About the job

Job summary

Internal Investigations sits within the Fraud Investigation Service arm of HMRC helping to protect our integrity and vision to be a trusted and modern tax authority, maintaining public trust and confidence in the work of all our colleagues. With over 63,000 staff within HMRC operating across the United Kingdom and Internationally, Internal Investigations (Anti-Corruption) teams are responsible for criminally investigating those matters where HMRC employees are suspected of being involved in criminal offences against HMRC functions. 

Internal Investigations (Intelligence) supports the work of our Anti-Corruption teams and are responsible for developing key intelligence products and building criminal cases using criminal powers and the latest techniques where HMRC employees are suspected of being involved in criminal offences against HMRC and also in civil conduct matters.

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

This is an exciting time to join this high profile and exciting work area as a counter fraud professional and criminally trained member of HMRC Internal Investigations. 

A successful applicant will join either an investigation or intelligence team based across 3 locations in Manchester, Nottingham, or Croydon. Internal Investigations (Anti-Corruption) Investigators and Intelligence Officers work in those criminal case teams gathering intelligence and evidence on individuals, corporates, and Organised Crime Groups (OCG’s) in order to develop, progress and enhance criminal investigations focused on Insider Threats within HMRC and both internal and external attacks on HMRC systems.

The work is varied and interesting but can also be demanding and challenging. Successful applicants will be expected to be flexible and participate in a full range of duties including surveillance, interventions, arrests and interviews, attendance at court, Disclosure or Deputy Disclosure officer duties (depending on size & complexity of case), and general team working.

Person specification

Key Responsibilities:

• This is a joint Internal Investigations recruitment for both Anti-Corruption Criminal Investigators and Intelligence staff operating in a criminal justice environment, ensuring HMRC professional standards, guidance, legal and procedural requirements of the criminal justice system are followed. 
• Duties will include a mixture of: maintaining case records and material using appropriate case management systems, evidence gathering, surveillance, preparing legal authorities such as RIPA2000 and IPA2016 authorities, Production Orders, Search Warrants, seizure of goods, development of intelligence packages, arrest and interview of individuals, CPIA 1996 disclosure, attendance at court and obtaining witness statements.  
• Attending court for the application of Production Orders, Search Warrants and giving evidence. 
• Compiling high quality case reports and evidential bundles for submission to CPS and independent prosecutors in the UK.
• Keeping abreast of technical, legal changes and professional developments.  
• Maintain the professional standards expected of an Internal Investigations (Anti-Corruption) Investigator / Intelligence Officer.
• Have a flexible approach to work, being part of an On Call roster which may involve evenings and weekends, sometimes at short notice.  

Essential Criteria: 

• Current security clearance to SC level or above prior to appointment.
• Recent experience of working within a Criminal Justice environment.

The applicants hold one of these qualifications:

• Professionalising Investigation Program 2 (PIP2) or above.
• Level 4 Diploma - Accredited Counter-Fraud  Specialist/Officer, or
  Level 4 Diploma - Accredited Counter-Fraud Manager or their HMRC predecessors.
• BTEC Level 3 Advanced Diploma in Enforcement (Investigation), or
• BTEC level 3 Advanced Diploma in Enforcement (Intelligence), or
• BTEC level 4 in Counter Fraud Intelligence Specialist.
• A full UK driving licence.
• Willingness to undertake appropriate surveillance training as necessary.

 Desirable Criteria:

• Foot surveillance trained. 
• Mobile surveillance trained. 
• Digital Investigator trained.
• Mobile phone triage trained.
• Financial Investigation trained.

Flexibility Payment:

These posts attract a Level 2 Flexibility Payment (FP) that is paid monthly with salary. This FP allows HMRC flexibility to change your work pattern, at short notice, to meet business needs. You will be expected to undertake periods of On Call. You will be expected to work additional hours, at weekends and outside of your normal working hours/days (including bank holidays).  
 
In applying for a position and accepting the FP you agree that you can and will meet those attendance requirements. 
 
Note: Payment of FP is dependent on successful completion of role specific training and you will move to Level 2 FP eligibility in stages (see the attached document for details). 
 
FP levels are reviewed annually - on a business need and personal basis - and may be subject to change. 
 
If you currently receive the Flexibility Payment which may include Transition Protection and/or a Maintained Pension Value, moving to a new role may affect your payments. 
 
Details of the Flexibility Payment can be found in the attached document.  
 
All candidates will be required to be witnesses of truth. Prior to employment, candidates will be required to complete an integrity declaration which will be considered against their suitability to take up a post within Internal Investigations. 
 
We will place candidates in Investigation or Intelligence roles according to skills and experience taking into account preferences where possible and will be discussed at interview.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Find more about HMRC benefits in 'Your little extras and big benefits handbook' for further information or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

Application & Selection Process Details

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Your application will include:  

• A CV detailing your job history and qualifications. CV will not be scored.
• Your Personal Statement (maximum of 750 words) which should illustrate why you think you meet the essential criteria and personal specification outlined in the advert. 

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications an initial sift will be carried out on your personal statement against the essential criteria. 
 
If you progress to full sift, we will then review your personal statement, with successful applicants invited to interview.   

Interview

During the panel interview, your experience will be assessed, and you will be asked strength-based questions to also explore what you enjoy and your motivations relevant to the job role.

This is an example of a strengths-based question: 

“It is often said that the customer's needs should come first. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?” 

There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.

Interview dates to be confirmed.  
 
If interviews are required, they will be conducted over Teams or an alternative digital platform. 

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

Please Note:

The appointment will be conditional upon satisfactory conduct and discipline checks and security vetting.  All applicants will be required to declare any past convictions, criminal findings, or police cautions, regardless of whether they are ‘spent’.  You must also declare any disciplinary proceedings relating to previous employments.  The disclosure of this information will not automatically disbar you from employment with Internal Investigations, but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on your credibility if questioned in court.  Internal Investigations may conduct background checks and any offer will be withdrawn if you fail to disclose any relevant material that causes conflict with you being able to complete the duties of the role. 

After interview, merit lists will be created for each location advertised within the vacancy. If you are successful at interview, you will be placed on the merit list for any locations you have expressed an interest for. Appointments from each merit list will be made in strict merit order.

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.

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 - 336758 & vacancy closing date 07/02/2024. 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.