Criminal Investigator - Strategic Exports and Sanctions Enforcement in Manchester

About HMRC

HMRC is one of the United Kingdom’s largest organisations, employing around 60,000 people and collecting over £605 billion in tax revenue. It is an effective, efficient and impartial tax and payments authority whose vital purpose is to fund public services and provide targeted financial support to families and individuals.

About the Fraud Investigation Service

HMRC’s Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the Department’s civil and criminal investigations. It provides an effective investigation arm to enforce compliance policies across all taxes and duties, tackling complex offshore evasion, international smuggling, controlled goods exports, labour‑market abuses and a host of other fraud attacks. FIS employs accountants, cyber‑crime specialists, criminal‑justice professionals, tax specialists and operational delivery teams, using a broad range of powers and approaches to protect public funding and prosecute serious tax cheats.

This is a Band HO role eligible for a Flexibility Payment (FP) at Level 2, worth £14,400 p.a. (national) and £15,300 p.a. (London), paid in addition to basic salary. In return, you will work flexibly – including out‑of‑hours, weekends and public holidays – and change your work pattern at short notice. Periods of on‑call duty and extra hours may be required. Payment of FP is conditional on successful completion of training.

FIS fulfils the principal export control enforcement function on behalf of the Department for International Trade, the UK Export Licensing Authority. This role is part of the team responsible for export licensing control enforcement and counter‑proliferation (CP) activity, detecting breaches of UK export controls and other CP legislation (including trade sanctions) and taking enforcement action to promote compliance within the UK exporter community. This includes disrupting illicit attempts to procure strategic goods from the UK and, where appropriate, reporting cases to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for criminal proceedings.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop intelligence related to suspected breaches of export controls.
• Have recent criminal justice experience as a law‑enforcement professional working in operational or intelligence‑development work.
• Possess at least DV security clearance.
• Represent HMRC at cross‑Whitehall meetings with CP partners.
• Conduct outreach visits to the UK exporting community.

You will interact with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including the Department for International Trade, Border Force, Police, National Crime Agency, solicitors, Crown Prosecutors and colleagues from other Government Departments and agencies engaged in counter‑proliferation work. Court appearances and criminal‑justice decisions may be required, subject to scrutiny and inspection by external authorities.

Person Specification:

• Ability to lead and progress complex criminal and/or civil investigations, taking ownership of decisions and outcomes.
• Strong investigative judgement, with confidence to make defensible decisions under pressure.
• Excellent analytical skills, including the ability to review large volumes of information and identify risks, patterns and evidence opportunities.
• Experience producing clear, accurate and legally compliant written material such as case files, warrants, interview records and reports.
• Effective communication skills, including the ability to work confidently with senior stakeholders and external partners and give evidence in court.
• Proven planning, prioritising and managing multiple tasks to deadlines.
• Operational capability to lead or support enforcement activity, managing risk and securing best evidence.
• Strong leadership skills, including coaching others, managing performance and supporting colleague well‑being.
• Confident use of Microsoft Excel and the broader Microsoft 365 suite.
• Resilience, integrity and professionalism, with flexibility to meet operational demands.

Essential Criteria:

• Utilisation of criminal‑justice procedures, including:
• Rules of chain of evidence
• PEACE model of interviewing
• Keeping contemporaneous evidential notes
• Taking witness statements
• Execution of search warrants and production orders
• Use of powers within the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (England and Wales), Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (Northern Ireland) and Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 & Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (Scotland)
• Understanding of Property Interference (Police Act 1995) and RIPA/IPA for investigative powers
• Applied knowledge of Criminal Procedure & Investigation Act 1996 (CPIA 96) for disclosure practice standards
• Experience creating or assuring investigative strategies, applying technical competence to identify pertinent lines of enquiry and managing daily criminal‑investigation cases.
• Command & control experience supporting operational activities to secure best evidence and an understanding of crime‑scene control, systematic search techniques and risk management.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, supporting evidential submissions to the Crown Prosecution Service (or the appropriate devolved authority) through manual guidance forms and equivalent quality standards.
• Management of others, either operationally or as HR people‑management.
• A full UK driving licence; willingness to drive official vehicles is essential. Evidence of a valid licence will be required pre‑employment.

Working Arrangements:

• Work hours flexibly, including nights, weekends and public holidays; change patterns at short notice.
• Be on‑call for a week out of every four.
• Work additional hours as required.
• Role is unsuitable for the hybrid working arrangement. Flexibility Payment (FP) holders may work from home on an ad‑hoc basis but this is not fixed to a specific number of days.
• Applicants must provide a single location preference. Only one employment offer will be made and additional location preferences will not be considered.

Training and Assessment:

• Four‑week face‑to‑face training programme, followed by up to three weeks in the office and a one‑week Final Exercise. Training covers HMRC powers, procedures and, if required, arrest powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Successful completion is essential for continuation in the role; failure may result in redeployment or removal of FP.
• Public and Personal Safety Training (PPST) is a PASS/FAIL event covering safety, restraint, handcuffing and physical training. An occupational‑health certificate is required. Annual Job‑Related Ability Test is part of PPST; failure may terminate appointment and, if necessary, lead to redeployment or removal from the HMRC Redeployment Register.

Additional Security Information:

• Developed Vetting (DV) clearance required.
• Full UK driving licence required.
• Reasonable adjustments may be considered for disabled candidates.
• Technical skills assessed during selection include lawful application and policy knowledge of the law‑enforcement procedures.

Benefits:

• Salary of £37,682.
• HMRC contributes £10,916 to the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
• Flexible and Hybrid Working policies available.
• Leave allowance: 25 days, increasing by one day each year up to 30 days.
• Pension contributions equal to at least 28.97 % of salary.
• Family‑friendly, personal support, coaching and development programmes.

Application Information:

HMRC is hosting information sessions on Tuesday 23 June 4–5 pm and Wednesday 24 June 10–11 am to accompany the application process. Register via the provided links. Closing date: 6 July 2026.