Since the beginning of the economic downturn, and most notably in the last three months, we have seen an increase in the number of requirements for tax focused expatriate specialists. This has been apparent across all sectors and is in line with a more general need to ensure tax efficient reward planning for domestic and international employees. This has become particularly prevalent in the current market, where organisations are looking for ways to ensure costs are kept to a minimum and processes remain streamlined and efficient.

We have seen an increase in demand for those expat professionals who have a mix of professional services and in-house experience. These individuals, particularly those with tax qualifications such as ATT, tend to have a good mix of technical ability and client facing skills and offer a full spectrum approach to International Assignment management. While companies are able to use generalist HR professionals to cover most areas of international transfers, it is the tax/compensation skill-set that is lacking and hence the increase in demand for these individuals. The ability for an International Assignment specialist to offer as broad a skill-set as possible is key to their attractiveness to potential employers, but it is the tax and compensation elements that are most in demand.

This is a market observation from Martin Otter at Frazer Jones, who are specialists in Global Mobility and Reward recruitment - www.frazerjones.com