Director - Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions
HM Treasury
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 11th November 2024
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Senior leadership
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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.
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
The Director Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions is a member of the Tax and Welfare family and a part of the collective leadership of the Treasury, a department of c2000 staff. The Director jointly leads this group with one other Director. Together they operate at the heart of the Treasury to develop policy and strategy for personal taxes, the welfare system and labour markets. As a Group, PTWP is responsible for over £400bn of tax receipt and £285bn welfare spending and plays a crucial role in supporting the government’s Growth Mission and Opportunity Mission in particular. The Directors work closely with policy partners in His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with other parts of government, and with a wide range of internal and external partners including No 10, think tanks, unions and business rep organisations.
The Directors run the Group jointly but split policy responsibility, the post holder is currently responsible for:
- Welfare Policy and Reform, covering the working age benefits system
- Spending Control for the Department for Work and Pensions
- Labour Market Policy and Analysis, including in support of the Growth Mission
- Distributional and Equalities Analysis across HMT policies
- Supporting Women in the Economy
There is some scope to review the current policy portfolio split with the co-Director in response to changing priorities or strategic objectives.
Key responsibilities:
- Provide strong leadership to the 110 employees in the Group, working together with your co-Director to create a supportive and inclusive environment, promote well-being, and develop talent.
- Act as the lead adviser to the Chancellor on working age welfare and labour market strategy and reform, including for fiscal events, working effectively with colleagues across the Treasury, other parts of government, and external stakeholders like the OBR.
- Have responsibility for the spending settlement for DWP, advising the Chief Secretary to the Treasury as part of the overall spending approach, and working closely with spending colleagues across the Treasury, and in DWP.
- Lead on distributional and equalities analysis, developing and deploying analytical capability including to ensure HMT’s distributional analysis techniques remain at the cutting edge, and are deployed in support of the whole department.
- Lead the Treasury’s relationship with DWP, building trust and credibility with senior colleagues and working together on key welfare and labour market issues.
- Be part of the visible leadership of HM Treasury as a whole. The postholder will report to the Director General Tax and Welfare, Dan York-Smith and will lead PTWP jointly with the other Director, Laura Webster.
Contact us
We encourage all candidates to discuss the role further before submitting an application. If you have any questions about the role or would like to discuss the post further please contact Dan.York-Smith@HMTreasury.gov.uk.
The hiring manager will be holding a drop-in session for prospective candidates on 5 November, from 15:30 to 16:30. Please join via the Microsoft Teams link below:
Person specification
When in post, the successful candidate will be expected to perform well across the full range of Senior Civil Service behaviours set out in the Success Profile framework and demonstrate commitment to the Civil Service values.
The essential criteria for the purpose of selection are:
- Outstanding people leadership skills, with experience of leading large, high-performing and multidisciplinary teams to deliver at pace in an inclusive way
- Sound judgement and strong strategic vision, with a track record of leading in uncertain and complex policy environments
- Excellent influencing and interpersonal skills with a proven ability to gain the confidence of and work effectively with senior stakeholders such as ministers (or Board-level equivalents) and to work collaboratively across an organisation
- Ability to absorb and interrogate data and analysis quickly and communicate it clearly and credibly to support decision making
Desirable criteria
- An understanding of welfare policy, the Budget process, and/or fiscal and spending frameworks is desirable for this role, but is not essential.
How to Apply
To apply for this post, please submit a CV (no more than 3 sides) and a 1000-word personal statement outlining your experience and skills against those detailed in the person specification. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert on Civil Service Jobs for guidance on how to complete your personal statement.
Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
- 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)
- Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
- Generous parental and adoption leave package.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
- Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
- A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
- A range of active staff networks, based around interests and diversity
Flexible Working Arrangements
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Recruitment Timeline
Please refer to the attached candidate information pack for a full overview of the indicative timeline.
- Closing date: 11th November
- Shortlisting: w/c 11th November
- Staff Engagement Exercise: w/c 18th November
- Interviews: w/c 2nd December
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.
Staff Engagement Exercise
If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel's decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.
Interview
Candidates will be invited to an interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of previous experience and professional competence. The interview will also include a presentation. Candidates will be given further details on this.
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.
Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC)
To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis once the advert closing date has passed.
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.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
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Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Dan York-Smith
- Email : Dan.York-Smith@HMTreasury.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Further information
