Direct Tax Specialist

Direct Tax Specialist - Belfast Regional Centre (BT1 4GF) About the job
Job summary
Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it's really like to work at HMRC.
Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.
Are you a tax professional with experience in a senior tax role? Are you maximising your expertise?
HMRC's Customer Compliance Group (CCG) have some exciting opportunities to work on a variety of tax disciplines for skilled Tax Specialists.
CCG plays a crucial role in meeting HMRC's strategic objectives. Comprising 27,000 dedicated members, we are one of the largest areas within HMRC. Our primary goal is to simplify tax payments for both individuals and organisations, while diligently addressing and preventing fraud and evasion.
We have multiple positions available across Direct tax disciplines and we also want to talk to you if you are passionate about tackling non-compliance and undertaking investigatory roles.
We aim to provide a platform for you to benefit from a clear career pathway, build on your existing skills whilst satisfying purpose and wellbeing. We truly believe we can provide you with a workplace that gives you a real sense of belonging.
Job description
As a Direct Tax Specialist, you will be working on highly sophisticated and sensitive tax affairs across a range of dynamic customer sectors, and with a range of internal and external stakeholders. This specialist role provides an excellent opportunity for you to leverage your substantial knowledge of Direct Tax issues, to provide expert guidance and support to your team.
To be successful in this role, you must possess substantial and demonstrable knowledge of Direct Tax compliance, either In Income Tax or Corporation Tax. We also welcome applications from candidates with experience that spans different types of taxes and/or customer sectors that carry large values of tax risk, including more niche areas such as R&D and Venture Capital. You will be expected to identify and address risk across multiple heads of duty in some of our investigatory roles.
If you are a driven professional with a proven track record in compliance, we invite you to join our team and make a meaningful impact on the UK's tax landscape. Apply now and be part of an organisation that values integrity, professionalism, and a commitment to public service.
At HMRC, we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diverse perspectives are valued and celebrated. We actively encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds, as we believe that a diverse workforce is key to delivering exceptional service to the public.
For more information on what you can expect within a career as a Tax Specialist, take a look at our careers site to hear from experienced Tax Specialists.
HMRC - Tax Specialists , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)
We are holding 3 candidate information sessions for these roles. They will all focus on different areas of these roles, so you are welcome to register for more than 1 session.
They will be held on:

• Friday 25th October at 1pm,
• Thursday 31st October at 11.30am and
• Friday 1st November at 11.30am.

To register for an event, please follow this link:
- Leading and co-ordinating HMRC's engagement on tax issues with large and complex customers across varying lines of business
- Conduct in-depth analyses of complex cases, identifying potential risks and areas of business non-compliance.
- Develop and implement effective compliance strategies to ensure customers adhere to regulations. Lead on the communication and delivery of these compliance strategies across internal and external stakeholder groups.
- Investigate multiple business and individual networks, designed to hide fraud, tackling fraudulent behaviour and/or poor compliance
- Provide expert guidance and support to colleagues and stakeholders on compliance matters.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach to compliance.
- Maintain up-to-date knowledge of relevant legislation, regulations, and industry best practices.
- Represent HMRC in meetings and discussions with external stakeholders, including businesses and professional bodies.
- Contribute to the continuous improvement of corporate tax compliance processes and procedures.
Who are we?
Our role is vital, to bring in the money to pay for the country's public services and give financial support to people. Our vision is simple, to be a trusted, modern tax and customs department. An organisation that makes it easy for our customers to get tax right, and hard for anyone to bend or break the rules.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
It is essential that you are a qualified Tax Professional. You MUST hold one or more of the following:
Chartered Tax Adviser - CIOT
AIIT (including Paper 4*)
A Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (CCAB) membership qualification including:
Institute of Chartered Accountants of England & Wales (ICAEW)
Institute of Chartered Accountants in Scotland (ICAS)
Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland (ICAI)
Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
Post Graduate full legal qualification - in taxation matters
For previous or existing HMRC employees TSP or predecessor qualification (TPDP, IDP, ITS2, CPT FT2) - (note - existing HMRC employees would only be eligible if they have completed the appropriate course to get them to G7 level (or above) in a tax professional role.)
In addition to the above you must have:
Substantial and demonstrable knowledge of Direct Tax compliance principles and regulations.
- Recent demonstrable compliance experience working on the most complex Direct Tax issues.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to identify and address complex Direct Tax issues.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively convey technical information to diverse audiences.
- Proven ability to work collaboratively in a team environment and build positive working relationships.
- Commitment to continuous professional development and staying up to date with industry trends and best practices.
Successful candidates could be posted to any business directorate within CCG.
Please note that for roles based in Carne House, Belfast and the Scottish Crime Campus in Gartcosh (Glasgow) you must successfully obtain SC clearance before taking up appointment.
This may also be a requirement for other locations but not all. Successful candidates will be contacted at the point of offer to discuss.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience in conducting compliance audits or reviews.
- Knowledge of other tax regimes and their interactions with Direct Tax.
- Familiarity with data analysis tools and techniques.
- Experience in training or mentoring colleagues on corporate tax compliance matters.
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• You will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation and answer follow up questions. Further information will be supplied to applicants who reach this stage of the recruitment process.

Benefits
Alongside your salary of £56,344, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,322 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 Experience and Technical skills.
How to Apply
We try to make our application process as straightforward as possible, so we ask for a two-part CV:
1. Please provide your employment history setting out:
Dates in role (MM/YY - MM/YY).
Employer.
Job Title.
In no more than 250 words per role, include:
A description of your responsibilities and relevant achievements detailing the 'what you did' and 'how you did it'.
Please detail key achievements and the impact your work has had. Your CV should be tailored to showcase how your experience aligns with the advertised role and essential criteria.
2. Qualifications:
List all relevant qualifications held, for the role as outlined in the job advert and essential criteria.
Sift
At sift your CV 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, your experience will be assessed and you will be asked to give a 10 minute presentation and answer follow up questions.
Further information will be supplied to candidates who reach this stage of the recruitment process.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Interviews will take place via video link.
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: - Use the subject line to insert appropriate wording for example - 'Please re-open my application - 375074 & vacancy closing date 13/11/2024'.
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.
We are recruiting to ensure we have a sufficient supply of high calibre people, with the right skills to help us deliver our business, now and in the future. Please note, we will be making some immediate postings in strict merit order following pre-employment checks, however we may not be able to appoint all successful applicants straight away.
Please be aware that we cannot guarantee you will be offered a role from the Reserve List you may be placed in.
Merit List
We are recruiting to ensure we have a sufficient supply of high calibre people, with the right skills to help us deliver our business, now and in the future.
Please note, we will be making some immediate postings in strict merit order following pre-employment checks, however way may not be able to appoint all successful applicants straight away.
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 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.
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.
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).

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