Senior Fraud Investigator, HM Revenue & Customs, Bristol or Portsmouth

Summary

Are you looking for an opportunity to progress or develop a Tax Investigation career?

Now, more than ever, our Investigators are necessary to guard the revenues that ensure public services can protect everyone and keep us safe.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is one of the largest Government Departments and one of the country’s biggest organisations. Almost every individual and business in the UK is a direct customer of HMRC. We collect in excess of £500 billion a year in revenue from over 50 million customers across the UK.

We are an effective, efficient and impartial tax and payments authority with a vital purpose: To collect the money that pays for the UK’s public services and help families and individuals with targeted financial support. We have embarked on a major transformational Programme to redirect more of our people and resources to compliance activities, modernising systems and re-engineering processes to become more customer-focused.

About the Fraud Investigation Service

The Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for dealing with cases of serious fraud and bespoke tax avoidance by way of civil and criminal investigations. These cases are the most challenging complex cross tax interventions that HMRC undertakes.

Sitting within Customer Compliance Directorate, FIS consists of approx. 4,500 professionals including a range of specialist skills such as forensic accountancy, cybercrime investigation and insolvency. Each year our teams bring in billions of yields and deliver over 600 convictions.

FIS deploy the full range of powers and approaches to protect funding for UK public services, from surveillance and undercover operations to communications interception and cyber ops; investigating the most harmful tax cheats and ensuring nobody is beyond our reach. This plays an important part in building trust in the compliant majority and reinforces the Department`s fair and even-handed approach.

Job description

This is an exciting and rewarding role for a tax professional looking to develop and use the full range of their technical knowledge and skills. You will be responsible for cases investigating individuals and businesses which are referred to the civil investigation team from internal referrals or other sources. FIS use strong, data-led approaches to identify other cases that require investigation.

The complexity of these cases means that you will be involved in addressing risks across different tax regimes, collaborating closely with specialists on technical issues, working alongside FIS criminal investigation teams and making effective use of HMRC powers.

You will be encouraged to use your experience and skills to help others across the team, which will give you the opportunity to demonstrate and develop inventive ways of tackling fraud and how you can use the resources available most effectively to work cases and meet FIS priorities.

Making FIS a great place to work is a key priority and you will be fully supported in your development and wellbeing. You will receive relevant training, including how to tackle tax fraud under the investigation of fraud procedures using Code of Practice 9 (COP9).

Responsibilities

As a Senior Fraud Investigator, you will play a key role in the way we operate across the entire business area. Within your role you will:

• Lead your own investigations and support others as part of a multi-grade team to conduct compliance interventions.
• Identify and leading on complex civil investigations in line with professional standards using;
a) HMRC Code of Practice 9 where we suspect fraud or
b) HMRC Code of Practice 8 for those who deliberately try to pay less than the correct amount of tax or take advantage of a scheme or device to reduce a tax liability.
• Investigate tax risks effectively through engagement with the customer, agent, third parties, specialists and other sources including the use of HMRC powers when appropriate.
• Monitor and maintain quality and delivery targets in line with forecasts, making recommendations to Operational Leader as appropriate and being accountable for your decisions.
• Act as a leader and mentor to less experienced team members to improve capability and performance.
• Lead case teams drawn from across HMRC to provide an effective response to complex and emerging risks.
• Develop innovative ways of tackling fraud to address new risks utilising resources effectively to meet the FIS priorities.
• Provide leadership within the team, helping to explain and support change to improve the way we work, such as embedding Compliance Professional Standards in investigations.

Essential Criteria

For the Senior Fraud Investigator role, you will need to demonstrate:

• Proven experience operating at a senior level in a Tax compliance environment or experience of complex tax investigations across a variety of Heads of Tax relating to Owner Managed Businesses/corporates.
• The ability to work with customers and their agents respectfully but effectively in seeking evidence to acquire facts to understand arrangements or transactions, and where necessary challenge alternative views.
• The ability to undertake detailed analysis, consider options, make decisions and set direction.
Qualifications
Applicants must have completed one of the following –
• Chartered Tax Adviser (CTA) qualification, or CCAB qualification
Or
• Successfully completed the HMRC Tax Specialist Program , or one of its predecessors (TPDP, IDP, ITS2, CPT, FT2)
Or
• Be a qualified solicitor with post qualification experience in tax
Or
• Successfully completed BDDP, ITS1, QAF Level 4 or equivalent Pathway training in direct tax, VAT or Employment Duties.

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

Technical skills to be assessed in the form of a presentation at interview stage. Details will be provided to candidates selected for interview.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension