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.

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

Covert Operations, Digital Exploitation (CODE) sits within HMRC’s wider Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) responsible for the department’s civil and criminal investigation work. FIS ensures that HMRC has an effective approach to tackling the most serious tax evasion and fraud. 

Working across Law Enforcement and government, CODE provides investigative tools and covert techniques to front-line investigations and works with key partners to develop and provide access to new technology and systems to enable investigators to respond to serious and complex tax evasion and crime. 

The team are responsible for delivering and maintaining a specialist sensitive specific IT infrastructure and national network of services to HMRC investigators with a footprint in geographically spread across 24 sites. The infrastructure supports the secure use of data to enable HMRC to deliver elite investigation services. 

It is responsible for delivering a broad portfolio of change initiatives, both to sustain and transform FIS’s legacy sensitive technologies and to deliver innovative new solutions, designed around our customers’ needs. CODE works in an integrated way to combine digital and technology change, project deliver, business process, product management and cultural change to maximise impact and ensure sustainability. 

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

If you flourish with dealing with diverse challenges, enjoy delivering exceptional support to users, growing your knowledge and want to work with a like- minded and supportive team then this may be the role for you. 

As an IT Infrastructure Engineer, you will ensure robust, reliable high-performance systems and services meet business needs. You'll be responsible for hands-on administration, maintenance, and monitoring of diverse systems. This includes servers, storage, endpoint management, networks, telephony, and business applications. 

Working to the Infrastructure Manager, you will collaborate closely with fellow engineers to provide third-line support and project delivery across a wide spectrum of IT systems. You'll also engage frequently with other teams and departments outside of IT to achieve shared objectives. This role offers the opportunity to influence the future technical direction within a dynamic and innovative team environment. 

Person specification

The successful candidate will be undertaking the following (but not limited to): 

Technical - This is a technical role requiring a technical capability and would suit an IT generalist with a broad knowledge of all essential criteria. 

• Collaborating with internal teams, external partners, and suppliers to ensure effective, secure, and purposeful IT systems. 
• Providing 3rd-line support for raised work tickets, adhering to established processes and ITIL standard methodology. 
• Helping with the identification, assessment, design, and delivery of technical solutions, occasionally working with third-party suppliers. 
• Ensuring systems and services align with compliance and set standards. 
• Supporting IT Security activities, including issue monitoring, incident resolution, systems security development, and compliance. 

• Supporting IT Solutions activities to integrate new systems, collaborating with internal and external stakeholders. 
• Monitoring, assessing, and optimising systems and services, proposing and managing improvement initiatives. 
• Maintaining current technical documentation, creating new documentation as needed. 
• Staying informed about emerging market trends and technologies to optimize the IT service catalogue offering. 

Communication - We are looking for an excellent communicator who can describe technical concepts to technical and non-technical audiences and you will regularly be expected to provide verbal updates and produce written user documentation on BAU taskings and projects. 

Additional responsibilities may include conducting workshops to assess business requirements to support possible changes to existing services and identify requirements and quantify the benefits, involvement in the assurance programme to ensure that services are regularly reviewed, maintained and improved when necessary. 

Travel and On Call - Regular travel within the UK for meetings and infrastructure work will be required with occasional overnight stays. You will be required to work out of hours on an on-call rota, weekdays and weekends. Candidates must live within reasonable daily travel, which is usually an hour each way, of an HMRC Regional Centre. 

Essential Criteria: 

• Demonstrable experience in an IT role involving installing, managing, and maintaining IT infrastructure equipment, networks, and/or services encompassing. hands-on administration, upgrades/patching, monitoring, fix, and development. 
• Awareness of basic cyber security concepts and controls such as encryption.
• Understanding of IPv4 addressing including subnetting and DHCP. 
• Have a good understanding of at least 2 of the criteria below, and be prepared to learn/work in any areas you are not currently familiar with: 

      -  Basic routing and switching concepts.

      -  VMware vSphere management.

      -  Microsoft Windows server system administration including Domain networks and Active Directory management. 

      -  Linux system administration and basic bash shell scripting.

      -  Experience in HP enterprise class servers and storage environments. 

      -  Experience of working within a virtual IT infrastructure environment. 

• Good communicator who can perform in a client/customer facing role with the ability to communicate technical concepts to a non-technical audience. 
• Experience of working in a fast-paced, environment, balancing multiple tasks through to completion.
• Well-developed problem-solving, documentation and information sharing skills. 

Security Clearance - This role requires National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level and depending on the role you are assigned to you may be required to obtain Developed Vetting (DV) clearance level. To take up duty you will need to hold Security Check (SC) vetting or be willing to apply for it. Following a successful SC application and probation period depending on your role you may be required to initiate DV vetting. If you do not hold SC or DV but are willing to go through the process, any job offer would be conditional and may be withdrawn should you fail to achieve the required vetting levels. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Full UK Driving Licence.
• ITIL 3 or V4 foundation certified. 
• CompTIA Network+ and Security+ certified (or equivalent demonstrable experience/certification) or higher.
• VDI management. 
• Experience in Cisco equipment and configuration. 
• Experience in OpenText/Micro-focus software. 
• SIEM experience and event analysis. 
• Specific experience in RHEL administration. 

Additional Information:

Applicants who wish to work alternative working patterns are welcome to apply. The preferred working pattern may or may not be available, agreement will be subject to business need, and any request to work an alternative working pattern should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.

• Flexibility Payment

This post attracts 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 also be expected to work additional hours, at weekends and outside 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.

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.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,092, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £9,474 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 750-word personal statement.

Your CV should set out your career history (max 500 words) and for each role include:

• A brief description of your duties.
• Skills and experience.
• Key achievements.

You should try to match these to the key responsibilities within the person specification in the job advert.
Professional Qualifications relating to the role should be provided (max 250-words).

Your personal statement should evidence in no more than 750 words how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria in line with the job description mentioned. Your evidence needs to show us you have the experience, approach, and skills we’re looking for.

Please fully utilise the allowable 750-word count when completing your personal statement.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words.

Please refer to candidate guidance attached.

Any additional wording may not be considered.

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

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received an initial sift will be carried out against the CV.

A full sift will then be carried out on the CV and Personal Statement.

Applicants who are successful at sift will be invited to interview

Interview

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

You will also be asked 4 questions at interview to assess your technical skills.

2 questions will explore your general technical understanding around:

• IT technology previously worked on and their responsibilities within it e.g. routers, switches, Microsoft servers, Linux servers etc (a previous IT role in managing and maintaining (etc) some form of network, IT service, or IT equipment is a mandatory requirement of the essential criteria).
• A technical test relating to an IPv4 question

2 questions will explore your level of technical understanding in 2 or more of the following areas:

• Basic routing and switching concepts (incl VLANs);
• VMware vSphere management;
• Microsoft Windows server system administration including Domain networks and Active Directory management;
• Linux system administration and basic bash shell scripting;
• Experience in HP enterprise class servers and storage environments.
  

Interviews will take place face-to-face.

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 review the eligibility information before submitting your application.

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, 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.

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.

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 Developed Vetting (DV) 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 DV is 10 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

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a Civil Servant on or beyond the start date for the post. If their contract ends (for example due to the end of Fixed Term Appointment contract or resignation) at any point during the application process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

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.

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 developed vetting (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

Open to UK nationals only.

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.