About the job

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.  

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.  

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us stronger and better at developing policy that reflects the needs of every community. We embrace different views and experiences and value the new perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.  

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you! 

Job description

About the Group - Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions

We work to build a tax and welfare system that supports the government’s goals of fiscal sustainability, economic growth, and fairness. We look after high-profile areas including personal taxes, labour markets, welfare, tax administration, pensions, tax avoidance, and savings. We also coordinate spending controls for HM Revenue & Customs, Department for Work and Pensions. The Group is responsible for over £400bn in tax receipts and £300bn in welfare spending, impacting the lives of millions of citizens across the UK.  

Our work means that we are often at the centre of ministers’ decision making, and we play a significant part in the Budget and the Spending Review. We work closely with HMRC, DWP and Number 10, and with a wide variety of external stakeholders. 

PTWP is a friendly, diverse, and inclusive Group, with a wide range of backgrounds and specialisms. We have an active ‘Wellbeing Plan’ focussed on learning and belonging.

About the Team

Personal Tax (PT) is a high-performing team of over 20 responsible for income tax, National Insurance, inheritance tax and all other aspects of the personal tax system. With overall receipts totalling over £300bn, these issues are of fundamental fiscal and economic importance to the Treasury - and to the Chancellor and other Ministers.

The team lead on personal tax announcements at the annual Budget and are also responsible for the government’s longer-term strategy on personal taxation and its links with other areas of the tax and welfare systems.

These issues receive a high level of public attention and are widely covered in the press and media. The team has delivered key Government policies at Autumn Statements and Budgets over the past few years such as:

• increasing the personal allowance to £12,570 and the higher rate threshold to £50,270 in 2021-22 and then freezing those thresholds until 2025-26.
• reforming the taxation of dividends, raising £2.5bn a year;
• reducing the additional rate of income tax to 45%
• introducing and then increasing the National Insurance Employment Allowance
• taking the family home out of inheritance tax
• reducing the rate of National Insurance for Employees and the Self-Employed

We are a collaborative and open team. We work with other teams on the impact of tax policy on the labour market, or on the interaction of tax with welfare and pensions, on tax avoidance and the wealthy.

The team is at the forefront of the policy partnership with HMRC. We also work closely with Number 10, other government departments and a range of partners outside of Government like the big four accountancy and tax firms, major UK charities, and professional bodies like the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).

About the Job

This is an exciting role combining economic analysis and policy work. The postholder is one of few economic advisors embedded in the tax teams: we provide analysis for the Personal Tax Team and Pensions & Savings Tax team, and working on crosscutting projects. You will have the opportunity to work side-by-side with policy professionals to ensure that economic theory and analysis is embedded in their policy work, and that real time data (notably tax receipts) is understood and incorporated into their work. You will be the team’s main point of liaison to economic and analytical teams in HMT and HMRC.

As a senior member of the Unit and wider team the post holder leads their branch and plays a crosscutting leadership role.

1. Leading on economic analysis for the personal tax teams. Complete economic research, modelling and analysis for leads and ministers. Previous examples have included work on the differential between income and capital gains tax, wealth tax and pensions tax.
2. Set-up economics & analysis projects to inform our work, based on developments in academia (and think tanks etc).
3. At fiscal events, working with teams across HMT to provide data and analysis that informs policy decisions and is then used appropriately when those policies are announced. Use economic analysis to understand likely behavioural response to our announcements.
4. Maintaining the modelling capability of the branch – updating our models, and ensuring your branch (or other colleagues) can run them on demand.
5. Overseeing monitoring and analysis of receipts, ensure regular updates are provided to seniors and ensuring policies teams fully understand movements in the data. Identify and analyse the potential fiscal impacts of trends and behaviours e.g. the changing nature of the labour market to help shape policy development in both the short and medium term.
6. Working in close collaboration with HMRC (especially the Knowledge, Analysis and Intelligence team), specialists across the Department and external partners; building effective relationships in multiple teams and at various grades.
7. Leading the Economics and Receipts Branch to a high standard – managing at least 1 analyst. Support the leadership of the Unit and the Team.
8. Work flexibly across team to support urgent priorities as they emerge. 

Candidate Drop-In Session – Microsoft Teams

We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.  

Wednesday 24th January at 16:00 – 17:00: Click here to join the meeting

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Megan.Blade@hmtreasury.gov.uk.

Person specification

We are looking for the below skills, experience and behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.   

1. Proven economics and analytical skills, with the ability to synthesise a wide range of evidence to inform decision-making (Making Effective Decisions)
2. Excellent communication skills, able to explain complex economic theory or data to a non-expert audience, quickly and effectively (Communicating and Influencing).
3. Ability to work together with a diverse range of stakeholders, building relationships proactively to pool expertise to address policy problems (Working Together) 

The Lead Criterion is “Making Effective Decisions”. If we receive a large number of applications, applications will be assessed against this criterion alone first. They will then be assessed against the other criteria if they have met the minimum score on the lead criterion. 

Candidate Guidance Support Session – Microsoft Teams
 
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach; top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.  

Friday 26th January at 12:00 – 12:45: Click here to join the meeting

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,960, HM Treasury contributes £14,299 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 and Experience.

Recruitment Timeline 

Closing date: 4th February

Shortlisting: w/c 5th February

Interviews: w/c 12th February

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline. 

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.  

Eligibility Statement

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information.

Individuals appointed to the Treasury Group will be subject to National Security Vetting. To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out applicants will normally need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis using all information that can be obtained following a successful application.

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. 

For many roles, security clearance is also required. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements of the role before they can be appointed. The level of security clearance required for this role is Counter Terrorist Check (CTC) 

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you.  

Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.  

These short videos address common concerns and preconceptions which applicants may have about national security vetting.  

If you have questions relating to security clearances, please contact HMTSecurityVetting@hmtreasury.gov.uk

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

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.