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.

Are you a creative thinker?  

Do you have experience of using data to inform strategy and decisions?  

If so, our Head of Talent role could be for you.  

We are seeking a dynamic Head of Talent development to lead our efforts in nurturing and expanding the skills of our workforce. You will utilise cutting-edge digital solutions and creative thinking to design and implement a comprehensive talent strategy that develops, mobilises and retains key skills. The successful candidate will design an innovative talent management strategy that aligns with our business objectives, emphasising the growth of our tax and digital professionals.  

Job description

The Apprenticeships, TSP & Talent team sits within the Learning and Talent Acquisition directorate within CPO (Chief People Officer Group).  

The team are responsible for developing and supporting HMRC staff through key interventions like Apprenticeships, Tax Specialist Programme, internal development programmes and outreach activity.  

You will lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing talent development team, building capability and capacity for best impact. You will look at the most impactful and cost-effective solutions to building capability and talent by developing a comprehensive talent development strategy.  

There is the opportunity to build and foster cross team links across both our People function and HMRC business groups, leading your Talent Development team to ensure strategic goals are met. 

As your strategy takes shape, you’ll also be thinking about the implementation of development interventions. How effective they are, how can we improve outcomes and inclusion across HMRC. We have all the data you need for a clear start point, and we are looking for someone to run with this data and really overhaul the way we think, approach and roll-out development opportunities. 

Person specification

Responsibilities: 

Strategic leadership 

• Develop and execute a comprehensive talent development strategy that incorporates digital and creative solutions to enhance organisational capabilities. 
• Build and foster cross -team links both in People function and business groups to drive implementation of the cross-HMRC talent development strategy. 
• Lead the Talent Development team, ensuring high performance and alignment with strategic goals. 

Programme management  

• Design and oversee the implementation of internal development programs and initiatives. 
• Continuously analyse program effectiveness and adapt strategies to improve outcomes and inclusion. 

Stakeholder engagement 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior management and key stakeholders across the organisation to support talent initiatives. 
• Collaborate with different departments to integrate talent development with broader organisational strategies. 

Innovation & Improvement  

• Stay abreast of industry trends in talent management and incorporate best practices and innovative approaches into the talent development framework. 
• Leverage data and analytics to inform and guide strategic decisions regarding talent needs and program adjustments. 
• Use best methodology for creating talent pools relevant to HMRC skills needs.  

Essential skills and qualifications 

• Proven experience of designing and implementing a talent development strategy in a complex organisational setting.
• Strong leadership and team management skills, capable of motivating staff and driving strategic change. 
• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, capable of engaging with senior executives. 
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to translate data into actionable insights. 
• Experience with digital and innovative solutions in talent management. 

Desirable criteria 

CIPD qualified or working towards qualification.  

Experience in the tax profession or a similar regulatory environment is highly beneficial. 

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, 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.
• A 1,000 word personal statement.

Your CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.

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. 

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

A sift will be carried out on your Personal Statement, with the 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.

You will be asked to give a 5 minute presentation. Topic will be shared when invited for interview.

Interviews will take place via video link.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for up to 3 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 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

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 and 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

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. 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.