Director Tax, Customs and Compliance Academy (TCCA) - Belfast

Director Tax, Customs and Compliance Academy (TCCA) - Belfast

About the job

Job summary

The Director of the Tax, Customs and Compliance Academy (TCCA) is critical in achieving HMRC's strategic objectives and reinvigorating the tax profession.

This is a rare opportunity for an experienced senior leader to make a lasting impact at scale. As Director of TCCA, a circa 2,500 strong academy, you will be at the forefront of HMRC's transformation and the academy's evolution. This role is central to the department's ambition to modernise the tax and customs system and close the tax gap. The role sits under the Head of the Tax Profession and is co-sponsored by the Director General, Customer Compliance. Your remit spans the whole of HMRC, supporting over 15,000 tax professionals and engaging colleagues across all disciplines to set and deliver an ambitious strategy for HMRC's tax profession. The TCCA is the single gateway for all tax, customs and compliance learning. You will:

• Play a key role in HMRC's senior leadership team, influencing the direction of one of the UK's most important public institutions through setting the Tax Professionalism strategy and ensuring its delivery to meet HMRC's strategic objectives.
• Shape and deliver the Academy's vision to reinvigorate the tax profession in HMRC, leading a large multidisciplinary organisation at scale. Aligning learning and talent programmes with HMRC's strategic priorities to ensure that we have the skills, knowledge, and mindset to deliver on the organisation's ambitious goals of delivering excellent customer service and closing the tax gap.
• Create and agree career routes for tax professionals in Policy, service, legal, technical and compliance roles so we have deep specialists and leaders in tax who can progress to the most senior levels of the Department and Civil Service.
• Ensure tax professional careers and talent are actively managed to build strength in depth, with the right numbers of experts across the department to deliver departmental priorities and equip us for the future.
• Build strong partnerships across the tax profession nationally and internationally, ensuring HMRC remains at the cutting edge of tax administration.

Job description

This is a critical, high-profile leadership role accountable for delivering on the strategic objectives for the tax profession and building tax, customs, and compliance capability to close the tax gap and modernise HMRC.

While TCCA is co-sponsored by the Head of the Tax Profession and Director General, CCG, the role works across the enterprise and in close partnership with HR and Executive Committee to support in building the tax capability required to support HMRC's functions in policy, tax legal, change and service.

Strategic Leadership & Governance

• Lead development and implementation of HMRC's capability strategy for the tax profession and TCCA, aligning them to the organisation's strategic objectives and transformation roadmap.
• Act as a visible and influential leader, running HMRC's Senior Tax Professionalism Board and providing strategic advice to the Head of Tax Profession, CCG Director General, and Director of Learning and Talent.

Capability Development & Learning Transformation

• Drive design and delivery of scalable, tailored, sustainable learning and capability solutions, including the Civil Compliance Foundation Learning (CCFL), Tax Specialist Programme (TSP) and a 'Tax for All' learning offer.
• Champion modern, blended approaches to learning-experience, exposure, education-leveraging technology and professionalisation of learning roles.
• Lead the development of career pathways, standards and learning frameworks for tax professionals across HMRC (policy, service, legal, technical and compliance) ensuring alignment with job roles and business needs to cultivate a pipeline of tax talent for future leadership roles.

Enterprise Collaboration and Influence

• Build strong partnerships across HMRC's business groups, with the other capability academies, HR and professions to co-create and deliver joined-up HMRC capability solutions.
• Influence HMRC-wide resource and funding decisions to prioritise strategic capability outcomes and cross-academy working.
• Foster a culture of continuous learning and professional growth, ensuring capability keeps pace with external developments and emerging risks.

Mobilisation into Delivery

• Lead the mobilisation and ongoing development of TCCA, including organisational design, workforce transition, and sustained operational delivery.
• Build and maintain a clear view of the tax professional cadre, including mapping existing numbers and skills against requirements to deliver current and future objectives.

Professional Stewardship & Future Readiness

• Ensure HMRC's tax, customs and compliance capability keeps pace with external developments, regulatory changes and emerging risks.
• Lead the development and delivery of a holistic plan for the Tax Profession to meet HMRCs compliance capability Spending Review commitments and support wider government economic aims.

Person specification

The successful applicant will demonstrate relevant experience and effective delivery of the following essential criteria.

Professional Qualification

• A professional qualification in tax, accounting or a related discipline (such as TSP, CTA, ACA/ACCA or equivalent) and/or senior leadership or people-profession qualifications (for example, CIPD or an MBA) are highly desirable.

Strategic Leadership

• Proven experience as a strategic senior business leader in a large and complex organisation, who can lead across organisational boundaries, professional disciplines, and work collaboratively across a complex organisation to set and achieve ambitious strategic objectives.

Transformational Capability Building

• Proven track record in managing change in a large and complex organisation that results in an enduring culture of higher professional standards at multiple levels.

Complex, High Profile Delivery

• Experience of successfully delivering business critical operations at scale, managing risks and issues and improving service delivery to meet challenging targets at pace.

Stakeholder & Influencing Skills

• Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills, with a track record of influencing at the most senior level and building strong relationships internally and externally to drive strategic plans, develop strong partnerships and improve performance.

Inclusive People Leadership

• An experienced and inclusive leader with evidence of successfully fostering innovation, developing talent, and effectively leading large, diverse teams, whilst building engagement and driving results.

Qualifications

A professional qualification in tax, accounting or a related discipline (such as TSP, CTA, ACA/ACCA or equivalent) and/or senior leadership or people-profession qualifications (for example, CIPD or an MBA) are highly desirable.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 100,000, HM Revenue and Customs contributes 28,970 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Pension

Your Civil Service pension is a valuable part of your total reward and is one of your biggest benefits.

When you join the Civil Service, you get access to the alpha pension with a generous employer contribution of 28.97% and some of the lowest member contributions in the public sector.

Please visit Civil Service Pension Scheme for more information.

Annual Leave and Bank Holiday Allowance

25 days annual leave, increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service (allowance pro-rata for part-time colleagues).

This is complemented by one days paid privilege leave to mark the King's Birthday and is in addition to your public holidays.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

The Civil Service values and supports all its employees. At HMRC we want to create great places to work that are welcoming to all - where there is a strong sense of belonging and community.

We embed inclusion in everything we do. Senior Civil Servants play a crucial role in promoting and maintaining inclusive behaviours, addressing disparities and reporting progress.

Our HMRC equality objectives 2024-2028 describe how we are working to become a more inclusive and representative organisation reflective of our values.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Selection Panel

• Paul Kernaghan, Civil Service Commissioner & Chair
• Carol Bristow, Head of Tax Profession and Director General, Borders and Trade, HMRC (vacancy holder)
• Penny Ciniewicz, Director General, Customer Compliance, HMRC
• Jonathan Athow, Director General, Customer Strategy and Tax Design, HMRC
• Helen Pickles, Chief People Officer & Director General, People and Place Group, HMRC

Longlist / Shortlist

The panel will assess the evidence provided in your CV and statement. Candidates whose applications best meet the essential criteria will be selected for a preliminary interview with Green Park, before the Panel reconvenes to agree a final interview shortlist.

HMRC is a Disability Confident leader and is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans Scheme. HMRC guarantees to interview candidates applying under the Disability Confident Scheme or Great Place to Work for Veterans Scheme who successfully meet the minimum selection criteria outlined in the person specification.

Due Diligence

Candidates should declare any perceived conflicts of interest at application, and these may be discussed with you at interview. Appointment is conditional upon shortlisted candidates successfully completing a tax probity check

Informal Conversation

Shortlisted candidates will have the opportunity to speak to Carol Bristow or Penny Ciniewicz prior to interview. This is an informal discussion to allow you to learn more about the role and is not part of the assessment process.

Assessment

If shortlisted, you will take part in the following assessments:

• Individual Leadership Assessment - a combination of psychometric assessments
• Staff Engagement Exercise - a presentation and Q&A with a representative staff group from across HMRC.

Assessments are designed to support the panel's decision making and highlight areas for further exploration at interview and do not result in a pass or fail decision.

Interview

You will attend a panel interview for a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence. This will include a 5-minute verbal presentation (further information will be issued in advance).

Interviews are expected to take place in person at 100 Parliament Street, London.

Offer and Feedback

Unfortunately, due to the anticipated number of applicants for this role, we are unable to provide feedback to those not successful at shortlist stage.

Candidates who are shortlisted and attend an interview will be offered feedback from a member of the interview panel. We will also send you a copy of the report for any assessment you have undergone.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

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 counter-terrorist 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).