Director - Tax

Posting Duration: This posting will close at the end of November and will only be extended if we need to see more candidates to fill the position.

Position Summary:

This new, process-driven, role will oversee all tax compliance and processes for Forum’s real estate partnerships and will serve as the main internal tax contact (working with the Investor Relations Team) for Investors in these entities.

Essential Functions:

• Manage and complete the year-end tax compliance process for Forum’s direct real estate portfolio entities, ensuring accurate and timely filing of Federal and state returns.
• Ownership and management of timeline and delivery of investor K-1s.
• Direct and monitor state tax compliance, including development of state composite filing program.
• Track entity tax refunds and respond to tax notices.
• Manage and work with Investor Relations team to communicate Investor-related tax reporting and respond to requests including withholding elections, tax distributions, and Form W-9 information. Develop investor training materials with Marketing and Communications professionals.
• Assist with tax planning, structuring, and reporting of real estate debt, acquisitions, and sales. Examples of such duties include modeling of tax implications of transactions, planning for Section 1031 exchanges, and analyzing partnership agreements.
• Other duties as needed and requested.

Technical & Other Skills, Duties, + Attributes Required:

• Accounting degree with tax concentration or equivalent work experience
• CPA or JD desired
• At least 7 years of progressive and specific experience with real estate partnership tax, including complex partnership tax structures and compliance requirements
• Superior problem-solving, analytical, and research skills; demonstrated attention to detail and ability to meet deadlines
• Strong project management skills. Ability to  lead the preparation and review of over 50 tax entities and related K-1s that must be completed inside required filing deadlines
• Experience overseeing similar tax preparation requirements. Prior experience managing significant volume of tax preparation including working with tax preparation firms/vendors
• Collaborative attitude with the ability to work effectively within a team and across departments to ensure alignment on tax-related matters
• Strong written and oral communication skills, in particular the ability to interact with Senior Management and Investors

Supervisory Responsibilities:   Not at this time.

Competencies: To perform this job successfully, the individual should demonstrate the following competencies:

1. Innovation: Develops innovative approaches and ideas; displays original thinking and creativity; generates suggestions for improving work; meets challenges with resourcefulness.
2. Achievement Focus: Demonstrates persistence and overcomes obstacles; measures self against standard of excellence; recognizes and acts on opportunities; sets and achieves challenging goals; takes calculated risks to accomplish goals.
3. Analytical Skills: Collects and researches data. Designs workflows and procedures. Identifies data relationships and dependencies. Synthesizes diverse information. Uses intuition and experience to complement data.
4. Quality: Demonstrates accuracy and thoroughness; looks for ways to improve quality; applies feedback to improve performance; monitors own work to ensure quality.
5. Problem-Solving: Develops alternative solutions; gathers and analyzes information skillfully; identifies problems in a timely manner; resolves problems in early stages; works well in group problem-solving situations.
6. Dependability: Commits to doing the best job possible; follows instructions, responds to management direction; keeps commitments; meets attendance and punctuality guidelines; responds to requests for service and assistance; takes responsibility for own actions.
7. Judgment: Displays willingness to make decisions; exhibits sound and accurate judgment; supports and explains reasoning for decisions; includes appropriate people in decision-making process; makes timely decisions.
8. Communications: Exhibits good listening and comprehension; expresses ideas and thoughts well in written form; expresses ideas and thoughts well verbally; keeps others adequately informed; selects and uses appropriate communication methods.
9. Teamwork: Balances team and individual responsibilities; contributes to building a positive team spirit; exhibits objectivity and openness to others’ views; gives and welcomes feedback; puts success of team above own interests.

In addition to the above job-specific competencies, all Forum employees are expected to demonstrate these Forum Core Competencies:

1. Adaptability: Accepts criticism and feedback; accustomed to a culture of rapid and constant change and easily adjusts to changing priorities and conditions; manages competing demands.
2. Innovation: Develops innovative approaches and ideas; displays original thinking and creativity; generates suggestions for improving work; meets challenges with resourcefulness.
3. Collaboration: Recognizes and cultivates strong interpersonal relationships and cross-functional collaborations; generates value and uses motivation to influence and create change; seeks not to control but to inspire; facilitates dissemination and sharing of knowledge and information.
4. Accountable: Keeps and follows-through on commitments; readily takes ownership of achieving results by exhibiting responsibility and initiative; displays open, proactive communication that builds trust.
5. Initiative: Asks for help when needed; looks for and takes advantage of opportunities; seeks increased responsibilities; takes independent actions and calculated risks; undertakes self-development activities; volunteers readily.
6. Respectful: Displays integrity and honesty; maintains professional demeanor and composure in tense situations; exhibits fairs and generous behavior; readily owns up to mistakes and admits when wrong; strives to “get it right;” displays loyalty even when tough to do so.

Forum Values:

• Blaze the Future (Entrepreneurial): Take initiative. Push what’s possible. Own your path but stay nimble. Embrace change, take risks, and always challenge the status quo.
• Make it Better Together (Collaborative): Go all in.  Get Messy. Welcome new ideas and share yours freely. Be a sponge. Bump heads. Talk it out. Listen. Learn. Repeat.
• Stay Open (Vulnerable): Have the courage to make yourself vulnerable. Communicate honestly and respectfully. Share mistakes and trust one another.
• Dare to be clear (Clarity): Certainty is impossible, but clarity is essential. Eliminate the noise and focus your strategy to achieve something better, something great.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this Job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision.

Work Environment: 

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Compensation Information:  Base salary range is $140,000 to $180,000. This range is estimated for this role; actual pay may be different.

Benefits for full-time employees include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability insurance, employee assistance program, Health Savings Accounts, Flexible Spending Accounts, 401(k) with company match program, 12 paid company holidays, self-managed PTO, anniversary milestone program/awards, gift matching program.