Director, Tax And Estate Planning

Westward’s vision is to achieve lasting success by protecting high-net-worth business owners and their families through trusted expertise in multi-generational life insurance planning.
For more than 25 years, we have helped clients protect their families and businesses while growing and preserving wealth and estates in a tax-efficient manner.
Working closely with clients, accountants, lawyers and other professional advisors centered in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Calgary, our work is recognized for being methodical, organized, precise, efficient and detailed.
Our team operates through a home-office structure connected by Microsoft Teams and supported by Microsoft Dynamics, SharePoint and Microsoft 365. Frequent in-person events held on company time and at company expense reinforce the communication, trust and community that are central to how we work.
THE OPPORTUNITYWestward is seeking a Director, Tax and Estate Planning to serve as a senior technical resource and trusted customer-facing advisor. The Director will bring advanced tax and estate planning expertise involving the use of life insurance to complex situations involving affluent business owners, their private companies and their professional advisory teams.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
Provide advanced tax driven life insurance planning expertise to Westward’s advisors, clients and their professional advisors in the areas of estate preservation, business succession, wealth protection, risk management, and charitable giving.
Analyze new business opportunities to quantify life insurance needs and collaborate with the sales team to develop recommendations and proposals for valuable tax efficient life insurance solutions.
Support the Westward sales team and client management team with technical knowledge and liaison with client professional advisory teams.
Participate in Teams and in-person sales meetings and plan management meetings with clients and their professional advisors, including travel primarily to Toronto and to a lesser extent to Montreal and Calgary.
Define and manage the implementation steps of life insurance solutions to ensure accurate compliance with the technical details of the documented plan.
Review ongoing tax reporting to clients and their advisors.
Analyze and communicate to clients and their advisors the impact of client restructurings and changes in legislation or administrative practice that may affect client insurance plans.
Support clients and their advisors in responding to Canada Revenue Agency audits related to life insurance plans.
Build team capability through training on advanced tax and estate planning topics involving the use of life insurance.
Develop and maintain technical content, planning tools, and presentation materials.
Maintain current expertise through research, industry participation and continuing professional development.
WHAT YOU BRING
University degree or equivalent business experience.
CPA designation together with completion of the CPA In-Depth Tax Program.
Strong knowledge of advanced life insurance planning, the taxation of life insurance, personal and corporate tax, estate planning, business succession planning, and charitable giving. CLU designation is considered an asset.
At least seven years of relevant experience obtained through public accounting, law, wealth management, banking or life insurance services for high-net-worth business owners.
Strong verbal and written communication skills including a unique ability to communicate complex topics in simple terms.
Advanced Excel, Powerpoint and math skills relevant to financial planning.
Strong time management and active listening skills.
HOW YOU WORK
You prefer to gather information with specificity by defining objectives, researching in depth, assessing probabilities, defining terms with exactness, seeking historical evidence, and finding analogies.
You prefer to design systematically by creating the plan, coordinating needs, charting logistics, integrating timelines, distinguishing patterns, creating sequential systems, categorizing differences and similarities, and bringing focus and closure.
You prefer to stabilize risk and uncertainty by creating standards, limiting the options, clarifying deadlines, establishing limits, conforming to accredited concepts, creating precedents, staying with what’s familiar.
You are comfortable working directly with sophisticated clients and their professional advisors.
You collaborate across sales, management and client service teams while taking ownership of outcomes.
You bring integrity, professional excellence, an entrepreneurial outlook and an exceptional commitment to client service.
COMPENSATION, BENEFITS AND DEVELOPMENT
Base salary of $130,000 to $180,000, based on qualifications and experience.
Discretionary annual bonus.
Generous vacation and health benefits package.
Complete home-office setup, including computer, furniture, internet subsidy and IT support.
Frequent in-person team events with Westward colleagues.
Professional membership fees and a generous continuing professional development allowance.
Company-paid attendance at relevant industry conferences.
Direct collaboration with Westward’s President to deepen specialization in the taxation of life insurance.
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