Operational Manager

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.

Visit our YouTube channel to watch the full series and come and discover your potential.

This role is part of HMRC Valuation Office, formerly known as the Valuation Office Agency. We have recently integrated into HMRC. As we continue the transition to our updated HMRC branding, you may still see some VOA logos or references in our advertisements for a temporary period.

HMRC Valuation Office are the public sector’s property valuation experts and advisers with a vision to be a world-leading provider of public sector valuations. Our work is vital to the collection of over £60 billion of revenue which goes back into communities, touching every citizen and every business across England and Wales.

Job description

Role Overview

The Regional Valuation Units (RVU) are responsible for rateable value and valuing property for tax purposes. RVU also supports Non-Domestic Rating activity by providing technical advice to other work streams in the HMRC Valuation Office.

This is a fantastic role for someone who is passionate about inspiring and motivating a team. You’ll encourage collaboration and innovation to ensure effective communication, sharing of ideas and continuous improvement.

You’ll manage a team of caseworkers and be accountable for achieving the team’s strategic targets and objectives. Our managers play a pivotal role in delivering an excellent service to our customers through their support and guidance to our caseworkers. In addition, you will identify, translate, and communicate business goals and requirements into day-to-day activities.

Successful candidates will be assigned roles in RVU Non-Domestic Rating teams.

Key responsibilities

• Manage team to support delivery of excellent service: line management and day to day responsibility for a team of staff to deliver a credible, responsive and professional service.
• Set direction, lead, manage, coach and develop an inclusive team.
• Recognise and deal with performance issues within the team, applying the correct HR principles.
• Use data to prioritise work, drive overall performance and make decisions.
• Deploy resources and organise workloads to enable the most effective and efficient delivery despite challenges.
• Carry out quality assurance activities, identify problems and encourage the generation of solutions from teams.
• Engage and support the team through change, including recognising learning opportunities and seeking feedback to bring about continuous improvement in own and team’s performance.
• There will be a need for occasional travel across the UK with some overnight stays required to support business needs.

Person specification

We are looking for an individual with strong leadership traits and the ability to inspire and motivate a team of professionals to deliver their objectives. You will be someone who understands the importance of continuous improvement both for the business and the individual.

As someone who is naturally self-motivated and flexible, you will be able to switch, at short notice, between the various duties required for the role. You will be a conscientious manager with the ability to quickly identify and act upon the needs of your team.

Essential Requirements

• You will have previous experience of overseeing and coordinating the delivery of operational activities. This includes managing processes, meeting targets and deadlines, quality control and management of resources.
• Comprehensive and well-rounded management skills with the ability to coach and support, empower, and provide constructive feedback where appropriate, as well as managing team performance.
• A willingness to develop technical skills such as an understanding of Business Rates.
• Strong communication, prioritisation, and organisational
• The ability to persuade and influence senior stakeholders and to build trusted relationships based on a good understanding of the links to other work areas and the external business environment.
• Able to interpret data to support service delivery and improvements and highlight trends or risks.
• Understands complex information and make the right decision at the right time often under pressure.
• Willingness for occasional travel across the UK with some overnight stays required to support business needs.

Desirable Requirements

• Experience of Business rates.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,682, Valuation Office Agency contributes £10,916 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 that starts at 25 days, increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days and a Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.

• 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 HMRChear from our insiders or visitThinking of joining the Civil Service.

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.

How to Apply

If you can meet our person requirements above, we are keen to hear from you.

To apply for this post, you must complete an online application with the following:

A Personal Statement (maximum 750 words), please outline your suitability for the role. Please pay particular attention to the ‘Essential Requirements’ and ‘Person Specification’ outlined in the advert when providing your answer.

Sift: 27th April - 1st May 2026. Please note these dates are provisional and may be subject to change.

We will assess you on your Personal Statement.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour, 'You will have previous experience of overseeing and coordinating the delivery of operational activities. This includes managing processes, meeting targets and deadlines, quality control and management of resources. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

Interviews: W/C 18th May 2026. Please note these dates are provisional and may be subject to change. These will be confirmed should you be invited to interview.

Interviews are currently taking place using Microsoft Teams Video. We will provide more detail if you are shortlisted for interview.

We will assess you on the Behaviours listed in the job description and Strengths.

At the interview, the panel can then probe further and ask applicants to provide further specific examples that show how they best demonstrate their skills.

Application Hints and Tips

For more information on Success Profiles, tips on how to write a successful application and find out more about what’s involved in the application process please visit About the application process , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk).

Further Information

Hybrid working at HMRC

HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time).

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 resourcingteam@voa.gov.ukas 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.

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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to tell us which of the locations available you can work in. You will be able to specify 1 option.

Successful candidates must select one of the locations noted in this advert as their base office and will be expected to undertake regular travel to this location under HMRC hybrid working policy.

Terms & Conditions

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.

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.

Reserve Lists

If we have more successful candidates than available vacancies, we will hold a 3 month reserve list as standard. During that time, we may use the list to fill the same, or similar roles with closely matching essential criteria, without further testing of merit. Any appointments from the Reserve list will be made in strict merit order.

Concerns/Complaints

HMRC Valuation Office recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition.

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, you may make a complaint, by contacting the Central Recruitment Team at the following address: resourcingteam@voa.gov.uk

If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint you have the right to complain to the Civil Service Commissioners.

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 : Ellie Waters
• Email : ellie.waters@hmrc.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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