Established in 1996 in Amsterdam, Booking.com has grown from a small Dutch start-up to the third largest e-commerce company in the world. Booking.com is the largest business within Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG) and accounts for the vast majority of Booking Holdings’ total revenue. Booking Holdings is a leading Fortune 500 e-commerce conglomerate with a market cap of approximately $80 billion.

With a mission to make it easier for everyone to experience the world, Booking.com invests in digital technology that helps take the friction out of travel. Booking.com connects travellers with the world’s largest selection of incredible places to stay, including everything from apartments, vacation homes, and family-run B&Bs to 5-star luxury resorts and even tree houses.

With a cross-functional team based in Amsterdam and across the world, and plans to expand our FinTech capabilities throughout 2024, we are looking for a technically savvy, adaptable and versatile lawyer to help us develop new FinTech product innovations and support the Fintech Business Unit’s strategic ambitions.

Tax policy is undergoing important structural shifts in jurisdictions around the world with potentially significant impacts on our company.

This role plays a critical role in anticipating, shaping, and influencing tax policies and regulations that impact our organization. It will be responsible for developing and implementing our tax policy strategy, building strong relationships with key stakeholders around the world (e.g. OECD, G20, national governments, tax authorities), proactively shaping legislative and regulatory developments, and future proofing our tax positions.

Reporting to the Director of Strategic Engagement, this role works closely with the global PA and Tax teams, as well as with business units, Booking.com and Booking Holdings corporate units and corporate functions, in particular Legal, FP&A, PR, and works frequently directly with members of our (extended) leadership team.

This role makes an important contribution to enabling our corporate strategy. It works with important external stakeholders and deals with issues of potential impact in the dozens or even hundreds of million Euros.

As Senior Manager Public Affairs - Tax, you will be accountable for:

Monitor and analyze relevant developments at international organizations (e.g. OECD, G20), legislation, regulations, and judicial developments to assess their potential impact on the organization
Point of expertise on tax policy, spotting and analyzing trends, assessing impact and defining policy positions, developing an intimate knowledge of tax policy mechanisms, in support of the Tax team and PA markets leads
Global point of contact and coordination on tax policy between regions within PA, with other parts of LPA, Tax and other departments as required
Collaborate with local PA and Tax managers, external advisors, industry groups, and government officials to advocate for the organization's interests and influence tax policy developments
Create compelling position papers and other advocacy content to influence technical and non-technical audiences
Prepare and present technical tax policy analysis and recommendations to internal stakeholders and external audiences (e.g. OECD, European Commission, US treasury).
Engage with ad hoc leadership representatives as deemed necessary for these meetings (Head of Tax for example)
Proactively identify emerging tax policy issues and develop proactive strategies to address them
Adviser to the business future proofing corporate strategy and product development; interact with cross-functional teams within the organization
Stay informed about industry trends, best practices, and emerging tax policy developments.
Additional tax related tasks as needed.

The ideal candidate will have:

Master’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Law, or a related field
8+ years of experience in a role that includes substantial tax policy considerations, e.g. working in an international organization, government body, in-house, or consultancy
Experience with a multinational corporation or public accounting firm is considered an asset
Strong experience working with government officials, tax authorities, or regulatory bodies and proven ability to influence outcomes
Understanding of the tax implications of business decisions and transactions
Ability to provide tax policy advice to senior management and business leaders
Experience and expertise in tech regulation and conversant in digital policy issues; good understanding of the economics of digital marketplaces
Outstanding analytical skills and a strategic mindset
Ability to write clearly and concisely.

Further traits we are looking for:

Aligning with Booking.com’s Values (Think Customer First, Succeed Together, Own It, Learn Forever, Do the Right Thing)
Being curious, flexible, and a creative & pragmatic problem solver
Confident yet collaborative
Ability to influence stakeholders across all levels within the organisation
Being proactive, resilient and having the drive to get things done
Having sound judgment and the ability to see the big picture and simultaneously appreciate the details necessary to operationalise the strategy
Having the courage to take positions and make tough judgment calls
Being a team player, self aware and a good listener - a diverse group will always find the best solution!
Ability to move with agility, prioritise workloads and meet deadlines
Forward thinking with an interest in emerging issues in legal and policy

Booking.com ensures equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, colour, family or medical care leave, gender, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran status, race, religion, sex, pregnancy and childbirth, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws and regulations. We aspire to have a workplace that reflects all of the diverse communities we serve and we welcome and encourage candidates from all backgrounds and experiences to apply for roles on our team. We work to cultivate an inclusive culture in which all of our employees can be their authentic selves.

Why join the Legal & Public Affairs Team now?

Booking.com’s Legal & Public Affairs team is on a transformational journey at a transformational time for e-commerce and travel (think: growth, innovation, changes to how we operate); you will have an opportunity to actively shape the Department’s future. The Legal & Public Affairs team is also a critical part of the enablement of Booking.com’s strategy of the Connected Trip (a travel experience that includes not just accommodation, but also transportation, attractions, experiences, payments, flights etc).

This is a journey that requires close business and Legal & Public Affairs partnerships to redefine our business model, navigate complex regulatory environments, build new products, and negotiate increasingly elaborate commercial deals, among other important projects our teams get involved every day. To tackle this mission, it all starts with a strong team passionate about growing Booking.com in an ethical and sustainable way!

Who we are

To match our global footprint and the array of challenges we face, we are proud to highlight the diversity that exists across this group. We are a team of approximately 165 professionals - representing more than 34 nationalities - with lawyers qualified in many different countries, as well as non-lawyers with public policy, economics, compliance and risk backgrounds. Our team’s previous experience spans across a multitude of industries with team members having worked for major global companies (including Uber, American Express, Airbnb, Amazon, Google, Nokia), tech and other startups, government entities (e.g., the Dutch Competition Authority), and reputable international law firms (e.g., Hogan Lovells, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Baker Mckenzie), and Public Affairs firms (e.g., FTI Consulting, FIPRA, Brunswick).

In addition to our day-to-day work, we actively seek opportunities for our team members to engage in the wider global legal and public affairs communities through speaking engagements, training programs, and association memberships. Some of our lawyers are Board members of Consumer Law associations, Competition Law associations, Privacy associations, etc. We also believe in actively engaging with stakeholders to share our insights on policies affecting the travel experience and how travel tech innovations can fuel the digital transformation of the travel industry. For example, we recently launched Booking.com’s Public Affairs blog, where we publish our position on key policy issues (A World Worth Experiencing).

As a team, we believe in:

Integrating with the Business and Legal having a “seat at the table”: we are decision makers that can have a real impact on Booking.com’s future
Booking’s mission of making it easier for everyone to experience the world. Travel helps people become more open minded, curious and flexible
Allowing members of our teams to experience different areas or, if they want to be specialists, give them the tools to become more effective in their jobs
Providing holistic legal and public affairs advice; our team should not work in silos
Always looking for better ways of doing things, improving our Legal Operations function, innovating and exchanging best practices
Accepting that it's OK to make mistakes as long as we learn from them
Having a sense of humour and having fun working together; we are a team that likes to collaborate and share in joys and challenges together!
Ability to communicate verbally with impact and build a network of support
Strong attention to detail and accuracy
Fluent in English, fluency in Dutch is considered an asset, additional languages and international experience a plus

Pre-Employment Screening:

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.