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. 

The Surge and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) is an innovative and unique team, working across government departments to deliver during known peaks in demand for services, and respond to unexpected crises.

The work that the Surge and Rapid Response Team does, extends across all government departments, as well as their agencies and arm’s length bodies.

Some of SRRTs’ biggest customers include the Home Office, Cabinet Office and Department for Work and Pensions, however regular provision is provided to smaller parts of the Civil Service including the National Crime Agency and Animal, Plant and Health Agency.

We pride ourselves on delivering excellent customer service to everyone we support. We are a hugely adaptable and flexible team who can deploy our people where and when they are needed the most, frequently at short notice. This means sometimes staying and working away from home, across the UK and sometimes abroad, including overnight stays.

If this sounds like you, then you could be just the person we’re looking for to join us in Surge and Rapid Response Team.

The Surge and Rapid Response Teams are based out of HM Revenue and Customs, and 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 in SRRT, and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

Job description

The Surge and Rapid Response Team are looking for flexible frontline operational staff to be deployed as members of our deployment team to carry out various roles across a range of different civil service departments.

You will work as a permanent member of the Surge and Rapid Response Team deploying to provide great customer service and work in a host of different environments.

In this role you will deliver a high-quality service to support the delivery of key objectives, your work will vary based on the live deployments at the time and there may be times where you will need to support the Surge and Rapid Response Team by managing priorities and deliverables where required.

Key responsibilities

Tasks and responsibilities may include:

• Casework, telephony, decision making and data processing across a variety of departments and different IT systems.
• Face to face engagement with the public, such as passport control.
• Responding to priority work requiring training or sometimes travelling at short notice.
• Delivering against timeliness and quality targets, providing excellent customer service.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to work with minimum supervision within a dynamic environment.
• Developing and maintaining good working relationships with customers, both internal/external stakeholders to deliver.
• Having responsibility for effective personal and team delivery.

You won’t need previous experience because full training will be provided. Your enthusiasm, willingness to learn and keenness to deliver is what we are looking for.

You will join a network of people in the Surge and Rapid Response Team spread across a variety of different locations. The teams are friendly and welcoming and will be there to help you reach your potential.

We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible after considering operational and customer service needs. We can’t guarantee that we can meet all requests to work flexibly, as agreement will be subject to business ability to accommodate, and any request to work a more flexible arrangement should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.

For any further information on the role please contact the Customer Services Group Recruitment Team on recruitmentqueries.csg@hmrc.gov.uk

You can find out more about what it’s like working in Surge and Rapid Response Team on the Civil Service Careers website.

Watch these videos to see how our team work:

A day in the life of Surge and Rapid Response Team - Katy's story

A day in the life of Surge and Rapid Response Team - Brian's story

A day in the life of Surge and Rapid Response Team - Rachel, Winnie and Touhid’s stories

Question and answer session

We will be hosting a virtual event where you can find out more about the application process and what it is like to work in SRRT.

This will take place on Tuesday 6th August 2024 at 1.30pm. Please visit Surge and Rapid Response Team Recruitment Campaign Q&A to book your place.

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.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed to the contact details, as advised later in this advert. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

We are looking for staff who will uphold the Civil Service values and standards of behaviour and who:

• Are able to travel nationally or abroad, sometimes at short notice, including overnight stays. (The Surge and Rapid Response Team will pay for all travel and accommodation associated with work related activity).
• Are flexible, adaptive and can effectively deliver against deadlines

Desirable Criteria:

We are looking for staff who will uphold the Civil Service values and standards of behaviour and who:

• Are capable and confident in making decision, in line with training, to deliver.
• Can demonstrate sound interpersonal, communication and relationship-building skills and thrive working as part of a team as well as working autonomously.
• Resilient and prepared to deal with challenge and/or confrontation.
• Comfortable dealing with the public in person, in writing or on the telephone.

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, Ability and Experience.

How to Apply 

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

• A short application form
• Civil Service Caseworker Test
• Civil Service Numerical Test
• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences
• Video interview

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Caseworker test & Civil Service Numerical test. If you successfully pass the tests, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Guidance and details on how to access the test will be given to you before you take it. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24 to 48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 11:30am on 12/08/24. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. 

Guidance for the tests will be available when you are invited to take the tests. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website. 

Please ensure that any technical issues with the tests are reported prior to 8:00am on 12/08/2024. There will be no extension to the deadline for completing the tests. 

 Interview 

If you are invited to an interview, 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.

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• 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.

You will receive a link by email and have 7 calendar days to record your interview. 

Please note: In the event of high application numbers, we will assess interviews in the order the questions are asked and cease assessing at the point when candidates do not meet the minimum standard. 

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers.

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 – [363026] & vacancy closing date [12/08/24]’ 

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. 

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.

Merit List 

After interview, a location based merit list will be created and you will only be considered for posts in the location 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.

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.

Security Update

For more information on the level of security checks we will carry out, review this information on security check

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. All Criminal Record Checks applications are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

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.

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.