This role is both a support function and a potential career pathway to be an operational member of the team. The role will involve supporting members of a busy team carrying out tasks to assist with the operational activities.

The person in the role will not only ensure equipment used for surveillance is operational, but also being part of the team who design and create the solutions that are deployed in live operational scenarios. The team provide a service to wider Investigation and Intelligence directorates within HMRC, finding solutions for when collecting evidence and intelligence becomes challenging using normal conventional methods.

As HMRC strive to modernise our approach to combatting organised crime, our work in Covert Operations is heavily invested in technology to help us achieve our objectives. As well as some of the more traditional surveillance techniques, this role will involve a heavy reliance of technological solutions. As such the vacancy holder will be expected to be proficient in the use and application of technology, as well as willing to develop and learn new skills.

Person specification

Responsibilities will include:
• Working under the supervision of experienced Technical Surveillance Staff.
• Assemble and repair of covert video/audio equipment, tracking equipment.
• Assisting with the design and fabricating of bespoke solutions to technical surveillance challenges.
• Assisting with research and development - contributing to and preparing business cases for the procurement of new equipment and technology.
• Ensuring stock levels of equipment, components and materials are maintained
• Ensuring working areas are maintained and kept to a professional standard.
• Supporting the Technical Surveillance Officers reach operational objectives.
• Ensuring the teams fleet of vehicles are maintained, serviced and operational.
• Provide support for technical equipment for wider investigation and intelligence officers.
• Provide the team with logistics support for the movement of equipment.
• Carry out regular assurance of sensitive surveillance equipment and assets.
• Maintain personal admin.
• Carry out reasonable management requests.

Essential Criteria:

• Excellent Communicator, both orally and written who can understand differing and cross level colleagues and Technology Surveillance stakeholders, whilst able to explain things clearly and concisely in a digestible manner.
• Utilising your strong gravitas and corporate experience utilising Microsoft Office tools to help with administrative and visual tasks. Demonstrating an interest in Technology and this role. Sharing this knowledge requiring flexibility payments to be made to you for this type of work.
• Has a "get up and go" attitude can manage their diaries well, challenge stakeholders when needed and can accommodate for last minute or ad hoc tasks. This includes visiting other offices and being comfortable with travel and being physically with customers at times.
• Hold a full valid UK driving licence at the time of application and be willing to drive official vehicles. Please see below for further information.

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience with using power tools and workshop items.
• Experience with IT Networks.
• Experience with low voltage AC/DC electrical systems.
• Experience with working at height including qualifications.
• Either hold or being in the process of obtaining a current electronics, engineering or IT qualification such as City & Guilds, BTEC or equivalent.

Flexibility Payment:

This post attracts Flexibility Payments at Level 1a combined with Level 1b, which are paid monthly with salary.

Level 1a allows HMRC flexibility to change your work pattern, at short notice, to meet business needs, Additionally, you will be expected to work longer hours from time to time, at weekends and outside your normal working hours/days (including bank holidays).

Level 1b requires you to undertake periods of On Call. You will be expected to work on call 1 week in 4.

In applying for a position and accepting the FP you agree that you can and will meet those attendance requirements.

Note: Payment of FP is dependent on successful completion of role specific training and you will move to Level 1a+1b FP eligibility in stages (see the attached document for details).

FP levels are reviewed annually - on a business need and personal basis - and may be subject to change.

If you currently receive the Flexibility Payment, which may include Transition Protection and/or a Maintained Pension Value, moving to a new role may affect your payments. please see attached document.

Licences
A full UK car driving licence and willingness to drive on official duty.

We recognise that some people cannot drive due to a disability or underlying health condition and may not be able to meet this requirement. Where this applies, you can apply (you will need to answer Yes to this question to proceed) but will need to declare that you require a reasonable adjustment at the point you receive a provisional offer. The vacancy holder will then discuss your specific requirements to consider if this can be reasonably accommodated in this role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,096, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £9,008 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

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 include what excites you about this role and how you meet the Essential Criteria - please show us impacts, outcomes and examples on how you meet these.

Please also complete a separate statement (max 250-words) for the Desirable Criteria, where applicable. This is not essential for the role but may be considered by the vacancy-holder where candidates have the same scores at sift or interview.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

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 CV.

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, we will assess your Experience by asking you to prepare and deliver a 10-15 minute presentation.

The Presentation should be about a project you have led on or took part in, describing:
- when you have adapted a piece of electronic / electrical / mechanical equipment to be used in a way that deviated from its intended or original use,

or
- when you have created a piece of electrical / electronic / mechanical equipment from scratch in order for this to be of some use to you or others.

Please include in the Presentation: Why did you do this? What issues did you encounter in the project? How did you overcome the issues? What did you learn from the project? Was the end result a success or not sure, and why?

The example you use can be from either a work or home environment.

Interviews will take place via video link (Microsoft Teams).

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 you will only be considered for posts in locations 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK .

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
Open to UK nationals only.

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 : Damien Real
• Email : damien.real@hmrc.gov.uk
• Telephone : 03000582745

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
Flexibility Payment Attachment FINAL JUNE 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 56kB)