Senior Strategy & Policy Advisor
HM Revenue and Customs
Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 19th November 2024
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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.
At HMRC, 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.
Varied 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.
Intermediaries are an important part of the tax system and play an increasingly important role in tax administration supporting compliance, customer experience and efficiency. Millions of taxpayers already rely on intermediaries to perform key functions in the tax system and new ways of working and digital advances are likely to increase their importance.
This is recognised in HMRC’s Tax Administration Strategy (TAS) that sets out a growing role for intermediaries, driven by technology and taxpayer choice. The Intermediaries Directorate will enable us to shape and drive the delivery of HMRC’s Intermediaries Strategy.
This will include the standards expected to ensure high levels of trust in intermediaries and the tax ecosystem. For some intermediaries it will include the design of the services HMRC provide, to ensure intermediaries can interact with HMRC: fulfilling their role and maximising customer experience.
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Software Strategy & Policy team within the Intermediaries Directorate. We’re looking for an enthusiastic individual to join our small, friendly team made up of a Grade 6 and three Grade 7 Leads. If you have good organisational, analytical and communication skills, we’d love to hear from you.
Job description
The Software Strategy & Policy Team has responsibility for enabling third-party software providers to work with HMRC on delivering its strategic objectives and overarching vision to be a trusted, modern, tax and customs authority. We are a cross-cutting team, working across HMRC, wider government, industry, and with representative bodies to ensure the strategic development of tax software.
The role requires a confident and self-motivated individual who can navigate a fast-paced environment, build strong relationships with senior stakeholders, and effectively manage competing priorities.
Our ideal candidate will be someone with knowledge and experience of policy or strategy delivery within the Civil Service or allied fields. We have a diverse set of experiences within the team, a common theme amongst our members, whatever their background, is a can-do attitude towards new challenges.
Person specification
Responsibilities
The Senior Strategy & Policy Advisor’s responsibilities will vary, but will include:
- Leading or actively participating in policy and strategy projects that contribute to shaping the departments strategic approach to maximising the benefits of tax software.
- Drafting or coordinating briefings, correspondence, submissions, explanatory notes, and guidance products, for senior officials.
- Coordinating and supporting the delivery of the Strategic Software Forum, including identifying relevant topics, preparing discussion materials, and ensuring the team's contribution to the forum's objectives.
- Supporting the development of software standards policy, working alongside colleagues from HMRC and industry to shape its design.
- Building and maintaining productive relationships with stakeholders across government and industry, ensuring that policy and strategy align with their expectations.
Essential Criteria
- Ability to build and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of internal and external stakeholders, working collaboratively to develop policy in a complex and fast-paced environment.
- Strong analytical skills to quickly grasp complex issues, gather, and analyse relevant information, generate innovative solutions, evaluate options, and provide confident advice aligned with organizational goals and broader context.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present complex information clearly, persuasively, and in a manner tailored to the audience.
- Demonstrated ability to consider various perspectives, foster a supportive and inclusive work environment, challenge constructively, and advocate for the teams
- A clear understanding of how individual tasks contribute to broader organisational objectives, enabling effective prioritisation, management of competing demands, and resilience in overcoming challenges.
- Proven track record to manage projects effectively, including planning, organising, and coordinating resources to achieve project objectives within deadlines and budget constraints.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a strategy or policy focused role
- Experience in using project management methodologies and tools.
- Knowledge of the tax system and/or tax compliance.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Working Together
- Seeing the Big Picture
Benefits
HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.
We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.
- Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
- Family friendly policies.
- Personal support.
- Coaching and development.
To find out more about HMRC benefits and find out what it’s really like to work for HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service
Things you need to know
Selection process details
How to Apply
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:
- A name blind CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.
- A 750-word personal statement explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed.
- Desirable criteria will only be assessed in a tie break situation.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here.
Sift
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will only be sifted on the Personal Statement.
At full sift your CV and your Personal Statement will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.
We may also raise the score required at any stage of the process if we receive a high number of applications.
Interview
During the panel interview, your experience will be assessed, and you will be asked behaviour-based questions 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.
As part of your interview, you may be asked to deliver a short oral presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.
The Behaviours to be assessed at interview are:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at pace
- Working Together
- Seeing the Big Picture
You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview. 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 useful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.
Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
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 with your eligibility form, please contact us via: unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk – Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example – ‘Please re-open my application – 377081 & vacancy closing date 19/11/2024’.
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.
Merit List
After interview, a single merit list will be created, and appointments will be made in strict merit order until the set demand is filled in each location. If successful, you will be informed which locations are available when we reach your position on the merit list.
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 team via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@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:
This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.
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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
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 : Kamany Musuamba
- Email : kamany.musuamba@hmrc.gov.uk
- Telephone : 07586745101
Recruitment team
- Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk
Further information
In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.
