R&D Assistant Manager - Civil/Mechanical Engineering

We’re BDO. An accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions entrepreneurial organisations need to navigate today’s changing world.

We work with the companies that are Britain’s economic engine – ambitious, entrepreneurially-spirited and high‑growth businesses that fuel the economy - and directly advise the owners and management teams that lead them.

We’ll broaden your horizons

Working, achieving, and thriving together, our Tax team move with every challenge. Friendly, driven and diverse, they service our clients across the country and around the world. By providing expertise in many different specialist areas of tax, they collaborate across BDO to deliver wider business solutions. From meeting clients’ evolving business needs to managing changes to legislation, there are always fresh challenges to face in the Tax team. If you’re after a career that will keep you on your toes, we’ll give you the autonomy to drive your career forward.

Tax is a dynamic, ever-changing industry. As our clients’ needs and the regulatory environment evolve, you’ll encounter new problems to solve and new opportunities for growth. Whether it’s advising clients on high-profile specialisms like Corporation Tax or leading the implementation of intelligent technology solutions, you’ll enjoy variety as well as stretch in your role.

BDO supports all kinds of different businesses in different sectors across the UK and around the world.

We’ll help you succeed

You’ll be providing Tax Advisory services to start-ups and scale-ups, to private businesses and FTSE listed multinationals. Each of our clients has different needs and in applying your expertise in different contexts, you’ll develop your skills and gain valuable experience that will serve you throughout your career.

An exciting opportunity for someone with a technical or engineering background to work within BDOs Innovation & Technology Group based in London. BDO is an accountancy and business advisory firm, providing the advice and solutions businesses need to navigate today’s changing world.

The firm's specialist Innovation & Technology Group, based in the London, at the Baker Street office, comprises engineers, software programmers and scientists as well as specialist finance professionals such as auditors and tax accountants all of whom are experienced in claiming R&D tax relief. The Innovation and Technology team provide the following services:

• Claiming R&D tax relief

• R&D Allowances (RDAs)

• Grants

• Patent Box

• International R&D relief

The successful candidate will get the opportunity to work as part of the wider Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions (CMA) tax team, in a diverse team of highly successful tax and industry specialists.The CMA team provides bespoke taxation services to its clients and deals with all queries from basic compliance through to high-level advisory work. It prepares tax returns and computations, carries out tax planning/consultancy work, and deals with HMRC, clients and third parties.

The role and key responsibilities

This is a client facing role where the consultant will be working with customers from a wide range of industry sectors undertaking development activities within their field. A key aspect for this role will be the ability to translate complex ideas into non-technical concepts and communicate these to a broad client base. You’ll also be:

• Undertaking the technical assessment of claims and writing compelling technical summaries which will be submitted to the HMRC

• Identification of qualifying R&D projects and expenditure through participation in technical discussions with clients

• Ensuring R&D claims meet the requirements of the relevant tax legislation and guidelines (the new joiner will be trained in-house on tax matters through a thorough a comprehensive internal induction and training programme)

• Liaison with our technical tax staff on the preparation of tax documents comprising these R&D claims for submission of claims to HMRC

• Supporting R&D Tax Relief claims in the event of HMRC R&D enquiries

• Continuously developing own knowledge and skills and to keep technical knowledge up to date

You will be required to work closely with the senior technical staff of our clients across the relevant sectors and will be responsible for analysing scientific and technological aspects of their R&D projects. You will play an active role in developing technical reports of clients’ projects and taking part in extensive client communication. As well as working directly with existing clients, you will also be offered the chance to support business development opportunities and cross-sector claims.

Key Skills and Qualifications Needed

When you join us, we’ll make your growth our priority. If you can demonstrate the following skills, we can help you go far. The candidate we are looking must have:

• A recognised university degree (BSc/BEng, MSc/MEng, and/or PhD) in a field of Engineering, specifically relating to Civil or Mechanical Engineering.

• Ideally, work experience in your chosen industry as an engineer, scientist, or technical role, with a good sector knowledge.

• Experience working as an R&D practitioner, with good knowledge of R&D in the Built Environment, i.e., Construction, Infrastructure, Architecture, and Engineering esectors.

• You have experience in dealing with technological challenges faced by industry professionals, such as engineering design, the development or improvement of construction processes, structure engineering, and improvement to existing systems, products, and technology.

• Excellent communication (both spoken and written), curiosity, awareness and an interest in the fields of science, technology and innovation.

• You have the ability to swiftly adapt to and learn about different industry sectors beyond civil/mechanical – such as software, manufacturing, defence, electronics etc.

• You interact readily with other technical professionals, have outstanding interpersonal skills and excel in eloquence and concise summary of information.

• Strong attention to detail and first-time accuracy is essential, as well as an interest in project and company finances, strong numerical ability and the application of tax treatment.

• Be highly proactive in the approach to new work opportunities, whilst being a team player and having an ability to work on own initiative.

• Able to project a professional, credible image, trustworthy and able to maintain strict confidentiality.

• Able to travel to clients' premises for meetings and on-site reviews as well as other offices as needed.

You’ll be able to be yourself; we’ll recognise and value you for who you are and celebrate and reward your contributions to the business. We’re committed to agile working, and we offer every colleague the opportunity to work in ways that suit you, your teams, and the task at hand.

At BDO, we’ll help you achieve your personal goals and career ambitions, and we have programmes, resources, and frameworks that provide clarity and structure around career development.

We’re in it together

Mutual support and respect is one of BDO’s core values and we’re proud of our distinctive, people-centred culture. From informal success conversations to formal mentoring and coaching, we’ll support you at every stage in your career, whatever your personal and professional needs.

Our agile working framework helps us stay connected, bringing teams together where and when it counts so they can share ideas and help one another. At BDO, you’ll always have access to the people and resources you need to do your best work.

We know that collaboration is the key to creating value for the companies we work with and satisfying experiences for our colleagues, so we’ve invested in state-of-the-art collaboration spaces in our offices. BDO’s people represent a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and we’ll encourage you to build your network, work alongside others, and share your skills and experiences. With a range of multidisciplinary events and dedicated resources, you’ll never stop learning at BDO.

We’re looking forward to the future

At BDO, we help entrepreneurial businesses to succeed, fuelling the UK economy. Our success is powered by our people, which is why we’re always finding new ways to invest in you. Across the UK thousands of unique minds continue to come together to help companies we work with to achieve their ambitions

We’ve got a clear purpose, and we’re confident in our future, because we’re adapting and evolving to build on our strengths, ensuring we continue to find the right combination of global reach, integrity and expertise. We shape the future together with openness and clarity, because we believe in empowering people to think creatively about how we can do things better.

We’re one of the UK’s largest Accountancy and Business Advisory firms providing Audit, Advisory and Tax services to organisations all over the world. When the most entrepreneurial and high-growth businesses need advice on accountancy and business, they turn to BDO.

Whatever you think you know about tax, you don't know life at BDO. Operating out of 18 locations across the UK and 166 countries, we’re part of one of the world’s largest accounting and business advisory firms – but we’re so much more than that. We are an ambitious, high-growth and winning business, helping our clients and people succeed.

You’ll find meaningful relationships, built on trust and incredible career opportunities to grow at BDO.

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