Director, Income Tax Advisory / Directeur, Fiscalité - Conseil in Toronto

Being part of Air Canada is to become part of an iconic Canadian symbol, recently ranked the best Airline in North America. Let your career take flight by joining our diverse and vibrant team at the leading edge of passenger aviation.

The Director, Income Tax Advisory provides enterprise-wide leadership on complex international tax strategy, corporate structuring, and major transformational transactions. This role is accountable for shaping Air Canada’s long-term tax position in support of global expansion, financing initiatives, acquisitions, and other new business initiatives.

The Director acts as the principal international tax advisor to senior leadership on strategic initiatives. The Director is accountable for the development and execution of tax strategies supporting Air Canada’s global growth and operational transformation. Although the role has no direct reports, it exercises significant leadership through enterprise influence and governance.

Key accountabilities include:

• Leading tax strategy for major transactions including global financings and refinancings.
• Defining the tax implications of international expansion, new routes, new products, and non-air initiatives launch.
• Designing and implementing an efficient corporate structure.
• Providing executive-level counsel on tax risks and long-term fiscal impacts.
• Optimizing corporate structures to minimize effective tax rate and cash tax while ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Representing Air Canada in negotiations with governmental and regulatory authorities.
• Leading the organization’s response to emerging international tax regimes.
• Exercising independent judgment on strategic business models.

This position requires a thorough understanding of the airline industry and its constantly changing environment in order to keep pace with the long-term business plan and mitigate tax risks. The Director will collaborate with the Director, Income Tax to coordinate the implementation of new tax developments and/or new business initiatives from a compliance perspective.

It is incumbent on the Director to be pro-active by developing relationships and networking with other departments at Air Canada and its subsidiaries to stay on top of new business opportunities.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Acting as the primary strategic tax authority for executive leadership and major business units.
• Partnering and collaborating with cross-functional teams involving Finance, Legal, Network Planning, Commercial, Loyalty, Operations, IT, and external advisors.
• Selecting, mandating, and supervising international tax advisors to support international initiatives.
• Evaluating tax impacts and leading international tax planning.
• Establishing governance models for international tax compliance and risk management.
• Monitoring and assessing tax legislative developments worldwide.
• Providing early-stage strategic tax input on proposed initiatives.
• Guiding business units on structuring activities to minimize tax costs and risks.
• Managing exposure related to permanent establishment.
• Leading negotiations with foreign tax authorities.
• Providing support for audits, objections, appeals, and settlement processes.
• Engaging with international organizations and industry forums on tax policy.
• Identifying and mitigating emerging tax risks.
• Proactively assessing and recommending optimal structure for the group.
• Ensuring alignment between business strategy and tax compliance.
• Serving as the principal SME for income tax audits and litigation.
• Supporting the Senior Director, Taxes with Canadian income tax matters.