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.

If you have an open and enquiring mind, love problem-solving and decision-making based on rules, precedent, and in-depth analysis, and if you can thrive in a fast-paced environment, adapting to changing priorities and demands… this could be the role you’re looking for. 

As an Intelligence Officer you’ll be joining one of the most exciting roles in Government and Law Enforcement, so we’re looking for dynamic and hardworking individuals who have a passion for this exciting, ambitious, and varied work. With the ability to learn new skills, including navigating and interrogating IT systems. 

This role requires a keen attention to detail, and you'll draw on your tenacity, resilience, and flexibility. Confident to exercise good judgement and discretion, along with the ability to understand and apply legislation, policy, and procedure, and be able to work flexibly, both individually and collectively. 

When it comes to reducing tobacco and cigarette fraud, smuggling and other felonious activities, we try to support the criminal justice system with our good work. 

Flexibility 

There may be a need for some travel, working away from your home office and may require overnight stays. Plus, additional hours above and beyond the norm, including: 

• short notice changes
• requirement to work flexible working patterns.
• attendance outside of normal office hours
• element of lone working
• some evening/weekend/bank holiday work
• being on-call (1 week in 4, pre-rostered)

Once fully trained, you will receive additional financial compensation at the rate of £10,100pa. This payment is known as Flexibility Payment Level 2 (FP2), and it is paid in addition to your salary.

Job description

The Fiscal Border Debriefing Intelligence Team (FBDIT) consists of HMRC and Border Force embedded intelligence staff, who engage in dynamic forensic debriefing of live cigarette and tobacco seizures. 

Our job is to protect the border by identifying and developing mostly criminal and serious civil cases for intervention partners, mainly in the Fraud Investigation Service (FIS). 

As an officer on the FBDIT, you will analyse, and risk assess information and help develop quality intelligence products to disseminate to other HMRC teams and external partners. 

You will become involved in all aspects of the Criminal Justice System and will be expected to make and be accountable for decisions made based on our legal responsibilities, to a standard that passes external scrutiny. 

You’ll play an essential role in our team in our team of around 15 colleagues, and key responsibilities will include: 

• Identifying and using a wide range of computer-based systems to enhance basic information.
• Identifying and debriefing Human Intelligence to obtain evaluated information.
• Using these resources to case-build intelligence packages, making judgements and decisions as the case progresses.
• Communicating with a broad range of individuals and teams, both externally and internally.
• Working alongside other HMRC teams regarding suspect consignments destined for the UK, building the Intelligence picture to assist their operational decisions.
• Undertake representational duties, build and maintain working relationships with internal and external partners.

Training 

We recruit candidates based on potential and will provide full training to give you the skills and experience needed to succeed. 

This will include online and on-the-job mentoring, a 3-week, 3-day (136 hours) Intelligence Foundation Course and a 2-day Officer safety Training course. 

On successful completion of the Intelligence Foundation Course the Trainee will receive the following accreditation: 

• Accredited Counter Fraud Intelligence Technician Certificate from the University of Northumberland. (ACFITECH)

The Officer Safety Training includes physical activity and requires an appropriate level of fitness. This is mandatory and it's crucial to focus on your health too. 

Successful completion of the training course is vital for the role. We provide candidates with as much support as possible but those who do not complete - and pass - all required training cannot remain in the role and may need to be moved to an alternative role within HMRC. If that is not possible, your employment may be terminated. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria 

A driving licence is required for this role. To be considered, you must: 

• confirm in your application that you currently hold a full UK driving licence (you will be asked to provide evidence of a valid licence if successful at interview)
• clearly state in your application that you are prepared to drive official vehicles as part of this role.

Highly Desirable Criteria: 

• current working experience of intelligence development or criminal investigation
• good knowledge and experience of Tobacco/cigarette Fraud

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: 

• CV up to 500 words. Use the Job History section to provide relevant details from the last 3 years, plus any other roles you feel are relevant. and include a brief description of your role, key responsibilities, and achievements.
  
  Do not simply list your previous jobs with dates - we are looking for a short description of each role, primary duties, and achievements, and explain how they align with the key responsibilities for this role, described above. Any additional wording over 500 words will not be considered and may lead to content you believe is relevant not being assessed.
• Personal statement up to 750 words. Use this to provide detailed working examples with results that demonstrate how your experience aligns with the requirements of this role, including the key responsibilities listed above.
• Answer 2 additional questions You will be asked to confirm that you hold a current full UK driving licence, and that you are prepared to drive official vehicles as part of this role.

Your CV and personal statement must not contain any personal details which could be used to identify you.

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 conducted using your CV. If you pass the initial sift your application will progress to full sift, and your personal statement will also be assessed. 

Interview

Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams with a panel of up to 3 people, and will last up to 60 minutes. The interview will consist of:

• Behaviour questions - we recommend that you review the Success Profiles framework and consider working examples and outcomes that demonstrate the Behaviours for this role. A typical example of a Behaviour question might be 'Tell us about a time where you've had to deliver a difficult message'.
• Strength questions - there’s no expectation to prepare for these, as we’re looking for your instinctive, natural responses. A typical Strength question might be 'How quickly do you recover from setbacks?'

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.

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.

Additional Security Clearance is required for this role  

In addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, you must pass National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level (without restrictions). 

You will need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of security vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you do not have a minimum of 5 years consecutive residency in the UK then your application may be rejected*. 

If successful, a job offer will be conditional on currently holding (or subsequently passing) NSV at SC clearance level, without restrictions. 

*It may be possible to gather enough evidence on which to base a vetting clearance decision when you worked abroad during the required residency period, if during that time abroad you served as a UK Civil Servant, a Crown Servant, worked in any other UK Public Body or as a member of the Armed Forces and you were resident in the UK prior to your term abroad.

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.

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.