About the job

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.  

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.  

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us stronger and better at developing policy that reflects the needs of every community. We embrace different views and experiences and value the new perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.  

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you! 

Job description

About the group

Business and International Tax

The aim of the Business and International Tax (BIT) Group is to provide strategic oversight of business, environmental, transport, property, VAT, excise taxes and customs duties that together raise revenue of over £400 billion a year. The Group works closely with other government departments and is outwards facing towards key stakeholders, including business, industry, interest groups and international counterparts, and there are opportunities to be part of this engagement at all levels.

The work of the Group is vital to fund essential public services, while working with other Treasury Groups to support the government’s wider agenda – including supporting business investment and economic growth, developing and negotiating new customs arrangements following the UK’s departure from the EU; levelling up opportunities across all parts of the United Kingdom; and delivering “Net Zero” carbon emissions by 2050. The Group’s high-profile portfolio make it a highly dynamic, flexible and interesting place to work.

About the team(s)

The roles all sit in fast-paced, high profile policy areas, with significant Ministerial and senior focus. These areas of tax policy are technical but equally prone to draw media interest – from businesses to environmental groups - meaning the work is relatable and extremely interesting.

Teams in BIT deal with a large range of stakeholders, including UK industry directly or through industry lobby groups, or with other jurisdictions such as the EU Commission. The teams also work very closely with other Government departments, especially HMRC as part of the policy partnership, but also DESNZ, DBT, Defra, DfT and, and relevant Treasury spending teams.

The Energy and Transport Tax team is right at the heart of balancing the Treasury’s fiscal, economic and environmental objectives. We are responsible for a broad range of high profile, live policy areas that get significant amounts of ministerial attention. Policy areas across the team include: carbon and energy taxes levied on suppliers and users of energy, such as the emissions trading scheme; environmental taxes, including the tax on plastic packaging, landfill tax and aggregates levy; the role of tax in meeting net zero; North Sea oil and gas, including driving down the costs of North Sea decommissioning and the new Energy Profits Levy; and transport taxes, including fuel duty, vehicle excise duty, air passenger duty and company car tax.

The Customs Unit is at the heart of developing UK policy at the border and working with HMRC to deliver it. Now the UK has left the EU, the Unit is working to put in place new arrangements for the border that enable the UK to meet its global objectives, reduce burdens on traders and support a trade and customs policy that drives private investment. As well as developing policy for the UK’s customs regime, the Customs Unit leads negotiations with the EU and other countries on customs.

The Enterprise and Property Tax (EPT) Team is a high-profile, diverse, and supportive team. EPT is responsible for aspects of the tax system that encourage investment and entrepreneurship in and by business, including the tax-advantaged venture capital and employee share schemes, Capital Gains Tax (CGT), capital allowances and creative sector reliefs, and research and development tax credits. EPT also deals with all aspects of commercial and residential property taxation, from business rates and council tax to stamp duty land tax (SDLT). Recent examples of the team’s work include the introduction of full expensing for company investment, a review of R&D tax credits, and delivery of the 2023 revaluation in business rates.

We are looking for great teammates, comfortable with operating collaboratively. As the Treasury work begins to work in a hybrid and multisite setting, great communication and remote relationship building skills will be important for this role. This is an exciting opportunity to work on very high-profile policy areas, supported by a friendly and collaborative team in which individuals are encouraged to develop and thrive. You will be given lots of support and on the job training to help you develop the skills needed. Diversity is very important to us, and we have experience with and support flexible working arrangements.

About the jobs

We are recruiting for four policy adviser roles across the BIT directorate. Additional roles may become available. These will all be exciting opportunities to be at the heart of government policy-making on business, climate and international tax issues. They will give the postholder the opportunity to shape government policy in these areas, in a supportive environment that encourages technical expertise, independent thinking, and a focus on delivering for the UK taxpayer.

The subject areas and exact responsibilities will vary according to the team in which the roles sit. Candidates will be asked to express their preference between carbon pricing, energy tax, business rates and customs policy at interview, though no guarantees on placement can be made.

In general, key accountabilities of the roles are likely to include:

1. Lead on the maintenance and development of existing policies, including the delivery of government commitments in the policy area. The postholder will need to become a subject matter expert on these areas, applying this knowledge to develop proposals for policy changes at fiscal events that seek to address strategic challenges and raise revenue, and advise HM Treasury Ministers and senior officials on those options.
2. Lead on the development and delivery of policy projects within the branch. This would include proactively identifying HMT interests for new policy, owning the strategic framing, and providing policy coherence while driving them forward. The postholder will need to maintain an extensive partner network, creating collaborative working relationships with colleagues from across HMT, other government departments and devolved administrations to assess the long-term policy and fiscal benefits of options and in return seek the necessary operational and delivery expertise to ensure that changes are successfully implemented.
3. Build a strong qualitative and quantitative evidence base across your policy areas, working with experts such as analysts and HMRC colleagues to monitor and assess ongoing trends and key data to inform and advise your policy-making.
4. Support policy work across the portfolio, responding to ministerial interest and steers, which could include: tax devolution, incentivising growth, Net Zero commitments, promoting international trade, maintaining tax revenue, longer term reform of the system, tax simplification or multilateral initiatives.
5. Contribute to cross-government initiatives with impacts on your policy areas (such as those set out at 4) by developing and maintaining strong relationship with policy partners in other government departments to influence their thinking, whilst coordinating across Treasury to ensure HMT interests are represented. The postholder will ensure that decisions are situated in the context of wider government policy and balance HMT’s interest with wider international and domestic ambitions. This requires forward planning, high levels of organisation, and strategic cross-Whitehall engagement.
6. Develop strategic stakeholder relationships with external stakeholders, such an UK domestic industry and business representative organisations, overseas jurisdictions, academics and non-governmental organisations, to ensure that policy interventions are made on the basis of strong evidence and are received smoothly by the public.
7. Support Ministers in responding to public, Parliamentary and media pressures relating to your area e.g. by drafting responses to Parliamentary Questions and Ministerial correspondence, as well as preparing and delivering briefing to senior officials and Ministers.
8. Be encouraged to take part in corporate objectives seeking to make BIT and HMT a great place to work.

The business rates role includes the opportunity to line manage and support one range C – providing oversight and setting policy direction. 

To note, elements of the role may change depending on wider team and ministerial priorities.

Candidate Drop-In Session 
 
We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time. 

Thursday 11th April 13:30 – 14:15

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Katie.Keegan@hmtreasury.gov.uk on energy tax, Samuel.Deaner@hmtreasury.gov.uk on carbon pricing, Rose.EvansBaker@hmtreasury.gov.uk on business rates, or Roshana.Shahid@hmtreasury.gov.uk on customs policy.

Person specification

We are looking for the below experience and behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.  

1. Making Effective Decisions: ability to make policy recommendations based on the detailed analysis of a range of information, outlining the consideration of other options, costs, benefits and risks (making effective decisions).
2. Communicating and Influencing: excellent stakeholder management skills, with a proven ability to deliver effective verbal and written communication, taking into account people’s individual needs to maximise understanding and impact
3. Delivering at Pace: ability to work at pace across inter-connected and highly technical policy areas, managing a full workload effectively through prioritisation to ensure high quality work is delivered in a timely manner and aligned with wider HM Treasury objectives.
4. Experience: Strong experience of working on policy development, with the ability to pick up complex concepts quickly, develop these into policy recommendations and communicate these effectively to influence policy debates.

The lead criterion is: Making Effective Decisions. 

If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,500, HM Treasury contributes £10,665 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.

Recruitment Timeline 

Closing date: 22nd April

Shortlisting: w/c 22nd April

Interviews: w/c 6th May

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline. 

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile. 

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Location-Based Reserve Lists 

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a post immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be approached for roles in merit order according to the first preferred location stated on your application form. 

Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer. We would still encourage you to apply for other HM Treasury opportunities that you are interested in. If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or you are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances. 

Eligibility Statement  

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information. 

Individuals appointed to the Treasury Group will be subject to National Security Vetting. To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out applicants will normally need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis using all information that can be obtained following a successful application. 

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks.  

For many roles, security clearance is also required. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements of the role before they can be appointed. The level of security clearance required for this role is Counter Terrorist Check (CTC)

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you.  

Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.  

These short videos address common concerns and preconceptions which applicants may have about national security vetting.  

If you have questions relating to security clearances, please contact HMTSecurityVetting@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist 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.