Details
Reference number
428813
Salary
£34,820 - £40,000
If the successful candidate is a current Civil Servant joining on level transfer, HM Treasury will honour their current substantive salary if higher.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP
Job grade
Higher Executive Officer
Contract type
Permanent
Business area
HMT - Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions
Type of role
Policy
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
* Location
* About the job
* Benefits
* Things you need to know
* Apply and further information
Location
This post is based in Darlington (Feethams House). This role cannot be worked from any other HM Treasury office.
About the job
Job summary
If you're interested in making a difference to people's lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.
Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.
We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It's central government, made more accessible to you
Job description
About the Group
Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions
We work to build a tax and welfare system that supports the government's goals of fiscal sustainability, economic growth, and fairness. We look after high-profile areas including personal taxes, labour markets, welfare, tax administration, pensions, tax avoidance, and savings. We also coordinate spending controls for HM Revenue & Customs, Department for Work and Pensions. The Group is responsible for over £400bn in tax receipts and £300bn in welfare spending, impacting the lives of millions of citizens across the UK.
Our work means that we are often at the centre of ministers' decision making, and we play a significant part in the Budget and the Spending Review. We work closely with HMRC, DWP and Number 10, and with a wide variety of external stakeholders.
PTWP is a friendly, diverse, and inclusive Group, with a wide range of backgrounds and specialisms. We have an active 'Wellbeing Plan' focussed on learning and belonging.
About the Team
TASR (Tax Administration, Spending and Reform) is an outstanding, friendly, and diverse team of 16 people based across the London and Darlington offices. We are the Treasury team responsible for supporting HMRC in delivering Government priorities – from raising tax revenue to fund public services, to simplifying the tax system, and tackling tax avoidance and evasion to close the tax gap.
TASR's work is of fundamental importance to the Treasury, the Chancellor, and wider government. We work closely with a wide range of HMRC and HM Treasury teams to deliver tax policy, and we also act as the spending team for HMRC, ensuring HMRC spending is sustainable and meets the government's wider objectives.
We are seeking to attract diverse, skilled, and impactful people and are keen to encourage applications from candidates with various backgrounds and ranges of experience.
About the Job
This is an important, interesting, and challenging role within TASR's Spending Unit and provides an opportunity for an ambitious individual to learn about Public Spending, a core HM Treasury function. The overall unit is responsible for all HMRC, Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and Government Actuary's Department (GAD) spending and performance. The postholder will be responsible for supporting the branch on in-year HMRC spending decisions, owning many tasks outright themselves, and will take a leadership role on all spending matters related to the VOA: acting as the Spending Principal for the government agency. This is a particularly interesting time to take on this role as the agency is merged into HMRC and will be brought into its parent department by April 2026; the role-holder will lead on Treasury's strategic input into this process.
You do not need to be a finance professional or have any specific qualifications to apply for this role. You also do not need to have worked in HM Treasury, or the Civil Service, before. We are looking for people who have the right set of skills, are enthusiastic, who demonstrate HM Treasury's values, and who are motivated to develop their own learning of Public Spending principles and frameworks to inform decision-making.
Good spending officials build strong, open relationships with their departments, understanding when to advocate on their behalf, and when to provide constructive challenge. They enjoy solving problems and using evidence to support decision making. They have great time-management skills and are able deliver through others to meet their goals.
Key accountabilities for this role include:
* Act as the working level lead on HMRC in-year spending issues, including leading the Mains and Supplementary Estimates Process for the department (key financial events in the Public Spending calendar), and helping to resolve relevant financial and funding challenges.
* Monitor HMRC's monthly budget and financial forecast, providing constructive challenge on areas of financial risk, deliverability and saving opportunities and communicating key information to senior officials and ministers.
* Assess and advise senior officials and ministers, including the Financial Secretary and Chief Secretary to the Treasury, on relevant spending, policy, and proprietary issues requiring HM Treasury approval, including special payments and expenditure beyond departmental delegations.
* Build and maintain positive relationships with a range of partners, including within HM Treasury, HMRC, the VOA, and finance and policy teams across government, acting as a key point of contact and dealing with any problems or queries as they arise.
* Act as the VOA Spending Principal. Provide leadership on the agency's spending strategy and lead on all related financial queries, including offering constructive challenge and support as needed, providing spending control, reviewing relevant programmes, and helping ensure that the agency can operate effectively whilst living within its budget. Provide strategic HMT input and leadership on the merger of the VOA into HMRC.
Work flexibly to support TASR and PTWP wider objectives. We work in an exciting and fast-paced part of HM Treasury and you may sometimes need to work outside your core responsibilities to support the wider unit and team.
Candidate Drop-In Session
We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time.
Thursday 9th October 2025 @ 15:00-15:30 – click here to join the meeting.
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, please contact Dominic Burstin at or Emma Stevens at
Person specification
We are looking for the below skills, experience and behaviours and we will ask you to demonstrate these in your application form. Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for guidance on how to complete your application form.
* Making Effective Decisions: Ability to gather and analyse a range of complex information, including numerical data, evaluate evidence, and use sound judgement to make evidence-based recommendations.
* Working Together: Ability to build effective relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including those who may have different views or goals from you, to deliver work outcomes.
* Delivering at Pace: Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise and manage a busy portfolio of work consisting of multiple tasks and competing deadlines.
The lead criterion is: Making Effective Decisions
If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
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.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
* Making Effective Decisions
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
* Seeing the Big Picture
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
* Making Effective Decisions
* Working Together
* Delivering at Pace
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £34,820, HM Treasury contributes £10,087 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
* 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)
* Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
* Generous parental and adoption leave package.
* A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
* Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
* Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
* Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
* A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
* A range of active staff networks, based around interests and diversity
Flexible Working Arrangements
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it's important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone's circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Recruitment Timeline
* Closing date: Monday 20th October 2025
* Shortlisting: From 21st October 2025
* Interviews: w/c 3rd November 2025
This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.
If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.
Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.
Reserve Lists
You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a post immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be approached for roles in merit order according to the first preferred location stated on your application form.
Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer. We would still encourage you to apply for other HM Treasury opportunities that you are interested in. If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or you are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.
Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.
Eligibility Statement
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information.
Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Counter Terrorist Check (CTC)
To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.
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 counter-terrorist check .
See our vetting charter .
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)
* 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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 .
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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
* Name : Dominic Burstin
* Email :
Recruitment team
* Email :
Further information
Complaints Process: 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 by email at: If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.