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. 

Join HMRC as a Tax Specialist: Make a Real Difference 

Are you a tax professional seeking a healthier work-life balance without sacrificing the impact you can make in the tax world? HMRC, the UK's tax, payments, and customs authority, is looking for skilled Tax Specialists to join our Compliance Group. 

Who are we? 

Our role is vital, to bring in the money to pay for the country’s public services and give financial support to people. Our vision is simple, to be a trusted, modern tax and customs department. An organisation that makes it easy for our customers to get tax right, and hard for anyone to bend or break the rules. 

We’re hosting three virtual Awareness Sessions regarding these vacancies where you’ll be able to hear from colleagues in each team discuss their team, what a typical day looks like and what you can bring to HMRC.   

Thursday 14th March at 12:00pm. 

Tuesday 19th March at 13:00pm.  

Tuesday 26th March at 12:00pm.

To attend, please email: specialistresourcingteamsrt@hmrc.gov.uk including your name, telephone number, email address and your preferred session and our team will send you an invitation.   

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

HMRC's Compliance Group plays a crucial role. Comprising 27,000 dedicated members, we are one of the largest areas within HMRC. Our primary goal is to simplify tax payments for both individuals and organisations, while diligently addressing and preventing fraud and evasion.  

We are looking for people to join the following streams:  

Fraud Investigation Service (FIS): Lead investigations into the most serious tax frauds and tax crime, utilising your expertise to tackle complex cases and ensuring tax compliance and integrity, in line with HMRC’s Codes of Practice 8 and 9.  

Large Business (LB): Engage with the UK's largest businesses, managing tax risks and ensuring compliance through expert analysis and impactful negotiation. Be at the forefront of significant tax decisions influencing the nation's economy.  

Wealthy & Mid-sized Business (WMBC): Focus on wealthy individuals, Mid-sized businesses as well as public bodies and employment status and intermediaries, providing insight into the wealthy population, their tax affairs, and the businesses they own or influence. We have a key part to play in promoting and supporting the growth that Mid-sized businesses bring to the UK economy.   

N.B. Fraud Investigation Service

Applicants who are successful in achieving an offer to join our Fraud Investigation Service will be required to undergo a more in-depth Security Check.  This check will proceed following our standard vetting process and is currently taking between 6 and 8 weeks to complete.

For more insight into our work across the 3 streams above, please follow the link below:  

HMRC – Tax Specialists , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk) 

What We Offer 

• Work-Life Balance: Enjoy flexible working options that truly accommodate your lifestyle.
• Career Growth: Benefit from tailored training programs and clear progression paths. 
• Meaningful Impact: Play a pivotal role in funding vital public services and shaping tax policies.  

Person specification

Who we are looking for

We are looking for experienced tax professionals who are comfortable working in a dynamic, varied role tackling complex tax matters. As part of our team, you will play a vital role strengthening HMRC's efforts to ensure tax compliance and close the tax gap. You will lead and support high-profile enquiry cases for large businesses and multinational corporations, applying your skills in risk assessment, complex enquiry work, and real-time working. 

You will have opportunities to interact with external customers and representatives, collaborate with cross-functional case teams, and contribute to building the professional tax community through mentoring, training, and knowledge sharing. We offer varied responsibilities consisting of resolving tax disputes, leading teams, shaping future tax policies, and interacting with senior business figures. 

We have multiple positions available across Corporation Tax, VAT, Inheritance Tax, Employer Duties, Income Tax and Self-Assessment. We also want to talk to you if you are passionate about tackling non-compliance and undertaking investigatory roles. 

 Essential Criteria 

• Leader - Demonstrable record of effectively leading teams in a tax compliance environment providing strategic direction to ensure successful outcomes.
• Communicator - extensive experience in managing multi-channel stakeholders (e.g. Legal, Policy & Technical) in a diverse, complex, or large organisation.
• Compliance - Proven track record in ensuring/assuring customer compliance with tax legislation, regulations and governance, taking early appropriate action where non-compliance is identified.

Be a part of our dedicated team, ensuring everyone pays their fair share. Apply now to make a lasting impact in the UK’s tax system.  

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 Experience and Technical skills.

For tips on completing your application, please follow the link below:  

Submitting Your Application 

We try to make our application process as straightforward as possible, so we ask for a two-part CV:  

Please provide your employment history setting out: 

• Dates in role (MM/YY – MM/YY).
• Employer.
• Job Title.
• A description of your responsibilities and relevant achievements detailing the ‘what you did’ and ‘how you did it’. 
• Detail any key achievements and the impact your work has had, tailor this to showcase how your experience aligns with the advertised role and essential criteria. 
• Qualifications: List all relevant qualifications required for the role as outlined in the job advert and criteria.  

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

Tips for Applying

• Be clear, concise, and ensure information is easily digestible.
• Emphasise transferable skills and measurable impacts. 
• Align directly to role requirements, making sure you talk about the ‘what you did’ and the ‘how you did it’. 
• Carefully review before submitting.
• Please get in touch if you have any questions about completing your application. We make the process as straightforward as possible and provide support to candidates throughout.  

Sift

At sift your CV will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.  

Interview

During the panel interview, your experience will be assessed and you will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation and answer follow up questions.

Further information will be supplied to applicants who reach this stage of the recruitment process.

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

At HMRC we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues and creating an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success 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 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 - 345470 & vacancy closing date 28/3/24. 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.