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 

We have an exciting opportunity to join the Financial Accreditation Team (FA Team).  

Our exciting and interesting role would suit anyone who wants to work in a project change environment with a desire to develop their knowledge of HMRC tax systems and processes.   

The role will suit you if you like to collaborate, are confident, able to articulate your view in a room of peers, appropriately challenge and want to make a difference by supporting HMRC deliver change. 

You will work in a fast-paced project environment, building relationships, and providing specialist advice and support to assist in driving forward effective transformation of HMRC’s finance systems and processes. You will specify finance requirements for change initiatives and ensure they are delivered.  

This will allow HMRC to account for, receive and pay out money in accordance with strategy and Accounting Standards. This role gives an outstanding opportunity to develop key leadership, assurance, and collaboration skills.  
 
Important: This vacancy is only available at the specified locations; alternative locations are not available.  
 
Your office location is contractual so if you are successful, there is an expectation that you will attend that office a minimum of 60% of your available working time. 

The successful candidate will be required to remain in post for a minimum of two years before considering a move within the same grade to a different business area.  

You need to consider how you will meet these requirements before you apply and discuss any concerns with the vacancy holder before accepting any role. 

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

You will join a welcoming and accomplished team of accreditors, who have a wide knowledge of tax and finance accounting systems and processes.  

You will be a critical stakeholder for Risk, Controls and Financial Accounting (RCFA) representing and working with several finance areas to ensure change requirements are delivered and tested to our exacting standards. You will hold accountability for making sure that the financial journey delivered by the project is safe, secure, auditable and allows HMRC accounts to be produced accurately.    
 
Successful candidates will undertake a bespoke training programme enabling you to:  

• Represent RCFA in a project change environment, introducing and driving forward our requirements.  
• Influencing the financial accreditation process as the team adapts to the pace of HMRC Change and the way we deliver Financial Accreditation.  
• Develop the skills needed to build co-operative partnerships with project and programme teams to ensure finance requirements are understood and developed. 

While this isn’t an accounting role, knowledge of accounting and/or accounting systems would be advantageous.       
 
As a department committed to continuous professional development this role will also provide you with opportunities to learn, expand or further develop knowledge to support you reach your potential. 

Person specification

We will support you to develop your skills so that you can take ownership and lead the accreditation of several complex and high-risk project changes, developing an extensive range of contacts and being involved in a wide variety of subjects, which reach across the whole of HMRC.  
 
We want you to lead, develop and introduce the finance requirements to be delivered by the project, to meet finance standards. Ensuring that changes to HMRC accounting systems and processes are robustly tested and test evidence is analysed. 

You will do this by:  

• Maintaining engagement with the project team throughout the project change cycle to ensure risks and issues are managed, prioritising yours and your teams work so that you meet critical deadlines.  
• Working with an expert team of accreditors, subject matter experts and IT specialists, to make sure requirements are delivered.  
• Coach and mentor staff to help their development and delivery of accreditation. 
• Providing written project updates and summaries of documents to support seniors on Project Boards or when senior decisions are needed.  
• The role may include HR management responsibilities. 

Important: The role can require frequent travel including overnight stays, sometimes at short notice.  

Essential Criteria  

• Highly developed interpersonal skills with evidence of influencing and engaging with senior partners in a large, dispersed organisation. 
• Demonstrate one or more of working in a project, finance, audit, or assurance role.  
• Ability to communicate technical concepts clearly and concisely.  
• Strong leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills.  
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines and conflicting priorities. 
• Ability to analyse information, summarise and use your own judgement to make recommendations.  

Desirable Criteria  

• Worked in a project change environment.  
• Working knowledge of one or more areas of taxation.  
• Good knowledge of accounting and project management principles, including desirable qualifications as follows:  
• Part/fully qualified accountant (CIMA or equivalent).  
• Part/fully qualified Association of Accounting Technician (AAT).  
• Audit qualification(s).  
• Project Management qualification(s)  

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Find more about HMRC benefits in 'Your little extras and big benefits handbook' for further information or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.

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 complete a Personal Statement and CV. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
 
CV - This will be made up of 2 sections:  

• One section to outline your career history within the last '10 years' highlighting key achievements 
• One section for you to list your qualifications; if you are part qualified, please indicate to what level/stage.  

Personal Statement - Word limit 750 words to include evidence against:  

• How you meet the essential criteria 
• Suitability for the role; and 
• What you will bring to the role  

You will also be asked to provide a statement addressing the desirable criteria, which will not be sifted on, but may be used in the event of a tie-break. 

Please note we apply equal weighting to your CV and Personal Statement so please make sure you take full advantage of the word count available.  

Sift 

An initial sift based on the 'essential criteria' within the Personal Statement may be held if a large number of applications are received. If your application progresses to a full sift, all sift criteria will then be considered. Where there is an initial sift, we will provide scores to people who do not meet the minimum standard.

Interview 

If successful at sift, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed further on your experience, strength based questions, and the behaviours outlined above in the advert.

At interview candidates will also be asked to provide a 5 to 10-minute presentation on the topic:  

• Your skills and experience, and how you will add value to this position.

Interviews will take place via video link.

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

Interview dates to be confirmed. 

A reserve list may be held for a period of 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.

Eligibility

To check that you are eligible to apply, review this eligibility information

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.

Reasonable Adjustments 

We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition, or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate. 

If you need a reasonable adjustment or a change to be made so that you can make your application, review this information on reasonable adjustments, and contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible.

Diversity and Inclusion

We’re committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues here at HMRC. We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at HMRC.

For more information on how we make this happen, review this information on our culture and values

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.

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.

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. 

The Civil Service runs 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. 

Locations 

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.

Security Update

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

Further Information

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. 

Duplicate applications for the same vacancy will also be withdrawn.

Transferring into HMRC from Civil Service If you are currently working for an ‘Other Government Department’ (OGD) and would like to consider the impact on your pay when joining HMRC, please see the attached document "Combined T&C and OGD Pay English”, found at the bottom of this advert. Further information on staff transfers can be found on gov.uk

Problems during the application process 

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. 

If you think you’ve made a mistake on a short application form (e.g. you’ve ticked the incorrect eligibility box), please contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at least two working days before the vacancy closes. After this, we won’t be able to reopen your application.   

Please use the subject line to insert appropriate wording e.g. Please re-open my application - 341817 & vacancy closing date 18/03/2024. Please note that we cannot amend or re-open your application if you have submitted your full application in the interests of fair and open recruitment.

For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within reasonable adjustments section above.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.