About the job

Job summary

As Deputy Director, Pensions, Charities and Savings, you will be overseeing the development and implementation of high profile, complex and fiscally significant tax policies. You will work closely with key stakeholders including Her Majesty’s Treasury (HMT) and other Government Departments (OGDs), to deliver policy changes aligned with government priorities.  

This is a high profile and busy tax policy role including pensions policy which provides one of the largest tax reliefs with a gross cost of around £69bn a year.  The policy areas of pensions, savings and charities each involve the complex interaction of various and often competing drivers.  These include the provision of cost-effective tax incentives, deliverability of legislation, operational and IT system deliverability, ease of compliance and avoidance proofing, involvement of third-party suppliers and intermediaries, large well-represented customer populations and a stakeholders with a key interest in what we do.

Job description

In addition to Pensions, Savings and Charities policy, you will also have responsibility for the management of HMRC’s processes in these areas.  This means that you will see policy change through to delivery, monitor customer experience of these processes, and use this insight into to drive policy and process improvement.  The processes you will have responsibility for are already undergoing significant change. The IPD Director is SRO modernising administration of Pensions and digitising ISAs. You will work closely with her to ensure the success of this major project which is being delivered by HMRC’s transformation programme. 

You will also have responsibility for a small operational team providing guidance and support to customers affected by the ‘McCloud Remedy’ being applied to address age discrimination in public sector pensions.  This operational team works in a highly technical area with stakeholders from across government including the NHS which requires careful management.

Key Responsibilities:

• Providing strong policy leadership in the areas of pensions, charities and savings
• Developing strong and effective working relationships with HMT, OGDs, regulators (such as The Pensions Regulator and Financial Conduct Authority) and representative bodies; Chairing consultative meetings of key business and charity representatives;
• Leading and inspiring your team to deliver Ministerial and HMRC’s strategic objectives. Developing and shaping your team to respond effectively and flexibly to the demands placed on it, ensuring business continuity and knowledge management arrangements are in place;
• Being the Senior Responsible Owner for delivery projects in your policy areas within the Policy Driven Change programme and supporting the SRO of a major project
• Drive improvements in the services for which you are responsible, improving the customer experience and reducing HMRC cost.
• Implementation of the ‘McCloud remedy’, ensuring customers and their representatives understand the decisions to be made.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Strong leadership credentials with a focus on engagement, development and collective ownership of strategic objectives
• Proven ability to deliver and lead in a fast-paced, high-profile and complex policy environment.
• Experience in leading through transformational change and driving continuous improvement
• Exceptional stakeholder management skills.  

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of working with Ministers and the fiscal event process
• Tax professional background with knowledge of direct taxes.

Desirable qualifications and professional memberships:

• A degree in Public Administration, Economics, Law, or a related field is preferred.
• Professional qualifications in tax or policy development

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £20,250 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

Please see the attached Candidate Pack for the full Selection Process details 

All Criminal Record Checks applications are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

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.