In this frontline customer service role, you'll be handling inbound and outbound calls, assisting customers, and providing vital administrative support where it's needed most.

Although you'll be based in HMRC, you may be reacting to demand and supporting key departments like theHome Office, Department for Work and Pensions, and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. It's a unique opportunity to gain experience across multiple government departments, but flexibility is essential as you may be deployed anywhere in the UK or even overseas at short notice.

You will also be enrolled onto our Level 3 Apprenticeship Programme, which is a fantastic way to earn whilst you learn and gain a formal qualification as part of your day-to-day role.

What you'll be doing:

• Answering inbound calls and making outbound calls to assist customers.
• Managing casework and data processing using various IT systems.
• Occasionally engaging with customers face-to-face when required.
• Adapting to urgent tasks, which may involve traveling at short notice.
• Communicating effectively and working independently in a dynamic environment.

Kick-start your career with full training and support, no previous experience is required. All we ask if that you bring your enthusiasm, a helpful attitude, and a willingness to learn. From day one, you'll be part of a friendly and supportive team that's invested in helping you grow and reach your full potential.

You can find out more about what it's like working in Surge and Rapid Response Team on the Civil Service Careers website .

Person specification

Before applying for this role, please consider if the following requirements are suitable to your personal circumstances as they are an essential requirement for this role:

• Need for flexibility - Occasionally you may need to travel at short notice, working away from your home location anywhere in the UK and on rare occasions abroad. We'll pay for all travel and accommodation.

Apprenticeship

You'll be enrolled onto a relevant Level 3 Apprenticeship Programme. It's a fantastic way to learn while you earn, build valuable skills and gain a recognised qualification. The apprenticeship will take about 16 months to complete, and you'll be expected to stay in post until this is completed.

You'll need to hold GCSE Grade 4 (formerly C) or equivalent in English and Maths. If not, you'll be expected to complete a Functional Skills Level 2 qualification in both subjects as part of the apprenticeship.

The Probation Period and Performance & Development process is used to formally monitor timely progress on the apprenticeship. Termination of employment would be a last resort, after all options and support had been exhausted.

Question and answer session

We will be hosting a virtual event where you can find out more about the application process and what it is like to work in SRRT.

This will take place on Tuesday 1st Apr 14:00 - 15:00. Please visit Surge and Rapid Response Team Recruitment Campaign Q&A to book your place.

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.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £26,637, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £7,716 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 .

Things you need to know

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

How to Apply

We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines here .

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

• A short application form
• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences
• Customer Service Skills Test (CSST)
• Video interview

After submission of the first stages of your application you will be invited to complete a Customer Service Skills Test (CSST). If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24 to 48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the Customer Service Skills Test is 14:00 07/04/2025. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the tests. The tests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

Please ensure that any technical issues with the tests are reported - with supporting evidence- prior to 8:00am on 07/04/2025. There will be no extension to the deadline for completing the tests. Please also be advised that Online Tests may only be one element of the application process. You should ensure you set aside plenty of time to undertake the full application process for this role. Late applications will not be accepted.

Interview

If you are invited to an interview, you will be asked questions based on the behaviours listed below to explore in detail what you are capable of.

Behaviours:

• Managing a quality service
• Delivering at pace
• Communicating and Influencing

You will receive a link by email and have 7 calendar days to record your interview.

Please note: If a high number of applications are received, we may implement an interview approach whereby if you fail to achieve the minimum standard on any of the questions, the assessors will not mark the remainder of the interview . If your responses consistently demonstrate the required level in these areas, we will continue with a full evaluation.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview.

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, please contact us via: csgrecruitmentqueries@hmrc.gov.uk - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - 397276 Surge and Rapid Response - closing date 07/04/2025

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.

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 csgrecruitmentqueries@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:

Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.

Merit List

After interview, a location based merit list will be created, and you will only be considered for posts in the location you have expressed a preference for. Appointments will be made in strict merit order in line with the set number of roles in each location.

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 .

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
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 : Volume Recruitment Team
• Email : csgrecruitmentqueries@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : csgrecruitmentqueries@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
Combined TC and OGD Pay - English - July 2024 (2) Opens in new window (docx, 129kB)