Criminal Investigator Officer -
Belfast 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.
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Fraud Investigation Services (FIS) provides HMRC with an effective investigation arm to enforce the Department\\\'s compliance policies. This enables the Department to deliver against the strategic responsibilities across all the taxes and duties it administers. This includes complex offshore evasion, international smuggling of illicit excise goods, exports of controlled weapons and technology, labour market abuses, VAT and Self-Assessment repayment frauds and a host of other fraud attacks targeted at the tax system.
FIS is home to a wide range of people with a variety of skills and professional backgrounds - including accountants, cybercrime specialists, criminal justice professionals, tax professionals and operational delivery support teams to name but a few. We use a range of powers and approaches to protect funding for UK public services, investigating the most harmful tax cheats and ensuring nobody is beyond our reach.
HMRC are hosting information sessions on Tuesday 8th July 10 - 11am and Wednesday 9th July 10 - 11am to accompany the application process where you will be able to hear more about the vacancy . To join the session you will need to register by completing the following: Tuesday 8th July 10 - 11am (opens in a new window)
Wednesday 9th July 10 - 11am (opens in a new window)
Job description In this role you will undertake a variety of daily activities. You may be searching premises one day and conducting suspect interviews the next. We\\\'ll provide world-class training as you develop specialised expertise in combatting tax fraud and protecting the public purse.
This role requires individuals who can demonstrate objectivity and open-mindedness whilst maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. You will work collaboratively with diverse teams across HMRC, supporting colleagues with different working styles whilst achieving common goals. The position demands resilience and the ability to handle confrontational situations with balanced judgement, particularly when working under pressure.
As a Criminal Investigation Officer, you will be expected to follow established rules and guidelines whilst taking accountability for your decisions. This may include providing evidence in court proceedings, requiring confident communication skills both verbally and in writing. The role offers significant opportunities for professional development, with comprehensive training programmes designed to build specialist investigation skills.
You will be expected to undertake:
Search of Premises • Undertake operational activities such as search of premises, seizure of goods and detention of goods.
• Apply laws, always adhering to legislation and policy.
Undertake arrests • Undertake arrests, conduct search of person and interview under caution, diffusing potentially confrontational situations.
Utilise HMRC Powers • Use powers granted to HMRC to investigate and gather evidence.
• Develop and maintain knowledge of relevant legislation and regulations.
Make decisions • Use own judgement to assess evidence.
• Take ownership and be accountable for planning, decisions and activities regarding investigations.
• Utilise forensic evidence and understand how and when to use forensic services.
• Interact and collaborate with a wide range of internal and external people including other parts of HMRC, the Police, Border Force, National Crime Agency, Solicitors, Crown Prosecutors and colleagues from Other Government Departments.
Complete witness statements • Take witness statements from a variety of people, both internal and external.
Attend court
• Attend court to give evidence in criminal prosecutions and / or financial recovery hearings.
• Undertake the role of Disclosure Officer / Reviewing Officer in relation to reviewing and revealing material, created or obtained in the course of an investigation to the prosecutor in line with legislation.
Desk based duties • Analysis of evidence, preparation of written material and official documents, including Search Warrants and Production Order applications, case files and detailed reports.
• Identify, classify and handle information connected to an investigation and ensure legal obligations are discharged effectively.
• Conduct briefing and de-briefing activities to identify improvements and best practice, sharing that knowledge appropriately.
Person specification • Inquisitive, open-minded and objective
• Committed and conscientious
• Organised even when completing multiple tasks
• Resilient and able to deal with challenge and/or confrontation
• Ability to carefully analyse large sets of data to spot patterns and draw conclusions
• Demonstrate balanced judgement under pressure; follow rules and guidelines
• Work respectfully with others to achieve common goals while appreciating different working styles
• Work with integrity, impartiality, professionalism and objectivity
• Take accountability for decisions made and be prepared and able to give evidence in court
• Committed to developing specialist investigation skills and building a career at HMRC
• Confident communicator with good verbal and written skills
Working Arrangements The nature of criminal investigation work and your role duties mean you must be willing and able to:
• Work your hours flexibly to meet business needs, including at night-time, weekends and public holidays, and change your work pattern at short notice
If required, you must also be able to:
• Be \\\"on-call\\\" throughout the day and night for 1 week out of every 4
• Work a specified number of additional hours
Candidates are asked to provide 1 location preference only. Please ensure that you only apply for a location that you are willing and able to work from, as we will only make one offer of employment. Any additional notes included in a \\\'Further Location Preferences (optional)\\\' field within the application form, will not be considered. Please be aware that you cannot change your location preference after submitting your application.
Business areas Successful applicants could be placed within any of the FIS business areas i.e Organised Crime, Offshore Corporate and Wealthy, Individuals and Business, Economic Crime and Internal Investigations. If placed within Internal Investigations, you will join either an investigation or intelligence team based across 3 locations in Manchester, Nottingham, or Croydon. Internal Investigations (Anti-Corruption) Investigators and Intelligence Officers work in criminal case teams gathering intelligence and evidence on individuals, corporates, and Organised Crime Groups (OCG\\\'s) in order to develop, progress and enhance criminal investigations focused on Insider Threats within HMRC and both internal and external attacks on HMRC systems.
Training Requirement A comprehensive training programme is provided. There will be a requirement for you to attend residential training which may take you away from home for up to eight weeks. Throughout this training period you will be required to be available full-time. Furthermore, applicants that are eligible, will join as an apprentice under the \\\'Counter Fraud Investigation Apprenticeship\\\' programme. Further information about the training programme and Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship can be found HMRC-Criminal Investigator , Civil Service Careers
Other Information To recognise these additional attendance requirements, the Criminal Investigator role is eligible for an annual attendance allowance called the \\\"Flexibility Payment\\\".
In return, you\\\'ll gain immense satisfaction knowing your work makes a direct impact keeping the nation safe. Plus, access to unparalleled opportunities for career development and progression within the organisation. We offer a competitive salary with a Flexibility Payment (once training has been completed), and a great career average pension.
To find out more about this role please visit the Website below for more information. HMRC-Criminal Investigator , Civil Service Careers
Flexibility Payment This post attracts a Level 1a Flexibility Payment (FP) that is paid monthly with salary.
This FP allows HMRC flexibility to change your work pattern, at short notice, to meet business needs. Additionally, you will be expected to work longer hours from time to time, at weekends and outside your normal working hours/days (including bank holidays).
When you have successfully completed the full Training and Assessment Period (TAP), it is likely you will have to deliver other attendance in addition to that secured by Level 1a. For example, you may be required to undertake periods of On Call at a frequency of 1 week in 4. You may also be expected to work additional hours.
In applying for a position and accepting the FP you agree that you can and will meet those attendance requirements.
Note: Payment of FP is dependent on successful completion of role specific training. You are not eligible to receive FP Level 1a until that stage is reached. Where additional FP eligibility applies, you will move to that in stages. (See the attached document for details).
FP levels are reviewed annually - on a business need and personal basis - and may be subject to change.
If you currently receive the Flexibility Payment, which may include Transition Protection and/or a Maintained Pension Value, moving to a new role may affect your payments.
Details of the Flexibility Payment can be found in the attached document.
Behaviours We\\\'ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
Benefits Alongside your salary of £29,475, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £8,538 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 Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.
How to Apply After submission of the first stage of your application, you will be invited to complete a
Civil Service Verbal Test and Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:
- A 500-word Personal Statement. Your Personal Statement should be used to describe how your skills and experience would be suitable for the advertised role, making reference to the Person Specification outlined in the advert.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
We acknowledge that AI can assist you in your application. Find our guidelines at
Link: Artificial Intelligence in recruitment
Sift Your Personal Statement 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 you will be asked behaviour-based questions to explore in detail what you are capable of.
We will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
You will be asked strength-based questions to also explore what you enjoy and your motivations relevant to the job role.
This is an example of a strengths-based question:
\\\"It is often said that the customer\\\'s needs should come first. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?\\\"
There is no expectation or requirement for you to prepare for the strengths-based questions in advance of the interview, though you may find it helpful to spend some time reflecting on what you enjoy doing and what you do well.
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:
- 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, merit lists will be created for each location advertised within the vacancy. If you are successful at interview, you will be placed on the merit list for any locations you have expressed an interest for. Appointments from each merit list will be made in strict merit order.
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.
Additional Security Information Please note in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.
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.
Additional Information We are looking into ways to enhance the applicant experience.
As part of our legitimate interests, we are testing the use of new technologies such as automation and/or Artificial Intelligence in the assessment for CV, personal statement and behaviour statement.
Please note that for this specific vacancy, this testing may run in parallel with our standard assessment process and will not influence or determine the outcome of your application in any way. You can read the Civil Service Jobs and HMRC Privacy Notices for more information about our lawful basis for processing your personal data and HMRC\\\'s use of AI.
If you don\\\'t want your data to be used as part of the trial, please send your Application ID and the Vacancy Reference 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.
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.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security 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 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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