Deputy Director, Tariff Management and Duty Liability

The Borders and Trade (B&T) Directorate was established in September 2020 as a directorate within Borders and Trade Group. The department is responsible for delivering a substantial EU Transition Portfolio which includes major changes to systems, infrastructure, business plans and resourcing.

The scale and complexity of the EU Exit Portfolio is significant, covering Customs, VAT, Excise, Direct tax and security of the border as well as a complex and varied set of external stakeholders. This means that the delivery model of the Portfolio and the level of information to handle is highly complex. The Group consists of policy &negotiation, portfolio, and delivery directorates to support the Director Generals who have overall responsibility for EU transition and the future border strategy and operations for the department.

Directors General Borders and Trade:
The Directors General for Borders and Trade have overall responsibility for the policy, design and delivery of HMRC's accountabilities for European Union Transition. In addition to EU transition the role has departmental responsibility for delivery of customs revenue at the border, working closely with Border Force.

Sophie Dean and Katherine Green were appointed HMRC Interim Directors General for Borders and Trade in December 2019 before being appointed permanently in May 2020. They were previously Finance & Operations Directors respectively at HM Treasury. Prior to that and between them, Sophie and Katherine worked in variety of policy and operational roles in HM Treasury including Budget coordination, small businesses tax, financial services and private secretary to the Chancellor.

Job description
Working directly to the Director of Customs and Border Design (C&BD) within HMRC's Borders and Trade Group, the successful applicant will be responsible for leading the Tariff Management and Duty Liability Team.

The Tariff Management and Duty Liability team is responsible for the core determinants for arriving at the correct customs duty, including tariff classification, valuation, and origin; provides policy advice; implements the UK Global Tariff and preferential tariffs from FTAs on the CHIEF system; and provides rulings to traders on the classification and origin of goods.

Accountable directly to the Director for Customs and Border Design, the successful candidate can also expect to regularly brief the Director General of Borders and Trade, Permanent Secretaries, and Ministers.

The job holder will work closely with other directorates within Borders and Trade Group, HM Treasury and other policy and operational partners across Whitehall.

Key Responsibilities

Working collaboratively with Other Government Departments to ensure policy requirements that require delivery through the UK Tariff are met and implemented effectively.

Ensuring that systems, processes, legislation and guidance are progressed efficiently, and incorporate process improvements that champion trade whilst ensuring adequate compliance controls;

Collaborating across government to develop trade policy that takes account of operational considerations and constraints;

Developing and implementing resource plans to accommodate best estimates of upcoming demands, including establishing a new workstream with responsibility for Valuation Rulings, and providing statutory rulings on customs matters to businesses.

Leading a team of c.140 people

The jobholder will also be part of the wider management of Customs and Border Design Directorate, actively contributing to excellent leadership across the directorate.

Person Specification

To be successful in this role candidates must be able to demonstrate the following essential criteria within their application.

Significant policy leadership experience, preferably within the trade or customs sphere;

Excellent leadership skills with the ability to nurture and build capability within teams, the ability to motivate people towards stretching goals, and to inspire the team and delivery partners to engage fully with our business plans and HMRC's long term vision;

Strong focus on delivery with the ability to respond quickly to changing circumstances and tight timescales as priorities evolve and escalate;

Evidence of strong communication skills with the ability to communicate with conviction and clarity to ensure you can influence, and take a diverse set of stakeholders including colleagues across Whitehall and with the border trade community with you;

Championing development and professionalism for staff, providing opportunities to meet future skill requirements and create a diverse and inclusive environment;

Experience in leading and developing high profile policy portfolios;

Able to provide high level briefing on challenging issues to short deadlines to Ministers and other senior stakeholders;

Desirable Criteria:

Knowledge of customs policy is highly desirable