Overview
Tax Specialist – IHT and Trusts – Belfast – Erskine House
About the job
Job summary
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Wealthy and Midsize Business Compliance (“WMBC”) is a directorate within HMRC’s Customer Compliance Group (”CCG”) of around 4,000 people which has responsibility for the management of a range of complex customer groups and over 10 different tax regimes.
HMRC’s Wealthy compliance teams (“Wealthy”) are responsible for the tax compliance of the UK’s wealthiest individuals. Wealthy individuals often have complex tax affairs that present significant challenges to an effective tax administration. Given the size and nature of the tax at risk within the wealthy population it increases the opportunities and risks of non-compliance.
Our teams assure the tax paid by wealthy individuals and tackle risks and non-compliant behaviours to ensure that wealthy individuals contribute to the health of the tax system. This involves a strong, policy, technical and data led approach to promoting compliance and preventing non-compliance that encourages and supports the customer to get things right first time.
Our approach is tailored to the risk that is presented by our customers.
Our Complex Cross-Tax and Offshore (CCTO) multi-disciplinary team brings together tax specialists from different regimes to work holistically across the entirety of the wealthy individual’s tax horizon including their partnerships, corporates and onshore & offshore trusts. By having a holistic understanding of the Wealthy individual in their entirety, we’ll improve how we prevent, promote, and respond to compliance risks within this population.
We will be holding one Candidate Information Session as a group webinar where you can hear directly from the team about a day in the life of the role, the wider team & HMRC. We will also be discussing the application process and next steps. Additionally, there will be time on these sessions for you to ask questions directly to the team.
We are holding an information session about this role date is Thursday 21st August at 11.30am. To register, follow this link to forms:-https://forms.office.com/e/HcTgeUUWEp
Job description
We are looking for UK tax specialists with experience of providing Trusts and IHT tax advice to high-net-worth clients and Trustees.
One of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury’s key priorities for HMRC is to close the tax gap. The Government is investing in HMRC to deliver that priority. We are continuing to evolve and improve our ways of working together across HMRC to manage our tax risks more effectively and will be building on our successes and accelerating work to address some of our tax risks we believe need urgent attention.
This is an exciting opportunity for experienced Trust and IHT tax professionals to use commercial and technical knowledge to shape HMRC’s response to non-compliance by Wealthy individuals who control complex offshore structures and close the tax gap.
This is a high profile and exciting role which will require expertise, drive, and commitment to contribute to the spring statement 25 objective to tackle wealthy offshore non-compliance and bring in over £500 million over the next 5 years.
As a Trusts and IHT tax specialist you will join a multi-disciplinary tax team. This is dual strategic and compliance role where you will contribute to the overall strategy, approach, and direction within CCO for tackling compliance risks that arise from Wealthy individuals and the entities they control.
Person specification
• Act as a technical advisor using your strong working knowledge of IHT and Trust taxation to provide specialist support, advise, guidance and direction to caseworkers on technical and strategic issues in specific cases. You will take ownership of some of the riskier, challenging and/or complex enquiries or lead/coordinate several connected cases involving specific technical elements.
• Use your commercial and technical knowledge to identify areas of UK tax risks within complex international structures controlled by Wealthy individuals and help design and implement a range of compliance solutions in response to those tax risks.
• Collaborate with local and national teams, case consultants and strategy, risk and policy colleagues, to collaboratively tackle risks and emerging issues, ensuring HMRC has a consistent approach to IHT and Trusts compliance.
• Build capability across the team and directorate and help to create and embed an environment of continuous improvement, identifying gaps in technical knowledge and supporting development and delivery of learning and awareness sessions.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with Senior Leadership Team (SLT), Deputy Directors and other stakeholders, working across grades to influence, persuade and negotiate on business issues.
• Willingness to travel as required, including occasional overnight stays.
Essential Criteria
• Recent demonstrable experience of providing UK IHT and Trusts tax advice, involving Trust structuring, Offshore Trusts, IHT planning, succession, estate advice and ongoing compliance of Trusts and Estates.
• Experience of interacting with HMRC on complex enquiries.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to speak to diverse audiences, verbally and within written communications.
• Experience of building the capability of yourself and others in a compliance environment.
Qualifications – Please see qualifications as listed below.
For Internal Candidates Only
In October 2023, a decision was made that applicants for G7 Tax Professional roles must have successfully completed the Tax Specialist Programme or hold an equivalent qualification. To enable career development for experienced colleagues already in Tax Professional roles, if you have been successful in gaining a G7 Tax Professional role through open competition prior to October 2023, and you are not subject to any Performance Management action, you are now able to apply on level transfer for other G7 Tax Professional roles. Please note that if you applied for a non-tax professional role on promotion to Grade 7 prior to October 2023 but have tax experience, you would not be able to apply on level for tax professional roles.
Qualifications
You should hold one of the following qualifications:
• Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification
• Chartered Accountant (ICAEW, ICAS, CAI, ACCA) qualification
• Holders of an Advanced Diploma in International Taxation (ADIT)
• STEP practitioner
• Be a qualified solicitor or barrister with post qualification experience in tax.
Technical skills
We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Presentation
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
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 to reference how you meet the Essential Criteria and the Person Specification outlined in the advert. For each job role please provide a brief description of the role and key achievements, key responsibilities and key achievements (max 300 words per role). You will be assessed against the Essential Criteria and the Person Specification outlined in the advert.
- In the CV Qualification Box please only confirm the mandatory qualifications you hold.
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
If you are successful at Sift stage then you will be 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 interviewyou will be asked Experience based questions in relation to the Essential Criteria and Person Specification within the CV, to assess your experience and explore in detail your technical capability and expertise.
You will also be asked to deliver a presentation based on a scenario provided during the interview.
Interviews will take place via video link. 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.
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 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.
Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers
This role may be suitable for existing HMRC employees who are contractual homeworkers. Occasional attendance to the office will be required where there is a business need. Please consider the advertised office locations for this role when applying and only select locations from the ‘location preferences’ section that you can travel to.
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 (opens in a new window).
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.
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).
