Director, Head of Tax

COMPANY OVERVIEW

Cercano Management LLC (“Cercano”) is an SEC-registered investment manager focused on ultra-high net worth clients and the entities associated with those clients, such as a family foundation. Cercano is based in Bellevue, WA, with offices in Minneapolis, MN, and Singapore. Cercano invests globally for its clients, commonly operating as the family office Chief Investment Officer. The team has extensive experience in direct investing in all stages of venture capital, private equity, private credit, and public equities on a global basis.

 

Cercano offers services for all aspects of a client’s assets or family office. The team also has experience working with clients who have significant investments in non-financial assets on a global scale, such as fine art, professional sports teams, entertainment properties, intellectual property, commercial real estate, farmland, and personal residential estates.

 

POSITION MISSION

 

The Director of Tax provides firmwide tax leadership across the investment advisory and investment management platform, including advisory services for families, foundations, and related entities and investment management for alternative investment funds. This role owns tax strategy and technical governance; serves as the senior tax advisor on transaction review, structuring, and documentation across all strategies; and partners closely with Finance, Legal, Investments, Client Service, and external advisors. The candidate must have strong written and oral communication skills and able to interface with a variety of internal and external stakeholders. The candidate must be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and is willing to be very hands-on. This position is based in either the Wayzata, MN or Bellevue, WA office.

 

 ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Transaction Due Diligence and Structuring:

• Lead tax review of investment transactions across all strategies, including private equity, private credit, venture capital, and family/foundation structures.
• Design and implement structuring, as needed, for US taxable investors, US tax-exempt investors, and foreign investors to mitigate negative tax implications
• Partner with Legal on review and negotiation of fund and investments documents (e.g., LPAs, LLC agreements, subscription agreements, side letters, credit agreements, and other transaction documents).
• Own the preparation and maintenance of written tax analyses, transaction memoranda, and internal guidance documenting tax positions, assumptions, and materiality thresholds.
• Independently identify tax risks, structuring opportunities, elections, and compliance considerations at the transaction stage.

Compliance and Reporting:

• Oversee the entire federal, state, and international tax compliance process across all funds including preparation of estimates, review of tax returns, and managing tax distributions.
• Assist with tax planning and forecasting of each clients’ taxable income position.
• Communicate relevant tax developments to clients, Investment team, Leadership, and the company as a whole.
• Assist with the defense of all tax positions taken on the tax returns. Including establishing strategic and tactical positions on all tax audits, negotiate with Internal Revenue Service personnel and state and local tax personnel, and develop a strategy for responses to all requests for tax information from federal, foreign, state and local tax authorities.
• Provide exceptional client service to all clients including regular communication on estimated taxable income, timely providing annual tax reporting information and updates on relevant tax developments impacting investment entities.

 

Investment Tax Advisory:

• Serve as a trusted tax advisor to the Investment team, proactively communicating tax considerations related to acquisitions, restructurings, dispositions, and liquidity events.
• Monitor and interpret tax law developments and translate them into practical guidance for internal stakeholders.
• Support structuring and review of complex partnership allocations, waterfalls (American and European), and carried interest arrangements.
• Partner with the portfolio managers and external advisors to identify tax planning opportunities for families, foundations, and related entities, aligning tax planning with investment strategy and governance objectives.

 

Leadership and Process Improvement:

• Own tax function leadership and team, including tax process design, technical governance, and continuous improvement initiatives; set priorities, service levels, and escalation protocols across funds and advisory engagements.
• Enhance documentation standards, transaction review workflows, and process controls to support scale and risk management; manage relationships with external tax advisors and service providers and ensure timely, high-quality deliverables.

 

QUALIFICATIONS

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Knowledge, experience, skill, and/or ability

Required

• Excellent organizational, writing, and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated ability to independently evaluate, document, and support tax positions for complex investment transactions for domestic, foreign, and tax-exempt investors.
• Proven ability to lead a tax function (direct reports and outsourced service-providers), set priorities, and drive timely, accurate execution in a deadline-driven environment.
• Exposure to US and foreign investments and structuring options to minimize tax implications.
• Deep technical knowledge of tax issues related to venture capital, private equity, private credit, and fund of funds investments; including both domestic and international.
• Highly organized and detail oriented and an ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
• Strong communicator who can simplify complex tax concepts when communicating to individuals outside of the tax team.
• Ability to establish strong and effective working relationships throughout operational groups and with external stakeholders.
• Team player; flexible to learn other responsibilities and adapt to client needs.
• Ability to work with confidential data, maintain discretion and demonstrate trustworthiness that the data will be secure and private.

 

Preferred

• Experience with ultra-high net worth family offices and private foundations, including self-dealing, excess business holdings, UBTI and related excise tax regimes.

 

 Experience  |  Education  |  Certifications

• B.A. or B.S. in Accounting, Finance, or a related field from an accredited institution
• An advanced degree in taxation or related field preferred
• Minimum of 10 years of relevant industry experience in tax, public accounting preferred
• CPA required

SALARY RANGE: 

 

$210,000 - $270,000 on an annual basis

 

SALARY DETAILS:

Pay will be based on multiple factors, including, and not limited to location, relevant experience/level and skillset while balancing internal equity. Our discretionary bonus program is in addition to the base compensation range listed above. Cercano is committed to fair, unbiased compensation along with competitive benefits in all locations in which we operate. 

 

TOTAL REWARDS: 

Cercano offers a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental and vision insurance, Health Savings Account with generous annual employer contribution, Flexible Spending Accounts for health and dependent care, vacation and sick time off, paid holidays, paid parental leave, and the opportunity to participate in a 401(k) plan with a generous employer match of 50% of your own contributions up to the standard annual IRS limit, company paid life insurance, and a Health and Wellness Benefit.  Employees are also eligible for reimbursement for approved professional development activities. 

Cercano is an equal opportunity employer. Every qualified applicant will be considered for employment. We do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status, sex, disability, political ideology, or veteran status, or other protected class. 

Investment management for ultra-high net worth families and foundations.