SONOVA AG

Since the foundation of Sonova (formerly Phonak) in 1947, the company has been successful in its mission to become the recognized innovation leader in the global hearing care market.

Currently present in over 100 countries, Sonova has a workforce of 14’000 employees and generated sales of CHF 2’92 billion in the financial year 2019/20 and a net profit of CHF 490 million. Sonova is listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange (SOON) and has its global headquarter in Stäfa, Switzerland.

Covering the entire hearing spectrum and offering the most comprehensive and advanced solutions, Sonova operates, designs, develops, manufactures hearing systems – from hearing aids to cochlear implants to wireless communication solutions – distributed and sold under the brands Phonak, Unitron, Hansaton, Advanced Bionics and AudioNova.

Through its unique vertically integrated business model, Sonova covers the whole value chain from product to consumer. The products are sold, and audiological care services provided in more than 3’300 stores and clinics worldwide.

In its strategy to continue to advance its innovative product portfolio and elevate hearing aids to become healthy, living products, Sonova has recently signed an agreement to acquire the Consumer Division from Sennheiser, a privately held German company specializing in audio products.

Hear the World Foundation

Founded in 2006 by the Sonova Group, the Hear the World Foundation supports projects around the world enabling children with hearing loss to develop appropriate to their age. The Foundation focuses on projects in low-to-middle income countries which give children with hearing loss access to audiological care.

For more information, please visit www.sonova.com and www.heartheworld.com

THE POSITION

Position:             Senior Manager VAT & Indirect Taxes

Location:             Ideally Stäfa, Switzerland or any of the Sonova locations in Europe

Reporting:          The position reports to the Group Director of Tax, based in Stäfa

Team:                  Direct team of 3 FTE based in Germany, the UK and Poland

The Senior Manager VAT & Indirect Tax is a member of the Corporate Tax team that has responsibility for all and any tax related matters within the Sonova Group. The Tax department implements and reviews the Group’s tax strategy in alignment with the highest international standards and future trends and ensures compliance with local and international laws and regulations as well as sustainable and efficient Group tax rates.

The Purpose and Objectives of the Role

The Senior Manager VAT & Indirect Taxes has responsibility for VAT and Indirect Taxes at Group level, requiring specific expertise in the EU VAT legislation and global indirect tax in a complex supply chain context. She/he is also the Global Process Owner (GPO) of Tax IT systems.

Specific Tasks & Responsibilities

• Definition of VAT strategies and schemes related to European projects with complex supply chain scenarios.
• Implementation of new EU Directives.
• Coordination and support for the implementation of EDI interfaces with the authorities, SAF-T Files in different countries.
• Analysis of the VAT impact related to tax re-engineered structure.
• Global Process Owner for taxes during SAP projects/roll outs: definition of VAT methodology / VAT scheme, VAT Templates and VAT codes for systems integrated solutions. Responsible for Group VAT instructions.
• Supervision of VAT compliance obligations of EU VAT registrations.
• Ensure VAT compliance within the EU.
• Consulting the headquarter and support the Group companies with respect to local VAT issues.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE

This is an important and critical role in the corporate tax team that requires an individual with the ability and skillset to convey the importance of taxes to all stakeholders and to motivate cooperation at all levels in the organization.

Required Qualifications

• University Degree in Economics, Business Administration, Finance or Law, with special focus on taxation.
• Post graduate tax certification.
• 5-10 years of relevant professional experience in a multinational company and/or international tax consulting/auditing firm.
• Experience leading and managing a multi-cultural team.
• Up-to-date knowledge of international standards and latest legislation relating to VAT and other indirect tax matters and duties.
• Expertise and high affinity for processes and Tax IT Systems and ERP (SAP, MS 365, JDE, Jaira) to drive automation and gain analytical insights to leverage compliance transparency and efficiency.
• Strong communication skills and ability to build relationships across the organization.
• Fluency in English, both spoken and written. Knowledge of German and/or any other European languages is an asset.

Personal Characteristics

We are looking for a confident individual with the resilience and the stamina to invest the power and energy into the role and in her/his engagement with Sonova.

She/he will be precise, detail-oriented, and reliable with a logical and analytical mindset to understand complex set-ups and identify the consequences and interconnections within the organization.

What you will find at Sonova

A company that cares for its employees and aims for a work environment and culture that fosters diversity and inclusion; 39% of the management positions are filled by women, and 45% of the employees belong to Generation Y.

Contact

Beyrouti & Partner Executive Search has been exclusively retained to lead this assignment.

For more information, please contact:
Daniela Beyrouti,
Beyrouti & Partner Executive Search
http://www.beyroutipartner.com
beyrouti@beyroutipartner.com
Tel. +41 79 198 97 22