The Deputy Director, Strategic and Cross-cutting Policy leads a diverse portfolio of some of the key cross-cutting policy priorities shared across HMRC and HMT. They play a pivotal thought leadership role to drive forward mutual understanding across the partnership, using their unique viewpoint to shape our narrative on whole-system Tax Reform, balancing Ministerial steers with HMRC compliance and operational constraints, to deliver that reform.

As a member of the Strategic Policy into Delivery senior leadership team, the role holder will also play an active role in the leadership and management of the directorate, ensuring it is a great place to work.

This is a cross-cutting role, so the responsibilities will iterate and evolve in line with departmental needs and Ministerial steers.

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Leading departmental focus on tax simplification and steering the team to deliver ambitious tax simplification reforms at fiscal events.
• Working across HMT and HMRC to drive strategic thinking and provide advice and support to the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury on future policy and administrative reforms to close the tax gap (the gap between the tax revenue HMRC should be collecting and is collecting).
• Working with HMRC policy colleagues to ensure focus on preventing non-compliance from happening (upstream) - including helping to progress spending review propositions and ensuring that the department progresses development of further ideas (e.g. via facilitation of pilots).
• Leading policy work to reform Income Tax Self-Assessment payments, an area affecting millions of taxpayers and requiring careful stakeholder management. This includes acting as the Senior Responsible Owner for a £16 million investment to modernise HMRC's app to allow Income Tax Self-Assessment taxpayers to make voluntary advance payments in instalments.

Accountabilities

The role holder is accountable for leading strategic policy development of key crosscutting policy issues, including tax simplification, tax reliefs and measures to tackle the tax gap and reduce non-compliance, as well as delivery of a key modernisation project.

Management of People

The role holder will provide visible leadership to a multidisciplinary team of c.18 people, comprising specialists in policy, tax, project delivery and operations, based in HMRC regional centres across the UK.

They will be responsible for developing the capability and skills of the team, ensuring the appropriate resources are in place to meet stakeholder and departmental needs.

Key Interactions

This is a high profile role that requires excellent stakeholder management skills, involving interaction with Ministers, senior officials in the Treasury, as well as with HMRC DGs/Directors across a range of business areas. There will also be external stakeholder engagement.

Person specification

Candidates will be assessed against the following essential criteria:

• Proven ability to lead on complex and crosscutting policy initiatives. You will have experience of analysing complex policy challenges, identifying innovative solutions, and developing and implementing robust strategies to deliver them.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills, with the capacity to build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external senior stakeholders. You will have demonstrable experience of successfully collaborating with and delivering through colleagues across organisational boundaries at all levels, particularly in a high-pressure setting.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to secure confidence of senior leaders and Ministers, communicating with and influencing them effectively on a range of complex and sensitive topics.
• Excellent leadership skills, with the ability to confidently lead and inspire teams across multiple locations. You will be able to set direction, vision and goals while also coaching and motivating colleagues through periods of ambiguity and uncertainty, building capability within and across teams.
• Knowledge of the UK tax system or experience working with tax issues.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £76,000, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £22,017 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• 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 employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete an online application by submitting the following:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
• A Statement of Suitability explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the criteria in the person specification.

Your CV and Statement of Suitability should reflect your most relevant and recent skills and experience in relation to the role. Therefore, we recommend that each document is no more than two A4 pages long

Assessments

If shortlisted for interview, you will be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise (SEE).

Assessments don't result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel's decision making and highlight areas for further exploration at interview.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to candidates if shortlisted for interview.

We will send you a copy of any report for any assessment that you may have undergone as part of the recruitment process (where applicable).

Interview

You will be asked to attend an interview for a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence.

We will also ask you to prepare a 5-minute verbal presentation. Details will be issued in advance of your interview.

Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 3rd March 2025 and will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams (full instructions will be issued prior to interview).

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible once all interviews have concluded.

The successful candidate will be required to have or obtain SC level national security vetting clearance. Appointment is conditional upon achieving the required level of security clearance.

All Criminal Record Checks applications are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.

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

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

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
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 : Dale Robinson
• Email : scs.resourcing@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.resourcing@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 a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned. 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 web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/

Attachments
Candidate Pack - Deputy Director, Strategic and Cross-Cutting Policy Opens in new window (pdf, 1195kB)