About the job

Job summary

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC.

   

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

About HMRC

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

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us, and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career at HMRC accessible to you.

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.

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

About our Team

With one of the largest organisational change portfolios, this is an exciting time to join the Transformation Directorate within Customer Compliance Group (CCG).

Within CCG Transformation, a significant part of our role is working with the wider HMRC portfolio of projects and programmes including Making Tax Digital and the Single Customer Account Programme as well as those that are CCG-led such as Digital Disclosure Service, Self-Assessment Risking and Strategic Returns Analysis Tool projects, to support the end-to-end change lifecycle of business-critical systems from early design through to business readiness and embedding activity.

Job description

About the Role

We have an exciting opportunity to join our team as a Diary Manager/ Executive Assistant. Someone who is highly organised and can work at pace. A proactive diary manager, with a good understanding of what the priorities are. Using your great judgement, ensuring meetings happen at the right time engaging with other offices to deliver.

Being that key point of contact for matters relating to the Director's/Deputy Director’s calendar and be confident in issuing invites, booking rooms and monitoring attendee responses. This role would ideally suit someone who confidently manages their own workload, prioritising appropriately and is keen develop their skills to further their career.  

Engaging with Senior Leaders which compliments your excellent communication skills both orally and written as you will be communicating across the area at all levels.  

Person specification

About You

• Effective diary management, ensuring meetings are well organised and the Director's/Deputy Director’s time is prioritised appropriately.  
• Confidently manage Senior leaders and take minutes/actions at Senior leader meetings.
• Ensure work commissions are picked up/dealt with promptly by deadlines, develop forward look plan and ensure day to day activities are built in and time allowed for briefing and sign off.
• Support the Head of Office in delivering team goals, including contributions to corporate objectives.
• Provide cover within the Private office and pick up ad hoc queries/tasks.

Essential Criteria:

 Overview of the skills required for the candidate to be successful in the role.

• Excellent working knowledge of Outlook and Office365 alongside good digital awareness.
• Capable of multi-tasking at pace and under pressure
• Good communication and stakeholder engagement
• Pro-active and forward looking.

Desirable Criteria:

•  Previous experience working in a Private Office environment or managing a busy diary would be beneficial, although not essential.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £28,341, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £7,652 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.

How to apply

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

• A name blind CV including your job history and previous experiences. Your CV will not be scored.
• A 500-word personal statement.

Prior to completing the full application, you will be asked to complete a Civil Service Judgment Test and Civil Service Numerical Test. The test deadline is the same as the application deadline.

Candidates who pass the tests this will move on to completing the full application. 

For your CV, please provide your career history relevant to the "About You" Section using up to 150 words.

Your 500 word Personal Statement will be assessed against how your experience and skill set would fit the role and the responsibilities outlined in the job description including how you meet the essential criteria. Please make this no more than 500 words and utilise the STAR Method here.

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

Sift

A sift will be carried out on your Personal Statement, with successful candidates being invited to interview.

Interview

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

Interviews will take place via video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility

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.

Reserve List

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.

Merit List

After interview, a single merit list will be created and you will only be considered for posts in locations you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

Criminal Record Check

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.

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.

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.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

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

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.