Tax Risk Specialist

Job summary

We’re responsible for Land Transaction Tax and Landfill Disposals Tax. Our work raises revenue to support public services, like the NHS and schools, in communities across Wales. But that’s not all, we're also involved with and support future tax design for Wales.

Join a place with purpose
You’ll join a team of 100+ talented people from across 14 different professions. Our culture is best described as innovative, collaborative and kind. By working together, we’ll deliver a fair tax system for Wales.

Our people
You’ll be working with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience. From Operations, Policy, Digital and Data, HR, Communications to Finance – there’s a place for you in our friendly team.

You’ll be our greatest asset

You’ll be joining an inclusive organisation and be part of a team where you can thrive, be rewarded and heard.

We’re recognised as one of the top organisations for people engagement in the Civil Service People Survey. Inclusion and fairness are one of our strongest areas, as well as pay and benefits – our People Survey results say it all!

We’re also recognised for being innovative and a digital, ‘cloud-based’ organisation that supports hybrid and flexible working enabling a great work-life balance.

More about working for us, our roles and our Corporate Plan 2025 - 2028 .

Job description

Working directly with the Senior Tax Risk Specialist, you will play a key role in the newly established Tax Risk team, helping to build and maintain a clear picture of tax risk across all devolved taxes administered by the Welsh Revenue Authority (WRA). The successful candidate will be enthusiastic, customer‑focused and committed to delivering high-quality tax administration services.

Initially, the role will have a strong focus on Land Transaction Tax and Land Disposal Tax, with scope to expand to other devolved taxes as the team and function develop. You will undertake a wide range of activities including risk identification, assessment, mitigation and correction. Over time, you will develop strong technical expertise and confidence in handling complex and novel tax issues on behalf of the WRA.

As a Tax Risk Specialist, you will be a central contributor to the WRA’s operational approach to risk, supporting taxpayers and their agents to pay the right tax at the right time. You will promote and champion our education‑ and mitigation first approach to compliance.

The role offers opportunities to work collaboratively across the WRA and with external agencies and partners, providing technical insight and detailed analysis to strengthen understanding of tax risk, capability and compliance. You will work closely with colleagues across data, policy and customer services to deliver joined up outcomes.

To be successful, you will be proactive and innovative in your approach to tax administration, with excellent communication skills and the ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.

"This is an exciting time to be joining a newly formed team focusing on tax risk. Joining an innovative team will provide you with an opportunity to develop your tax knowledge, risk skills and work with other teams across WRA".

Nina Engelhardt, Head of Operational Delivery

Person specification

You will play a key role in delivering and evolving the WRA’s approach to tax risk, championing innovative ways of working alongside agents, taxpayers and stakeholders.

You will contribute to the strategic direction of tax risk management across the organisation, while ensuring agreed processes are adhered to and robust audit trails are consistently maintained.

It should be noted that due to the nature of the role, occasional travel may be required.

Risk Development

• Apply and enhance the WRA’s approach to tax risk, identifying potential tax loss using tax returns, third-party intelligence and publicly available information.
• Develop a detailed understanding of tax risks, including customer behaviours and the scale of affected populations.
• Support the design and delivery of targeted risk campaigns and effective risk mitigation plans.
• Help drive mitigation activity across the organisation, ensuring strong governance, adherence to processes and robust audit trails.

Working Across the WRA

• Work collaboratively with teams across the WRA to embed effective tax risk management.
• Provide operational insight to policy colleagues, identifying emerging or wider tax risks at an early stage.
• Partner with the data team to develop new risk profiles and identify common risk traits.
• Work with the customer research team to strengthen understanding of Land Transaction Tax risks and inform the WRA’s overall approach.

Working with External Stakeholders

• Build and maintain strong, trusted relationships with agents, taxpayers and external partners.
• Engage collaboratively with stakeholders to identify, explore and better understand tax risks.
• Communicate clearly and confidently through face-to-face engagement and virtual platforms such as Microsoft Teams.
• Contribute to wider engagement on operational and compliance matters, promoting shared understanding of tax risks and behaviours.

Continuous Development

• Develop a strong working knowledge of devolved tax legislation, including the Tax Collection and Management (Wales) Act 2016.
• Take a proactive approach to learning, keeping knowledge up to date with legislative, policy and process changes (with training and support provided).
• Build expertise as a recognised specialist in devolved taxes.
• Support capability building across the WRA, with a particular focus on technical and operational aspects of tax risk.

Candidate Information Session

If this seems like a role you’d be interested in, join us for our virtual Candidate Information Sessions. You’ll meet the Line Manager, get an overview of the role as well a feeling for what it’s like to work at the WRA. We’ll also talk through our benefits and provide helpful tips for your application with us. Please register for one of the sessions below:

Register here for 12.30pm on 25th June: https://ArbenigwrRisgTrethTaxRiskSpecialist.eventbrite.co.uk

Register here for 4.30pm on 25th June: https://ArbenigwrRisgTrethTaxRiskSpecialist430.eventbrite.co.uk

Languages

We’ve undertaken an objective assessment of the Welsh language skills needed to undertake the duties of this role. For this role:

Welsh language skills - Welsh skills are not essential. This means that you do not need Welsh language skills to undertake this role and these skills won’t be assessed during the recruitment process. However, we actively encourage all staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills and offer a range of opportunities to suit everyone.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,111, Welsh Revenue Authority contributes £10,751 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

What we offer

• 31 days annual leave + Bank holidays, and 2 Privilege days
• Flexible and hybrid working
• Generous employer pension schemes with a contribution of up to 28.97%
• Tusker car scheme
• Vivup Cycle2Work and advances of salary for season Travel Tickets
• Lifestyle Benefits offering discounts on shopping, restaurants and entertainment
• Wellbeing hour each week
• Access to subsidised sports groups
• Generous family-friendly leave policies
• Free Welsh language courses and time off to learn
• Access to a range of staff diversity networks
• Free counselling and support service via our Vivup Employee Assistance Programme and Your Care Health platform
• A thriving culture that’s described as innovative, collaborative and kind.

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

We’ll always be clear about how we assess your application, at each stage of the process. This will usually include:

• Assessment of your Application Form and CV against the relevant Success Criteria
• A panel interview (if you’re successful at the initial sift stage) Interviews will take place in person.
• If any additional assessments are needed for this role, such as a test or presentation at interview, we’ll let you know in advance.
• Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted using the lead behaviour, Making Effective Decisions.

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Leader so we’ll ask you if you need any adjustments at each stage of the recruitment process. So that we can support you in a way that works for you, we’ll offer a pre-interview accessibility chat to anyone that declares a disability or needs any adjustments. This will take place with someone who is independent of the recruitment process, and you won’t be placed at any disadvantage as a result of needing adjustments.

A reserve list may be held for this role for applicants that have scored above the appointable threshold at interview. This means that if a similar vacancy becomes available in the next 12 months, we may contact you to offer you the role.

We recommend you review the job description (or candidate pack) under the 'attachments' section before completing your application.

Success criteria

Criteria

Assessed in personal statement and CV

Assessed during interview or assessment

Behaviours

Making Effective Decisions

Analyse and assess tax risk using a range of information sources, including tax returns, intelligence, data and research, to make proportionate, evidence based decisions and clearly explain findings and rationale to colleagues, policy teams and stakeholders.

Yes

Yes

Communicating and influencing

Communicate complex tax risks clearly and accessibly, contributing effectively to discussions on operational and compliance issues, and engaging confidently with stakeholders through meetings, workshops and virtual channels.

Yes

Yes

Strengths

Criteria

Assessed in personal statement and CV

Assessed during interview or assessment

Analytical

You seek and analyse information to inform decisions based on the best available evidence

No

Yes

Problem Solver

You take a positive approach to tackling problems and find ways to identify suitable solutions.

No

Yes

Strategic

You look at the big picture. You consider the wider factors and long-term implications of decisions.

No

Yes

Experience

Criteria

Assessed in personal statement and CV

Assessed during interview or assessment

Experience of working in a data analysis and risk assessment environment

Yes

Yes

Experience building a network that supports and advances your work.

Yes

No

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 security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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

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 : WRA Recruitment Team
• Email : Recruitment@wra.gov.wales
• Telephone : 03000254000

Recruitment team

• Email : Recruitment@wra.gov.wales

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. See the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles where this is set out.
If you feel your application has not been treated in line with the recruitment principles, and you wish to complain, you should contact the Head of HR.
Email: hr@wra.gov.wales
If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Job Description - Tax Risk Specialist (Final) Opens in new window (pdf, 374kB)Disgrifiad swydd - Arbenigwr Risg Treth -cy_gb - (FINAL) Opens in new window (pdf, 298kB)