Compliance Officer
HM Revenue and Customs
Apply before 11:55 pm on Monday 4th December 2023
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About the job
Job summary
Do you have compliance or audit experience? Would you thrive in a data-driven environment assuring over £3 billion a year? Join the APD Central Assurance Team in HMRC, with one of the largest and most dynamic IT infrastructures in Europe, and now one of the most digitally advanced tax authorities in the world.
The APD Central Assurance Team (CAT) is responsible for all aspects of APD compliance and assurance activity, including assessing risks to feed into our audit programme. We are a standalone compliance resource within Excise and Environmental Taxes (EET). We pride ourselves in being a highly skilled, flexible, confident, forward-looking team. EET is part of the Indirect Tax Directorate in Customer Strategy and Tax Design.
EET teams are responsible for innovative and high-profile tax development. Whether that’s designing ground-breaking new taxes to protect the environment, developing strategies to tackle alcohol and tobacco duty fraud or playing our part in the vital response to Covid-19.
We work collaboratively with colleagues across HMRC and government to make sure we collect the right tax and make it hard for people to bend or break the rules ensuring everyone makes a fair contribution to funding our public services.
Our colleagues are involved in the whole lifecycle of the tax, from design, customer insight, legislation and implementation to maintenance and continuous improvement, compliance and litigation. We develop understanding of our tax through insight into the compliance of the industry from large airlines to business jets operators. Our small team influences big decisions with our work.
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.
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.
Job description
The main focus of the Compliance Officer role is to assure the tax through thorough systems and process checks. You will progress disclosures and audits through to assessment using datasets provided by airlines.
Your main responsibilities will be:
- Monitoring and maintaining the effective performance and operation of APD regime.
- Assessing the risk of the customer base to contribute to a prioritised audit/assurance programme.
- Undertaking a full range of assurance activities from full systems audits (sometimes with trained auditors) to simpler desk checks.
- Monitoring operator compliance (outstanding returns, payments and debt) and ensuring action is taken to address non-compliance.
- Providing support and expert legally based advice on APD operational and technical issues to external customers, colleagues and other stakeholders.
- Contributing to projects and working collaboratively as part of a team including working with stakeholders.
- Visiting customer premises with probable overnight travel to interrogate systems and processes.
Person specification
We are looking for a self-starter with an aptitude for interpreting large data sets and forming accurate assessments. The ideal candidate will have a background in compliance work and be able to develop relationships with customers quickly.
As someone with an eye for detail, you’ll challenge findings and work with customers to gain an understanding of their systems. Using your Excel skills, you’ll present complex data in a simplified way, conducting in-depth checks to find issues and educate our taxpayers.
We need someone who will seek out opportunities for compliance work and support their findings with appropriate evidence. You’ll be able to scrutinise detail and present your conclusions in a concise way to establish the facts.
Essential skills and experience:
- A background and knowledge of compliance and/or audit work.
- Data analysis and interpretation abilities are required to verify claims and form assessments.
- Numerical and Excel skills, as you will be interpreting large datasets.
- The ability to accurately analyse and draw conclusions from information.
- A concise informative writing style is required, as you will be communicating directly with customers.
Desirable Criteria:
- Experience of indirect tax.
- A familiarity of and use/application of legislation.
- Experience of developing relationships with customers.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- You will be presented with a dataset and asked to interpret it based on the information given. You will be scored on your analysis, understanding and ability to draw an accurate conclusion.
Benefits
- 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 average employer contribution of 27%
Find more about HMRC benefits in 'Your little extras and big benefits handbook' for further information or visit Thinking of joining the Civil Service.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
All Criminal Record Checks applications are considered fairly in accordance with the DBS Code of Practice and the Recruitment of ex-offenders Policy.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a name blind CV and a 500-word Personal Statement.
Your CV should cover your job history. Your CV is for information purposes only and will not be scored.
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 person specification outlined in the advert.
The sift will be carried out against the Personal Statement, with the successful candidates being invited to 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.
We will assess you against these behaviours during the interview process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Lead Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions
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 helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.
You will be presented with a technical question designed to test your data interpretation abilities.
Interviews will take place via video link. Interview dates to be confirmed.
We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process in order to manage numbers.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 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.
Eligibility
To check that you are eligible to apply, review this eligibility information
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.
Reasonable Adjustments
We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition, or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.
If you need a reasonable adjustment or a change to be made so that you can make your application, review this information on reasonable adjustments, and contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible.
Diversity and Inclusion
At HMRC we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues and creating an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.
Diverse 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. We’re committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues here at HMRC. We want everyone to feel valued and supported to achieve their potential at HMRC.
For more information on how we make this happen, review this information on our culture and values
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.
We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible after considering operational and customer service needs. We can’t guarantee that we can meet all requests to work flexibly, as agreement will be subject to business ability to accommodate, and any request to work a more flexible arrangement should be made prior to your acceptance of the provisional offer.
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.
The Civil Service runs 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.
Locations
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.
Security Update
For more information on the level of security checks we will carry out, review this information on security checks
Further Information
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.
Duplicate applications for the same vacancy will also be withdrawn.
Transferring into HMRC from Civil Service If you are currently working for an ‘Other Government Department’ (OGD) and would like to consider the impact on your pay when joining HMRC, please see the attached document "Combined T&C and OGD Pay English”, found at the bottom of this advert. Further information on staff transfers can be found on gov.uk
Problems during the application process
If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
If you think you’ve made a mistake on a short application form (e.g. you’ve ticked the incorrect eligibility box), please contact hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk at least two working days before the vacancy closes. After this, we won’t be able to reopen your application.
Please use the subject line to insert appropriate wording e.g. Please re-open my application - 326267 & vacancy closing date 04/12/23. Please note that we cannot amend or re-open your application if you have submitted your full application in the interests of fair and open recruitment.
For reasonable adjustments queries or requests, please see details within reasonable adjustments section above.
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : John Waring
- Email : john.waring@hmrc.gov.uk
- Telephone : 03000 549609
Recruitment team
- Email : hmrcrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
