Digital Portfolio Manager - Stratford

About the job

Discover what it's like to work in a compliance role that makes an impact. Could you help us shape a stronger, fairer future? Your next career move starts here. HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) is responsible for the department's civil and criminal investigations. Covert Operations, Digital Exploitation (CODE) sits within FIS. Working across Law Enforcement and government, CODE provides investigative tools and covert techniques to front-line investigations and works with key partners to develop and provide access to new technology and systems to enable investigators to respond to serious and complex tax evasion and crime.

As a Digital Portfolio Manager in the Capability Development, Infrastructure and Innovation team within CODE, you will play a crucial role in supporting His Majesty's Government in the fight against serious and organised crime. Your work will directly contribute to high-profile investigations, helping to recover and protect hundreds of millions of pounds annually through innovative technical solutions.

The team manages a diverse and rapidly expanding portfolio of projects, ranging from the development of bespoke forensic tools tailored to highly specific investigative needs, to the design and implementation of scalable data visualisation platforms that enhance analytical capabilities. You will collaborate closely with law enforcement agencies, intelligence teams, and external partners to ensure that cutting-edge technology is leveraged effectively in tackling financial crime, cyber threats, and fraud.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to work at the forefront of data engineering within a mission-driven environment, where your expertise will help shape the future of digital investigations and forensic analysis.

Person specification

The CODE Tech Portfolio Office (PO) is a critical enabler of both project delivery and business as usual across CODE's responsibilities. The Portfolio Office acts as the fulcrum between business needs, project delivery, suppliers, commercial processes, and external partners, ensuring that complex, sensitive, and high-risk technology initiatives are aligned, governed, and delivered effectively.

This role supports the Portfolio Lead by taking delegated responsibility for defined elements of portfolio coordination, commercial and supplier engagement, project stewardship, and stakeholder management. The post holder will operate across all CODE's environments and work closely with internal delivery teams, commercial colleagues, external suppliers, and UK and international partners.

This role aligns to the Digital Portfolio Manager profession and capability framework, with a focus on supporting and enabling portfolio level outcomes more than direct project management.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Coordination and Planning

• Support the coordination of the CODE Tech portfolio, ensuring alignment between business requirements, delivery activity, supplier capability, and strategic outcomes.
• Contribute to portfolio planning, prioritisation, and analysis, supporting the development and maintenance of a coherent, deliverable pipeline of work.
• Provide subject matter expertise on the interaction between requirements, supplier solutions, and delivery outcomes, supporting informed decision making across the portfolio.

Commercial and Supplier Engagement

• Undertake delegated commercial and supplier management activity, including smaller and less complex commercial engagements arising from projects and BAU activity.
• Work closely with CODE Commercial and Departmental Commercial teams to coordinate activity and ensure effective hand offs and shared visibility of upcoming demands.
• Maintain portfolio level oversight of supplier engagement where activity is constrained by classification, ensuring that requirements are articulated and translated appropriately for wider commercial use.
• Engage directly with suppliers and partners under the direction of the Portfolio Lead.

Project and Delivery Stewardship

• Provide portfolio level stewardship of projects, supporting effective engagement between project managers, suppliers, and business stakeholders.
• Undertake delegated responsibility for regulatory engagement related to the portfolio, including coordinating inspections and associated portfolio level responses.
• Support problem management post implementation, acting as a subject matter expert to assist service and support functions where required.
• Deputise for the Portfolio Lead at selected internal and external meetings, representing HMRC interests where appropriate.

Stakeholder Management and Collaboration

• Engage with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, including delivery teams, business management, commercial colleagues, regulators, and UK or international.
• Support cross functional collaboration to ensure that portfolio activity is joined up, well understood, and effectively governed.
• Contribute to clear communication of portfolio priorities, risks, and constraints to stakeholders.

Continuous Improvement and Portfolio Maturity

• Contribute to the development and maturity of the CODE Tech Portfolio Office, supporting rebalancing of workload and improved resilience.
• Identify opportunities to improve portfolio processes, governance, and ways of working, particularly in sensitive environments.

Essential Criteria:

• Experience working in or supporting a portfolio, programme, or complex delivery environment, ideally from a digital or civils background, rather than single project delivery.
• Experience of stakeholder management across multiple functions, including delivery, commercial, and external partners.
• Experience of using the relationship between business requirements, supplier capability, and delivery outcomes.
• Experience supporting or coordinating commercial or supplier engagement within a structured governance framework.
• Experience of working confidently with sensitive and classified information, exercising sound judgement and discretion.
• Strong organisational and analytical skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities.
• Familiarity with Government or large organisation commercial processes and working alongside commercial teams.

Additional Security Information

The successful candidate will be required to apply for Developed Vetting (DV) clearance level once in post but must already hold or be willing to obtain Security Check (SC) clearance level before starting the role. In addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy.

This post is open to UK Nationals Only.

Technical skills

• Stakeholder relationship management
• Agile working
• Governance and assurance.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 50,686, HM Revenue and Customs contributes 14,683 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. 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, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• 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 HMRC hear from our insiders or visit Thinking 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.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

How to Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide the following:

• A name-blind CV including your job history and previous experiences.
• A 1000-word personal statement. Your personal statement should be used to demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the Person Specification and the Essential Criteria.

Sift

In the event of a large number of applications being received, an initial sift may be held on your CV. At full sift your CV and your Personal Statement, will be assessed, with the successful candidates being invited to interview.

Interview

During the panel interview, we will test your Technical Skills by way of a 20-minute presentation delivered at interview. Follow up questions will be asked. The presentation brief will be sent out to those invited for an interview. Strength-based questions will also be asked.

The Technical Skills being assessed are: Stakeholder relationship management, Agile working and Governance and assurance.

Eligibility

Please take extra care to tick the correct boxes in the eligibility sections of your application form. Mistakes sometimes happen but if you contact us later than two working days (Monday-Friday) before the vacancy closes, we may not be able to reopen your application for you.

This post is open to UK Nationals Only.

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 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.

Important information for existing HMRC contractual homeworkers:

Please note that this role is unsuitable for contractual homeworkers due to the nature and/or requirements of the role.

Terms and Conditions

Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process.

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.

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.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band. 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.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities.