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.

Have you successfully run projects through the full RIBA lifecycle?

Do you feel confident about providing expertise to support organisational strategic decisions about construction projects?

Are you experienced in delivery construction professional services contracts?

If you’ve answered yes, then joining HMRC Estates as our Head of Construction could be what you’re looking for!

This is a key role within our Estates team, and you’d be reporting directly into the Deputy Director of Professional Services and Digital Estates.

We are looking for someone to bring their extensive knowledge of the construction lifecycle to assist us with a range of activities including new build developments, office refurbishments and minor projects.

Your team of Construction Project Managers will be operating within a matrix project environment and be responsible and accountable for the delivery of all our external construction services contract activities.

Job description

As our Head of Construction, we need you to apply your extensive construction knowledge to enable your team to support activities across the UK, from our biggest project, the 42,000sq/m new office development at Pilgrim Quarter Newcastle, to supporting alterations to our existing buildings to incorporate new user requirements.

You will be leading and developing your team, to ensure appropriate resource and capability levels to deliver project outcomes. They will also be managing external professional services and operate from acquisition throughout the project lifecycle, assuring developers works and delivering the Cat B Contract through to handover.

HMRC is the largest landlord in government, and as such we require all our buildings be built to the highest quality to make sure all our teams can work at their best. We need you to be responsible for ensuring that all our construction projects are of the highest quality through the successful operational contract management of our professional services and Construction Contracts.

Person specification

We are looking for you to have significant experience managing and delivery large construction projects in excess of £5m alongside being fully conversant will all major forms of JCT, NEC Building Contracts.

You need to have experience operating within a client organisation of a developer, or end user, or as a consultant operating as a client representative. You also need to be confident and capable of developing and maintaining effective relationships with high influencing partners whilst operating within a complex organisational environment.

Essential Criteria:

• Demonstrable experience managing and delivery large construction projects
• Conversant with all major forms of JCT, NEC Building Contracts
• Experienced in producing project schedules
• Knowledge and developing controls, of construction project risks
• Able to develop and maintain relationships with senior partners
• Demonstrable experiences leading and developing a team
• Undergraduate degree in property related discipline
• Member of either the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or Chartered Institute of Building. If not already held must be willing to obtain full membership within 24 months
• Requires successful application of security vetting to Security Cleared (SC) level

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of managing delivery of large commercial office fit outs
• Management of multi-disciplined technical teams
• Knowledge of Digital Construction tools
• Experience in Design for manufacture and assembly methodology
• Experience in resolving/negotiating construction contract issues

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £66,957, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £18,078 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 CV including your job history, previous experience and qualifications. The CV will be scored against the experience required as outlined in the advert. Please provide details of the Undergraduate Degree and Membership of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or Chartered Institute of Building as stated in the Essential Criteria.
  
  
• A 750-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the essential criteria and person specification outlined in the advert.
  
  
• You will also be asked to provide a statement addressing the Desirable Criteria, if appropriate, which will not be sifted on, but may be used in the event of a tie-break.

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

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on the CV.

Candidates who pass the initial sift will progress to a full sift based on the CV and Personal Statement.

Successful candidates will be invited to interview.

We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.

Interview

During the panel interview, your experience will be assessed, you will be asked questions based on the behaviours listed below 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.

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

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 Teams video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Additional Security Information

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.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers

This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.

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. 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.