HM Revenue & Customs
Deputy Director, Customer Support & Resolution
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Head of Customer Support & Resolution (Senior Civil Servant) – HMRC
About the Role
Customer Support & Resolution (CSR) at HMRC is Instrumental in driving compliance outcomes and improving customer experience across tax services. This role involves strategic leadership across a diverse portfolio of high-value operational functions, ensuring timely resolution of disputes, compliance with ministerial commitments, and systemic improvements across COVID Schemes, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), Complaints, Interest Review, and Extra Support services.
The Director-level position (approx. 300 staff) requires shaping performance improvement, data-driven insights, and leadership in a regulated environment with complex stakeholder relationships, including Ministers, the Adjudicator, Legal, and Policy teams.
Key Responsibilities
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Strategic Oversight
- Lead customer-centric performance across CSR services, ensuring delivery of operational targets, workforce management, and strong governance around:
- Complaints teams
- Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) operations
- Interest Review Unit
- Extra Support (vulnerable customer assistance)
- COVID Schemes compliance (post-pandemic legacy services)
- Drive continuous improvement by analysing complaints and dispute data to inform policy and operational changes.
- Lead customer-centric performance across CSR services, ensuring delivery of operational targets, workforce management, and strong governance around:
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Stakeholder Engagement
- Build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders, including:
- Ministers (and ministerial correspondence)
- The HMRC Accounts Office Adjudicator
- Legal, Policy, and Compliance teams
- Lead responses to Parliamentary, Treasury, and public inquiries on COVID Schemes and risk scenarios.
- Build and maintain relationships with senior stakeholders, including:
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Operational Excellence
- Oversee customer resolution workflows, ensuring timely, high-quality, and consistent service quality across all channels.
- Digital Compliance Solutions – Design and deliver innovative customer-facing services to support tax compliance, leveraging digital tools, self-service solutions, and crystal-clear systems.
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- Governing Future Resilience
- Develop risk management frameworks to address current and emerging compliance challenges.
- Capability development—ensure teams (including ADR mediators) have accredited training and tool resources to handle complexity.
Key Locations
Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, East Kilbride, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Preston, Salford.
Person Specification
Essential Criteria
Successful applicants must demonstrate:
- Proven leadership of large-scale, multi-site operational functions— mitigating risks while improving performance across diverse teams (~300 staff).
- Strategic vision and adaptability— ability to pivot based on emerging priorities (e.g., post-pandemic compliance trends, new tax legislation).
- ** rock-solid governance, risk, and compliance experience**, ideally in a high-stakes environment.
- Data-driven decision-making— leveraging complaints analytics, dispute trends, and legacy scheme insights to improve customer experiences and systemic fairness.
- Senior stakeholder influence skills— navigating complex policy debates, legal hurdles, and cross-HMRC collaborations.
- Strong financial and operational accountability— ensuring the organisation meets regulatory Charter commitments.
Desirable (but not essential)
- Tax or regulatory compliance domain knowledge (HMRC/VAT/payroll).
- Direct experience managing complaints functions, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), or vulnerable customer support schemes.
- Mediation or facilitation accreditation (e.g., accredited mediation qualifications).
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Remuneration & Benefits
Salary: £81,000 per annum
Pension Contribution
• HM Revenue & Customs contributes £23,465 annually towards your Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. • Alpha Plan membership with 28.97% employer contributions— competitively enhanced for public sector pensions.
Other Benefits
- 25 days annual leave + 1 King’s Birthday “privilege holiday day” per year (30 days after 5 years’ service).
- Flexible options for part-timers.
- Diversity & Inclusion schemes, such as Disability Confident Plus or Veterans Employment Initiative participation.
- Access to bilingual support where relevant and language clearance for high-risk posts.
Selection Process
Shortlisting
- Assessed against essentail CV and statement criteria— essentials are non-negotiable.
- Disability Confident (DC1) applicants who meet minimum requirement standards are guaranteed an interview.
Assessment Stage
All shortlisted candidates undergo:
- Individual Leadership Assessment: psychometric + response paper.
Interview
- Panel-based, remote/discussion with a prepared 5-minute presentation.
- Covers role-specific experience + leadership scenarios.
Security & Appointment Resilience
- Criminal record enhanced checks and baseline vetting required.
- Assignment duration minimum: 3 years (not contract-based, but expected).
Eligibility & Diversity
Open to Civil Service recruiting competition (open to eligible UK/EU nationals, settled status classes). Disability Confident Scheme applies.
HMRC’s commitment to fairness, meritocracy, and inclusion is reflected in all outreach and recruitment: HMRC Equality Objectives 2024–28.
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