Job holders in this grade will carry out a range of activities across communications professional disciplines to support efficient running of the directorate. This may involve being deployed to support emerging priority work.

External Affairs Officers can be required to deliver any or all of the following:

• Support, prepare and deliver stakeholder engagements and events, such as our annual stakeholder conference and regular stakeholder meetings.
• Work closely with colleagues in the Press, Digital and External Affairs team, and across the wider Communications directorate to develop and ensure delivery of targeted strategies in line with departmental priorities.
• Research and prepare briefing documents for senior leaders, including ministers, permanent secretaries and executive board members to use when meeting external stakeholders.
• Support the planning and organisation of communications to stakeholders around fiscal events such as The Budget and Spring Statement.
• Anticipate issues before they occur, devising handling solutions for them and assessing outcomes, using learnings to influence future activity.
• Own trusted, direct comms to comms relationships to support effective stakeholder relationship management and use this insight to inform and shape behaviour within HMRC.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders within HMRC and other government departments to enable accurate, appropriate and timely delivery of HMRC key messages.
• Staff joining the Press, Digital and External Affairs team at this grade and above may be required to be part of the out of hours on call rota.

The successful candidate should be a member of the Government Communications Service (GCS) or be willing to join.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Excellent written skills with the ability to be creative when drafting products. Note - your application will be checked for spelling, punctuation and grammar, with mistakes being considered in scoring
• Experience of working collaboratively across teams and with external stakeholders.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, demanding and unpredictable environment while prioritising work, often under pressure.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the confidence to push back on senior colleagues' decisions or ideas should it be necessary.
• Has the ability to take complex policy information and explain it to non-expert audiences in a straightforward way.

Additional Security Information

The successful candidate must hold or be willing to obtain National Security Vetting level at Security Check before starting the role.

Transitional Sites Information

If your location preference is for one of the following sites, it's important to note that these are not long-term sites for HMRC and we will require you to move to a new building in the future, subject to our location strategy and the applicable employee policies at that time.

For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations (opens in a new window)

These sites are:

• Waterview Park, Washington - moving to Pilgrims Quarter, Newcastle
• Benton Park View, Newcastle - moving to Pilgrims Quarter, Newcastle
• Centenary Court, Bradford - moving to 7 and 8 Wellington Place, Leeds
• Lynx House, Portsmouth - moving to No.1 The Goodsyard, Portsmouth
• Telford Plaza, Telford - moving to Parkside Court, Telford
• Trinity Bridge House, Manchester - moving to an alternative office in Manchester/ Salford

You will be given more information about what this means at the job offer stage.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,320, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £10,521 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences.
• A 500-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the Essential Criteria and Job Description outlined in the advert.
• A250-word statement addressing the specified behaviour - Working Together. Please use the STAR system (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe a situation where you have worked with an external stakeholder who has helped you achieve your business objectives.

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your behaviours statement - Working Together.

At full sift your behaviour statement, CV and 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, you will be asked behaviour-based questions on the following - Working Together, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture and Communicating and Influencing to explore in detail what you are capable of.

You will be required to complete a written test at interview. You do not need to prepare for this.

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 - [insert vacancy ref] & vacancy closing date [insert date]'.

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.

Additional Security Information

Please note in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

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 (opens in a new window) .

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.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

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
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Clare Merrills
• Email : Clare.Merrills@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk

Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles.

In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk . Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles.

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.

Attachments
Combined TC and OGD Pay - English - July 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 129kB) Combined TC and OGD Pay - Welsh Opens in new window (docx, 116kB)