International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist - Term

003789SR

School/Unit Harvard University Central Administration

Department Financial Administration

Job Function Finance

Location Cambridge

Job Type Full-time

Salary Grade 054

FLSA Status Non-exempt

Union 55 - Hvd Union Cler & Tech Workers

Term Appointment Yes

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard's world-changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Financial Administration (FAD) is dedicated to advancing Harvard University's teaching and research mission by stewarding its resources; providing support, guidance, and consultation; ensuring compliance with university and federal guidelines; mitigating risk; pursuing operational excellence; and promoting the financial health of the University.

More about FAD: Within and across the University, we aim to be exemplary colleagues, trusted partners, valued advisors, and agents of positive change. Within our own community, we aspire to:

• Engage with respect, honesty, and integrity
• Cultivate equity, diversity, inclusion, and belonging
• Welcome innovation, collaboration, and flexibility
• Enjoy our work, grow professionally, and aim for the extraordinary

Learn more about Financial Administration (harvard.edu) and our eight reporting units. ((Use the "Apply for this Job" box below).)

The International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist (IPTC Specialist) is part of the IPTC team in the Financial Administration Department (FAD) and provides dedicated support to the Faculty of Arts and Science (FAS).

The International Payee Tax Compliance Specialist I role is well suited for someone who values helping others, working carefully with detailed information, and developing expertise in a specialized area. Using established guidance, this position supports international faculty, staff, students, guests, and suppliers by validating tax residency status and eligibility for tax treaty benefits. The specialist develops and applies knowledge and skills to determine the appropriate tax treatment for standard payment types and collaborates with other FAD units on payment and tax compliance matters.

Additional customer service, administrative, and compliance-related duties may be assigned as needed.

This is a one-year term position, with the possibility of extension.

Job-Specific Responsibilities:

Tax review

• Develop knowledge of Harvard's processes for determining tax residency classifications and apply payment-related tax rules for international payees.
• Review routine tax residency classifications for international faculty, staff, students, guests, and vendors using established procedures and guidance.
• With training and support, evaluate requests for tax treaty benefits based on the payee's relationship with Harvard, immigration status, country of residence, and type of income.
• Process routine payment tax reviews in Harvard systems and help identify items that may need follow-up or correction.

Customer service

• Respond to questions from international students, faculty, staff, guests, and vendors with clear, professional, and practical guidance.
• Help payees understand the steps needed to document their U.S. tax status or potential eligibility for tax exemption.
• Provide customer service to FAS units inquiring about the status of their payees, following up on inquiries through timely, successful resolution.
• Provide support through email, phone, online appointments, and in-person interactions.

Administrative work

• Track open cases, pending payee documentation, and follow-up items to support timely resolution.
• Prepare, organize, and securely transmit tax-related documents to the IRS or other parties as required.
• Support scheduling, preparation, and follow-up for online or in-person payee appointments.
• Assist with data entry, document uploads, and status updates in Harvard systems.
• Monitor shared inboxes or case queues and route inquiries to the appropriate team member when needed.
• Contribute to other team priorities and duties as assigned.

Basic Qualifications:

Basic Qualifications are the minimum threshold a candidate must meet in order to be considered for this role.

• Ability and interest in learning specialized payment-related tax and immigration concepts, with the ability to apply established guidance carefully and consistently in a customer service environment
• Minimum of 1 year of financial, administrative,…