HM Treasury UK Jobs – Senior Policy Adviser

About the job

Senior Policy Advisers – Tax Administration and Compliance Strategy

Salary: £53,550- £57,500 (London)/ £50,550 – £54,500 (National)

Working pattern: This post is available on a full time, part time or job share basis, and flexible working hours can be accommodated.

Location: These posts can be based in London or Darlington

Are you looking for an exciting new opportunity to develop a career as a Senior Policy Adviser in the Tax Administration, Spending and Reform (TASR) team, being involved with exciting and high profile work with significant opportunities to demonstrate leadership, work with senior colleagues and Ministers on innovative policy and a top priority agenda for HM Treasury? If so we’d love to hear from you!

HMRC plays a critical role in delivering Government priorities – including raising tax revenue to fund public services, tackling tax avoidance and evasion and supporting the continued reform of the UK customs system. Working closely with HMRC, TASR’s work is of fundamental importance to the Treasury, the Chancellor, and wider government.

What you will bring to the team:

Over the next year the post holders will play a meaningful role in helping to answer some of the biggest questions across tax compliance – how work to tackle tax non-compliance can best support economic growth, how to raise sustainable revenue to support the medium-term economic recovery post Covid-19 and working through what the state of the economy and cost of living challenges means for HMRC’s overall compliance approach.

Individual responsibilities will be agreed with successful candidates but key accountabilities across the roles include:

1. Lead for HMT in developing and delivering government policy and strategy on tax avoidance, evasion, and non-compliance to raise revenue. Working with policy leads in tax teams across HM Treasury and HMRC, develop a bold strategy to tackle the tax gap, and coordinate a package to raise revenue at fiscal events, leading on specific policy proposals as appropriate.
2. Lead work to agree the strategic direction of longer term work to address the tax gap, working closely with HMRC to develop and then utilise strategic tools to ensure policies are targeted and effective, building a pipeline of future potential measures.
3. Collaborate with communications and press office colleagues to ensure the government’s progress in taking on tax non-compliance is communicated effectively. Take lead responsibility for briefing ministers and senior officials on the latest data, including the annual Tax Gap publication.
4. Provide spending control for HMRC compliance programmes, and contribute to wider work across the team to consider how spending and investment proposals can support the government’s tax compliance strategy whilst supporting HMRC in developing more efficient, digital services for taxpayers.
5. Supervise and hold HMRC to account on their compliance and debt-management performance, agreeing annual performance targets and working with colleagues to support the development of broader performance metrics.
6. Lead for HM Treasury in developing policy on specific areas to address non-compliance and help make the tax system work more effectively, address problems with promoters of tax avoidance, ensuring the supervision of the tax advice market best balances consumer protection whilst keeping business burdens low; and developing a strategy for reducing tax admin burdens on business. Work closely with HMRC partners

Each post holder will manage 1-2 Range D policy advisors (HEO?SEO equivalent) and will be expected to play a significant role in wider management of the TASR team.

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us a stronger organisation, better at developing policy that is reflective of the communities we serve. We embrace different views and experiences and value the fresh perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions.
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity (e.g. women in the Treasury, ethnic minority network, LGBT* network, faith and belief network)

For more information about the role, salary, benefits and how to apply please follow the “Apply” link.

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, their contact details can be found on the role profile.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form or speak to the recruitment team.

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment based on fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact HMT Recruitment Team.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.