About the job

Job summary

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HMRC, the UK's tax, payments, and customs authority, is looking for skilled CIT Tax Specialists to join our Compliance Group.

Our role is vital, to bring in the money to pay for the country’s public services and give financial support to people. Our vision is simple, to be a trusted, modern tax and customs department. An organisation that makes it easy for our customers to get tax right, and hard for anyone to bend or break the rules.

LB is responsible for ensuring the tax compliance of the UK's largest businesses, managing tax risks and ensuring compliance through expert analysis and impactful negotiation. Be at the forefront of significant tax decisions influencing the nation's economy. Each business is allocated a Customer Compliance Manager (CCM) who works collaboratively with the businesses to help them get their tax right.

LB operates a regional structure with each region having a Deputy Director (DD) who is accountable for driving forward and delivering spending review commitments, the large business strategy, and to help manage fundamental changes in our organisation by building capability and engagement.

The G7 CIT Tax Professional will be responsible for supporting the DD and working with other members of their regional CIT team and Senior Leadership to deliver on their accountabilities.

Job description

The G7 CIT Tax Professional will provide critical expertise and leadership to support and lead case teams within their region in tackling non-compliance and delivering improved customer compliance, whilst being an active and visible presence in the wider HMRC CIT community, working flexibly across LB regions and CCG directorates in collaboration with key stakeholders in other areas of HMRC and externally.

The specific responsibilities of the role will include:

• Drive delivery of the LB work programme, LB compliance projects and LB Business Risk Review (BRR) commitments.
• Identify and address new areas of risk, focussing on current compliance project risk areas as well as potentially developing new areas of risk for future inclusion as compliance projects.
• Work with CCMs, customers and policy to deliver on national priorities and meet business objectives, providing critical support during a period of significant change in UK Customs.
• Act as lead specialist on sensitive and complex CIT technical issues, supporting CCMs in discussions with customers, leading technical discussions with legal advisers and policy owners, taking the lead role in progressing cases through HMRC governance and supporting the HMRC legal team through the litigation process.
• Lead HMRC engagement with industry bodies and other external stakeholders.
• Work with policy and other HMRC stakeholders to develop UK policy and systems.
• Provide leadership to the LB CIT community and build capability across LB to address critical and sensitive regime issues.
• Build CIT capability within teams, acting as coach and mentor to Tax Specialists of all grades and playing a key role with regional CIT Leads and managers in building and developing team capability and performance delivery.
• Build upon current projects addressing risk areas in the CIT regime and drive forward future project work aimed at addressing non-compliance, utilising and refining data led compliance approaches.
• Report to regional and national groups on role activity.

Person specification

We are looking for experienced tax professionals who are comfortable working in a dynamic, varied role tackling complex tax matters. As part of our team, you will play a vital role strengthening HMRC's efforts to ensure tax compliance and close the tax gap. You will lead and support high-profile enquiry cases for large businesses and multinational corporations, applying your skills in risk assessment, complex enquiry work, and real-time working.

You will have opportunities to interact with external customers and representatives, collaborate with cross-functional case teams, and contribute to building the professional tax community through mentoring, training, and knowledge sharing. We offer varied responsibilities consisting of resolving tax disputes, leading teams, shaping future tax policies, and interacting with senior business figures.

Essential Criteria:

Experience

Leader - demonstrable record of effective tax technical leadership of teams in a Customs tax compliance environment, providing strategic direction to ensure successful outcomes, including the demonstration of innovative and novel approaches to tackling non-compliance in a diverse, complex or large organisation.

Communicator - extensive experience in managing multi-channel stakeholders (including Legal, Policy & Technical) in a diverse, complex, or large organisation. Substantial experience of bringing together views, perspectives and diverse needs of stakeholders to gain a broader understanding of the issues surrounding policies and activities, ensuring the two are aligned.

Seeing  the Big Picture – evidencing an understanding of economic, social, political, environmental and technological developments relevant to a UK Customs tax compliance role.  Significant experience of planning team tax technical activity to reflect wider strategic objectives of a diverse, complex, or large organisation, including communicating effectively with senior leaders to influence future strategies or approaches.  

Qualifications

You must be a qualified Customs and International Trade Tax Professional, holding one or more of the following qualifications:  

• CTA with Cross-Border Indirect Taxation and VAT & Other Indirect Taxes papers; or Domestic Indirect Taxation and Cross-Border Indirect Taxation papers.
  ICAS Certificate in Customs and Trade
• 
  An accredited level 6 or above qualification (on the Framework for higher education for England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or a level 9 or above qualification (on the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework) in customs administration, customs compliance or similar relevant subject area
• 
  For previous or existing HMRC employees it is essential that you have completed the TSP or predecessor qualification (TPDP, IDP, ITS2, CPT FT2).  Existing HMRC employees would only be eligible if they have completed the appropriate course to get them to G7 level (or above) in a tax professional role.
  

HMRC staff holding one or more of the listed essential professional qualifications are entitled to apply regardless of their current grade within HMRC, and would be applying as an external candidate.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,439, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £14,698 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.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A CV including your job history and previous experiences. Your CV will be scored.
• A 750-word personal statement.

Your CV should be used to outline how your experience and qualifications would be suitable for the advertised role, referring to the essential criteria, job description and person specification outlined in the advert.

Your personal statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, referring to the essential criteria, job description and person specification outlined in the advert.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. We understand mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we will not be able to reopen your application for you. If you do make a mistake, please contact us via: ubsrecruitmentexcellence@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]’ To check that you are eligible to apply for this role, please review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

Sift

Your CV and personal statement will both be scored at the sift stage to determine which candidates will proceed to the panel interview stage. In the event of a large number of applicant, an initial sift will be carried out on the CV only.

Interview

During the panel interview stage, your experience will be assessed and you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of.

You will be asked a technical question to determine your knowledge and expertise in customs and international trade tax compliance.

You will also be asked strength-based questions to 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. 

Interviews will take place via video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

A reserve list may be held for 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.

After interview, a single merit list will be created, and appointments will be made in strict merit order until the set demand is filled in each location. If successful, you will be informed which locations are available when we reach your position on the merit list.

Reasonable Adjustments

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact the UBS Recruitment Excellence Team via ubsrecruitmentexcellence@hmrc.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success at HMRC, 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, and we want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential.

Click here for more information on how we make this happen.

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.

Terms and Conditions

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.

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.

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. 

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.