About the job

Job summary

HMRC is the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority and we have a vital purpose: we collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support.

Covert Operations, Digital Exploitation (CODE) sits within HMRC’s wider Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) which is responsible for the department’s civil and criminal investigation work. FIS ensures that HMRC has an effective approach to taking on the most serious tax evasion and fraud.

Working across Law Enforcement and government, CODE provides investigative tools and covert techniques to front-line investigations and works with key partners to develop and provide access to new technology and systems to enable investigators to respond to serious and complex tax evasion and crime.

Crime Scene Investigators within HMRC play an integral role in the fight against serious and organised fraudulent criminality, attending crime scenes to recover fingerprints, DNA and other forensic evidence to support investigations across the UK, totalling hundreds of millions of pounds each year in revenue.

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join HMRC’s CSI team in the role of Senior CSI Technical Manager at a time of enormous change within the forensic industry. Leading us towards implementation of ISO 17020 and Forensic Science Regulator Code of Practice accreditation, you will be afforded a high degree of autonomy to draw upon your experience and develop this new role within the organisation, whilst maintaining your operational competence as necessary.

Being proactive and self-motivated, the ability to work on your own initiative as well as part of a team is essential. You will benefit from hybrid working, and the nature of the role means that flexibility is key, with opportunities for travel throughout the UK and overnight stays likely, as part of our pan-UK CSI team.

Scheduled visits to HMRC’s CSI locations and facilities will be required as part of this role.

See what it’s like to work at HMRC: find out more about us or ask our colleagues a question. Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Job description

• To lead the HMRC CSI team towards achieving and maintaining ISO 17020 and FSR Code of Practice accreditation and providing assurance of quality standards
• To develop, review and maintain CSI policy and procedure documents which are compliant with ISO 17020 and the FSR Code of Practice
• To assist with the review, maintenance, and further development of the HMRC Quality Management System
• To control, update and issue all existing and new CSI documents within the HMRC Quality Management System
• To co-ordinate, manage and record competency assessments and proficiency testing for the CSI team
• To research and arrange appropriate training and continuous professional development opportunities for the CSI team, in all matters relating to quality standards
• To lead the design and implementation of CSI technical method validation plans
• To co-ordinate plans for the batch testing of consumables and other anti-contamination strategies
• To ensure that all duties undertaken are completed in compliance with ISO 17020, and other statutory and regulatory requirements as applicable
• To act as a liaison between HMRC and UKAS, coordinating and participating in accreditation assessments
• To conduct audits and audit reviews of the HMRC CSI team forensic business processes, assuring compliance with accredited standards
• To ensure all audit findings are reviewed, any opportunities for improvement are taken, and non-compliances are corrected and implemented
• To provide technical advice and guidance to the HMRC Quality Management team, deputy CSI Technical Manager/s, and the CSI team
• Eventual line management of deputy CSI Technical Manager/s
• To maintain competence by attending crime scenes as necessary

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Completion of a recognised, post-academic Crime Scene Investigation training course from the College of Policing, a Law Enforcement Agency or equivalent professional training provider
• Considerable, recent operational experience in serious and major crime scene examination and ongoing forensic case management in complex investigations
• Comprehensive knowledge of ISO 17020 accreditation requirements and obligations, the UK Forensic Regulator Code of Practice, and other associated publications
• Demonstrable, recent experience of working within or towards an ISO 17020 accredited environment
• Experience of contributing to a quality management system, such as the production of standard operating procedures, the conduct of internal auditing, or the development of competency frameworks and validation plans
• Full UK driving licence
• This post requires National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level. You must hold SC vetting or be willing to apply for SC vetting

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in conducting internal audit/governance of policies and procedures against legislation or similar requirement(s)
• Completion of a recognised, post-academic Crime Scene Management/Crime Scene Coordination Course from the College of policing, a Law Enforcement Agency or equivalent professional training provider, and experience in that role
• Experience of using forensic techniques and methodologies to support covert activities
• Experience of supporting fraud investigations
• Knowledge and/or experience of criminal justice legislation and procedures including CPIA, PACE and RIPA/IPA
• Experience of negotiating and influencing discussions, decisions, and change with internal and external partners and agencies

Training Requirements

As part of ongoing professional development, relevant training will be identified and provided in line with the existing experience of the successful applicant and the business requirements of the job role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,618, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £11,507 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, a personal statement, and three 250-word behaviour statements. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

• In your CV please set out your career history with key responsibilities and achievements, as well as your relevant skills and experience (Max 500 words per section). Please ensure you have provided reasons for any significant gaps in employment history within the last two years.
• In your personal statement (no more than 750 words) please provide examples of how you consider your technical and personal skills, qualities and experience define your suitability for the role; it is crucial your statement reflects the essential criteria set out within the job description. Referring to the essential criteria, please outline your experience of contributing towards achieving UKAS accreditation within the field of crime scene investigation, including how you have overcome technical challenges and any resistance from colleagues.
• You will be asked to complete three 250-word statements providing examples of how you have met the following Behaviours: Managing a Quality Service, Leadership, and Delivering at Pace.

A sift will be undertaken on the CV, Personal Statement, and Behaviours examples.

Candidates who are successful at sift will be selected for interview and further tested against Behaviours, Technical Skills and Strengths.

We will test technical knowledge and skills by way of questions at interview.

Interviews will be held by video.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers.

Interviews will take place within 5 weeks of the advert closing date.

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles – if this applies to you, we’ll let you know via your Civil Service Jobs account.

Eligibility

To check that you are eligible to apply, review this eligibility information

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.

Reasonable Adjustments 

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition, or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. 

If you need a reasonable adjustment or a change to be made so that you can make your application, review this information on reasonable adjustments, and contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible.

Diversity and Inclusion

At HMRC we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues and creating an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role. We’re committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues here at HMRC. We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at HMRC.

For more information on how we make this happen, review this information on our culture and values

Applications received from candidates with a criminal record are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible after considering operational and customer service needs. We can’t guarantee that we can meet all requests to work flexibly, as agreement will be subject to business ability to accommodate, and any request to work a more flexible arrangement should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process. 

The Civil Service runs a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. 

Locations 

HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

Security Update

For more information on the level of security checks we will carry out, review this information on security checks 

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Further Information

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application/s will be withdrawn from the process. 

Duplicate applications for the same vacancy will also be withdrawn.

Transferring into HMRC from Civil Service If you are currently working for an ‘Other Government Department’ (OGD) and would like to consider the impact on your pay when joining HMRC, please see the attached document "Combined T&C and OGD Pay English”, found at the bottom of this advert. Further information on staff transfers can be found on gov.uk

Problems during the application process 

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. 

If you think you’ve made a mistake on a short application form (e.g. you’ve ticked the incorrect eligibility box), please contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at least two working days before the vacancy closes. After this, we won’t be able to reopen your application.   

Please use the subject line to insert appropriate wording e.g. Please re-open my application - 328017 & vacancy closing date 20/02/2024. Please note that we cannot amend or re-open your application if you have submitted your full application in the interests of fair and open recruitment.

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within reasonable adjustments section above.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.