[Hiring] Lead Specialist - Tax @Pearson

Role Description

Pearson is seeking an experienced US indirect tax professional to lead and oversee sales and use tax activity across multiple legal entities and jurisdictions. This is an autonomous, manager-level individual contributor role within Group Tax.

• Lead oversight of US indirect tax across Pearson’s US legal entities.
• Manage outsourced compliance delivery, state and local tax audits, exemption certificates, registrations, business licenses, and indirect tax accounting.
• Provide practical advice on product taxability, nexus, customer questions, and evolving business models.
• Work closely with Finance, Technology, Legal, Operations, and commercial stakeholders.
• Translate tax requirements into effective system and process changes, including Vertex-related requirements.
• Monitor VAT/GST exposure for US entities operating internationally.

What You’ll Do

• Oversee accurate and timely sales and use tax returns, reconciliations, filings, and payments across multiple entities and jurisdictions.
• Manage outsourced compliance providers and annual personal property tax filings.
• Lead state registrations, de-registrations, nexus, business licensing, and exemption certificate programs.
• Provide practical guidance on product taxability, customer queries, new initiatives, sales channels, and operating-model changes.
• Manage indirect tax accounting, including reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, financial reporting, and supporting documentation.
• Lead state and local tax audits and represent Pearson with tax authorities, auditors, advisers, and service providers.
• Partner with Technology on Vertex requirements, tax logic, testing, tax-code maintenance, and process optimization.
• Monitor and manage relevant global VAT/GST registrations, filings, reporting, and e-invoicing obligations for US entities.

Qualifications

• Deep technical knowledge of multi-state US sales and use tax.
• Experience overseeing high-volume, multi-jurisdiction compliance, ideally in a large corporate environment.
• Strong state and local tax audit experience, including information requests, documentation, and audit defense.
• Experience managing outsourced providers, external advisers, and finance or shared-service teams.
• Ability to advise non-tax stakeholders clearly on taxability, nexus, exemptions, and changing business activity.
• Indirect tax accounting experience, including reconciliations, accruals, journal entries, and balance-sheet controls.
• Comfort with ERP-connected tax engines; Vertex experience is highly beneficial.
• Strong stakeholder management across Tax, Finance, Technology, Legal, Operations, and commercial teams.
• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage concurrent monthly, quarterly, and annual deadlines.
• A self-starting approach and confidence operating independently in a remote environment.

Location & Working Pattern

• United States – Remote.
• The role requires sufficient working-hours overlap with the UK-based Manager and global tax colleagues.

Salary / Compensation

Compensation at Pearson is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, and specific location. As required by the California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York State, New York City, Vermont, Washington State, and Washington DC laws, the pay range for this position is as follows:

• The minimum full-time salary range is between $110,000 - $120,000.
• This position is eligible to participate in an annual incentive program.

Applications

Applications will be accepted through Tuesday 22nd September. This window may be extended depending on business needs.

Why Join Pearson?

This is an opportunity to shape a newly consolidated remit with national US scope, meaningful autonomy, and direct influence across compliance, audits, advisory work, technology, and global indirect tax risk.