Overview

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. Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential. At HMRC we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues; an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve. We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career at HMRC accessible to you. Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

About SOLS

Across Solicitor\\\'s Office and Legal Services (SOLS) we provide legal services to the whole of HMRC. This includes:

• The conduct of independent reviews of decisions made by HMRC which are requested by customers under the legislative provisions.
• The conduct of tribunal and civil litigation on a full range of services.
• Work on new legislation.
• Drafting of statutory instruments and other legal documents.
• Legal advice to ExCom and staff.

We also provide technical accountancy and forensic services to HMRC, are head of the Compliance Accountants\' and Insolvency Professions as well as handling Ministerial Correspondence and Freedom of Information requests for HMRC. The Legal Costs Team sits in the NICERS (National Minimum Wage, Insolvency, Costs, Enforcement, Readiness and Support) Team. The Costs Team is a busy team that undertakes the assessment of legal costs, both in Adverse Costs and Costs Recovery for HMRC and the Valuation Office Agency as well as work in relation to Costs Budgets. The work includes various types of costs recovery and adverse, including Tax related litigation, and general civil litigation including judicial reviews and personal injury. Our work is split in the various jurisdictions in the various tax and valuation Tribunals as well as the civil Courts at all levels. Members of the Team will often provide costs related advice and/or training to lawyers and case workers within the HMRC Legal Group.

You must be able to grasp complex or technical matters quickly and possess a keen eye for detail while maintaining a comprehensive overview. A working knowledge of legalisation and case law in relation to costs and the relevant CPR and Practice Directions. The successful candidate will be required to work under minimal supervision and can work well under pressure. Your work will be predominantly with lawyers, paralegals, and other litigators but you will also work with panel counsel, panel costs lawyers and other stakeholders.

• Effectively and efficiently manage an allocated caseload and provide cover for colleagues as necessary
• You will be responsible for drafting costs budgets, assessing bills of costs, drafting Points of Dispute, negotiating settlements and drafting Schedules of Costs.
• Provide timeous and appropriate advice to case holders and other members of the Department on a wide range of costs issues.
• Attending costs hearings, including anywhere within England and Wales, where and when necessary, potentially at short notice.
• Draft Instructions to Counsel, Costs Panel Member, or a Junior Team Member.
• Make and respond to Costs Applications.

We\\\'ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Personal Statement — 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 Essential Criteria and Person Specification outlined in the advert. Please complete a separate statement (Max 250 words) for the Desirable Criteria where applicable and any Operational Delivery Profession experience. This is not essential for the role but may be considered by the vacancy-holder where candidates have the same scores at sift or interview. 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.

Selection process — Sift, Interview and other steps

• Sift: In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on Personal Statement. At full sift your CV and 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 assessed on the following behaviours - Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace and Working Together and you will be asked strength-based questions. 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?\"

Interviews will take place via video link. Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Eligibility — Please review the eligibility information before submitting your application. We discuss potential issues and how mistakes are handled. If you do make a mistake with your eligibility form, please contact us via unitybusinessservicesrecruitmentresults@hmrc.gov.uk. For more information on eligibility, please review the information provided with the advert.

Other process details

• Reserve List may be held for up to 12 months and merit lists are used to make appointments in strict merit order.
• Criminal Record Check and Baseline Security checks apply.
• Reasonable Adjustments: we will reduce or remove barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

Requirements and benefits — Essential Criteria and Desirable Criteria

• Essential: Litigation Experience; Excellent negotiation and analytical skills; Strong communication; Proficient IT (Microsoft 365).
• Desirable: Legal Costs Experience.
• Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) — if applicable, share any experience or qualifications.

Salary and benefits: Alongside your salary of £36,320, HMRC contributes £10,521 towards a Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension. HMRC offers Flexible and Hybrid Working, generous leave (25 days rising to 30), and other family-friendly policies. Pension contributions, coaching, and development are provided. For more information about HMRC benefits, see the advert and Working for HMRC information.

Additional information and contact — If accessibility changes are needed for this advert or its attachments, contact the UBS Recruitment team. Nationality requirements and Civil Service information apply. This role may be suitable for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers with attendance to the office as needed.