Vice President, Tax

Vice President, Tax

The Vice President, Tax serves as NWN's senior tax executive, responsible for leading the company's tax strategy, compliance, planning, and risk management activities. Reporting to the CFO, this role partners closely with executive leadership and private equity sponsors to optimize cash flow, support acquisition-driven growth, maximize enterprise value, and ensure regulatory compliance. The VP, Tax oversees all aspects of federal, state, local, telecommunications, and indirect taxation, while leading tax-related activities for mergers, acquisitions, financing transactions, and strategic initiatives. This leader combines deep technical expertise with a value-creation mindset to build a scalable tax function that supports business growth, minimizes risk, and enables future recapitalization and exit opportunities.

Responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute the enterprise tax strategy in alignment with corporate objectives, the private equity investment thesis, acquisition-driven growth, and long-term value creation goals.
• Serve as the principal tax advisor to the CFO, CEO, executive leadership team, Board of Directors, and private equity sponsors on strategic investments, financing activities, restructurings, and other business decisions.
• Drive tax planning and optimization initiatives that improve after-tax cash flow, optimize the effective tax rate, maximize available tax attributes, and support enterprise value creation.
• Oversee federal, state, local, telecommunications, and communications tax compliance, including sales and use taxes, excise taxes, USF obligations, E911 assessments, and other industry-specific requirements.
• Ensure accurate taxability determinations for cloud communications, managed services, connectivity, VoIP, hosted solutions, hardware, software, and subscription-based offerings.
• Lead the tax workstream for acquisitions and strategic transactions, including due diligence, structuring, risk assessment, purchase accounting considerations, and communication of tax opportunities and exposures.
• Direct post-acquisition tax integration, including process harmonization, compliance alignment, systems integration, internal controls, legal entity consolidation, and development of repeatable integration playbooks.
• Lead indirect tax strategy and operations, including nexus reviews, registrations, exemption certificates, tax collection and remittance, tax engine governance, audits, and process improvements.
• Oversee tax accounting and financial reporting in partnership with the Corporate Controller, including income tax provisions, deferred taxes, uncertain tax positions, disclosures, forecasting, and auditor coordination.
• Transform and scale the tax function by implementing automation and tax technology, improving operating efficiency, standardizing processes, and building capabilities that support organic and acquisition-driven growth.
• Establish the enterprise tax risk and governance framework, including internal controls, audit defense, regulatory inquiry management, documentation standards, and proactive identification and remediation of tax exposures.
• Build and lead a high-performing tax organization, develop talent, manage external advisors and technology providers, and foster effective partnerships across Finance, Legal, Corporate Development, Revenue Operations, Product Management, Billing, Sales, and IT.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications include:

• Bachelor's Degree in Arts/Sciences (BA/BS) Degree in Finance, Accounting, or Taxation Required
• Master's degree in Arts/Sciences (MA/MS) Advanced degree in Taxation or Business Administration Preferred
• 12+ years experience in lead tax roles managing complex strategies Required
• 7+ years experience in senior tax leadership positions. Required
• Experience in a private equity-backed company environment. Preferred
• Experience supporting highly acquisitive organizations executing multiple transactions annually. Preferred
• Experience working directly with private equity sponsors, lenders, investment bankers, and transaction advisors. Preferred
• Experience supporting recapitalizations, refinancing transactions, and liquidity events. Preferred
• Familiarity with FCC regulatory requirements and telecommunications compliance frameworks. Preferred
• Tax strategy development, including telecommunications, sales and use, and Federal and state taxation. (High proficiency)
• Multi-state compliance management (High proficiency)
• Regulatory reporting (High proficiency)
• Tax technology and automation platforms. (High proficiency)
• Mergers, acquisitions, and post-acquistion integration activities. (Medium proficiency)
• Demonstrated comfort with adopting emerging AI tools and technologies to optimize processes, improve collaboration, and drive operational effectiveness. (Medium proficiency)
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) CPA certification demonstrating expertise in accounting practices Preferred
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA) CMA certification ensuring knowledge in management accounting Preferred

Remote: Job duties are performed from the employee's home or another approved remote location. Remote employees are expected to maintain productivity, communication, and availability during agreed-upon working hours, in alignment with company policies.

Requires Travel - Yes

At NWN, we provide a comprehensive benefits package to support your well-being in and out of work. This includes medical, dental, and vision plans, Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), income protection through disability and life insurance, and a 401(k) with company match. Enjoy unlimited PTO, paid company holidays, hybrid/remote work, paid bonding leave for eligible employees, employee discounts, and access to our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Additional offerings include accident, critical illness, long-term care, and hospital indemnity coverages, legal and identity theft protection, pet insurance, supplemental life insurances, referral bonuses, charitable donation matching, and allowances for eligible roles. Join a team that values the health and wellbeing of all our employees!

All offers of employment at NWN are contingent upon the successful completion of a comprehensive background check. This process ensures a safe and secure work environment for all employees.

NWN is an Equal Opportunity Employer: NWN provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment free from unlawful discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or any other status or condition protected by local, state or federal law.