Associate Director, GST - Tax Centre of Excellence

At Bristol Myers Squibb, our employees often ask, “Who are you working for?”—a question that fuels collaboration, accountability, and urgency in our work. Our purpose-driven culture inspires us to discover, develop, and deliver innovative medicines to prevail over serious diseases. We offer uniquely interesting and meaningful work, opportunities for growth, and a supportive environment that values inclusion, wellbeing, flexibility, and comprehensive benefits. This is work that transforms the lives of patients, and the careers of those who do it.

Associate Director, GST

Tax Centre of Excellence | Hyderabad, India

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced indirect tax professional to join our Tax Centre of Excellence (Tax CoE) as Associate Director, GST, based in Hyderabad. This is a newly created, in-house position that will serve as the dedicated lead for our India GST position, bringing deep technical expertise and day-to-day ownership of an active and complex portfolio of GST matters in-house.

This is an opportunity to take ownership of a high-profile, business-critical area, working closely with senior finance and tax leadership, and to play a central role in shaping the long-term direction and growth of our India tax capability.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as the dedicated, in-house owner of the company's overall India GST position, providing a single, consistent point of contact across authorities and advisers.

• Lead and manage ongoing GST audits, investigations, and appeal proceedings, ensuring a joined-up, India-wide approach rather than treating matters in isolation.

• Own the input tax reclaim process, tracking credits through the appeals process and coordinating with relevant stakeholders to support timely resolution.

• Partner closely with the Customs function, given the direct bearing that classification decisions have on the broader GST position.

• Manage controversy strategy, execution, and stakeholder coordination, underpinned by clear escalation and reporting lines.

• Serve as the primary point of contact for external advisers and legal counsel, ensuring consistency of positions across different local tax authorities.

• Partner with senior finance leadership, including the Finance Director and Controller, and the global tax team, to provide day-to-day operational ownership while enabling leadership to focus on strategic oversight.

• Build and maintain constructive working relationships with local tax authorities and the broader Hyderabad entity and India finance teams.

• Contribute to the long-term growth of the Tax CoE's India presence, including an expectation to build and lead a small team as the function matures.

What We're Looking For

• Significant, demonstrable experience in Indian GST / indirect tax, including experience with audits, investigations, or appeal proceedings.

• Experience gained in-house, with a major professional services firm, or a combination of both.

• A professional qualification such as Chartered Accountant (CA), Company Secretary (CS), or equivalent is preferred.

• Strong working knowledge of GST compliance, controversy management, and interaction with Indian tax authorities.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work effectively across finance, tax, customs, and external advisory teams.

• Ability to operate independently, taking ownership of complex matters while keeping senior stakeholders appropriately informed.

• Strong communication skills, with the ability to explain complex tax matters clearly to non-specialist audiences.

Location and Reporting

This role is based in Hyderabad, India, and will report directly into the Tax Centre of Excellence leadership. The role will work closely with India finance teams and is expected to grow in scope over time, including the potential to build and lead a small team.

We hire for skills and capabilities, not just credentials – if this role excites you, but doesn’t perfectly match your resume, we encourage you to apply anyway.

How We Work

Where you work matters – because collaboration, innovation and patient impact happen in many settings. Our roles are structured across four work models: site-essential, site-by-design, field-based and remote-by-design. The model assigned to this role is based on its core responsibilities. Learn more at https://careers.bms.com/ways-of-working.

Supporting People with Disabilities

BMS is dedicated to ensuring that people with disabilities can excel through a transparent recruitment process, reasonable workplace accommodations/adjustments and ongoing support in their roles. Applicants can request a reasonable workplace accommodation/adjustment prior to accepting a job offer. If you require reasonable accommodations/adjustments in completing this application, or in any part of the recruitment process, direct your inquiries to [email protected]. Visit careers.bms.com/eeo-accessibility to access our complete Equal Employment Opportunity statement.

Candidate Rights

BMS will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records, pursuant to applicable laws in your area.

For roles based in Los Angeles County only:  If you live in or expect to work from Los Angeles County if hired for this position, please visit this page for important additional information: https://careers.bms.com/california-residents/

For roles based in Washington State only: If you live in or expect to work from Washington State if hired for this position, please visit this page for important information about the Washington Fair Chance Act.

Data Protection

We will never request payments, financial information, or social security numbers during our application or recruitment process. Learn more about protecting yourself at https://careers.bms.com/fraud-protection.

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If this posting is missing required information required by local law or incorrect, contact BMS at [email protected] with the Job Title and Requisition number. Do not send application-related inquiries to this email. To check your application status, please login to your Candidate Home Account.

R1608210 : Associate Director, Tax COE