Lead Tax Manager

Job summary

Defra is the UK government department responsible for protecting and enhancing the natural environment, supporting a world‑leading food and farming sector, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our work touches people’s everyday lives — from the food we eat and the air we breathe to the water we drink.

Defra operates a group model, delivering corporate services centrally to Core Defra and four arm’s length bodies: the Environment Agency, Rural Payments Agency, Natural England, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The Tax Team provides expert tax services across the Defra group, covering VAT, taxable benefits, corporation tax, and off‑payroll working (IR35). The team sits within the wider Compliance and Financial Accounting Team, which leads on the preparation of statutory accounts for Defra bodies and the consolidated Defra Group Annual Report and Accounts.

As a Grade 7 within the Defra Tax Team, you will play a lead role in delivering high‑quality tax expertise across the Defra group. You will be the lead specialist for IR35, taxable benefits, and corporation tax, and will support wider VAT compliance activity as needed.

You will act as a trusted adviser to senior stakeholders, ensuring compliance with tax legislation, managing relationships with HMRC and cross‑government partners, and leading on complex tax issues. This role requires strategic thinking, strong technical knowledge, and the ability to operate confidently in a complex, changing environment.

Job description

• Provide strategic leadership for IR35 compliance across the Defra group, ensuring robust governance and effective risk management.
• Lead on taxable benefits, including oversight of processes for data collection and review, and management of PAYE Settlement Agreements for Core Defra, the Environment Agency, and Natural England.
• Ensure corporation tax obligations are fulfilled for Natural England, including compliance, reporting, and liaison with stakeholders.
• Maintain and update tax guidance, ensuring it reflects current legislation and supports consistent application across the business.
• Identify and deliver training and capability‑building to meet organisational tax knowledge needs.
• Provide authoritative advice on complex tax matters, supporting informed decision‑making across the Defra group.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the tax function on all areas of tax, providing expert input and peer support.
• Lead engagement with HMRC and the cross‑government Tax Centre of Excellence, including managing and coordinating HMRC audits.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with senior stakeholders, supplying clear, timely, and accurate information.
• Represent tax interests in finance system development and upgrades, ensuring tax requirements are embedded from the outset.
• Provide leadership to a geographically dispersed team, fostering high performance, inclusion, and professional development.

Person specification

• Significant experience as a tax professional, with strong technical knowledge of IR35, taxable benefits, and tax legislation.
• Proven ability to interpret and apply complex tax legislation and guidance in a practical, operational context.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence at senior levels.
• Strong communication skills, including the ability to explain complex technical issues clearly to non‑specialists.
• Demonstrable experience of leading and managing teams, including remote or geographically dispersed colleagues.
• Strong project management, organisational, and prioritisation skills.
• Analytical and problem‑solving capability, with sound professional judgement.
• Ability to operate effectively in a changing environment, with a strategic mindset and awareness of wider organisational impacts.
• Strong IT capability and confidence working with financial systems and data.

• You will be an experienced tax professional and either hold, or be working towards, a relevant professional qualification such as CTA, CCAB, or ATT, or be able to demonstrate equivalent experience.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,375, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £16,331 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV and four behaviour statements.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

The candidate's CV needs to demonstrate they have undertaken similar roles and activities as shown in the job specification.

In the previous skills and experience section, the candidate needs to provide about 500 words showing that they have skills/experience relevant to the role.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Behaviour, delivering at pace, and candidates need to meet the required sift score for their application to be progressed. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to a video assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Interview

Candidate successful at sift stage will be invited to a video assessment/interview (1hour 20/25 mins) that will consist of a blended interview of Behaviours and Strengths.

A presentation or additional exercise relative to the role will also be assessed, further details will be given to candidates selected for interview.

Location

As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s)

Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.

Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.

Reserve

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Salary

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to DEFRA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk 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.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Visa Sponsorship Statement

Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.

Criminal Record Check

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Higher Security Clearance

All of these posts require the successful candidate to hold basic security clearance. Candidates posted to London may be subject to a higher level of clearance because of the security requirements for that location. Job offers to these posts are made on the basis of merit. Security vetting will only take place after the receipt of a job offer.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Internal Fraud Database Check

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.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) 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 : Jacqui BIrch
• Email : Jacqui.birch@defra.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: here