT compliance experience. Exposure to VAT returns, input tax recovery, RCM, refunds, tax reconciliations and FTA/audit support, preferably in higher education institutions.
  

• A professional qualification such as Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Chartered Accountant (CA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) or a specialized UAE/GCC VAT Certification would add an advantage.
  
• Priority is to UAE Nationals.

• Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to prepare professional documents, in both Arabic and English.
• Strong understanding of UAE VAT law, FTA compliance procedures, RCM, residual input recovery, and UAE e-Invoicing mandates.
• Advanced MS Excel skills and practical ERP knowledge (Oracle Fusion preferred); experience with tax engine configurations and ASP integrations.
• Experience with UAE e-Invoicing, ERP/tax implementation, system testing or UAT is highly desirable
• Practical understanding of Peppol/PINT-AE, UBL/XML e-Invoice and credit-note structures, mandatory data fields, business rules and validation requirements.
• Ability to translate VAT and e-Invoicing requirements into ERP configurations and resolve related system and data issues.
• Strong analytical and reconciliation capabilities with high precision when handling large, multi-source financial datasets.
• Ability to work independently on assigned responsibilities and provide effective support to the Senior Tax Specialist.