Quality Assurance & Technical Management Lead

Job summary

For more information about our Directorates, Lines of Business and some of our roles, please visit the FIS Careers pages HMRC

HMRC – Fraud Investigation Service , Civil Service Careers

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.

The Cyber & Forensic Services (C&FS) team provides critical forensic support to HMRC investigations across Digital Forensics, Audio Visual (AV) Forensics, and Crime Scene Investigation (CSI). We are committed to delivering outstanding forensic services to our customers, maintaining the highest standards of quality, integrity, and professionalism, while striving to be a world-class forensic capability at the forefront of forensic best practice and innovation.

To support this ambition, we are seeking an experienced and motivated leader to join the C&FS Senior Leadership Team as the Quality Assurance & Technical Management Lead.

This pivotal role provides strategic and operational leadership for quality assurance, technical governance, accreditation, and compliance across HMRC forensic disciplines. Leading specialist teams, you will oversee the continual improvement of the forensic quality management system, ensuring compliance with the Forensic Science Regulator’s Codes of Practice and relevant ISO standards.

The successful candidate will lead teams responsible for maintaining the quality management system, practitioner competency, technical validation, and forensic standards, ensuring regulatory and accreditation requirements are met across forensic services.

The role provides leadership and oversight of complex quality and technical decisions, ensuring compliance requirements are proportionate, effective, and aligned with operational needs and forensic service delivery.

Working closely with senior stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), you will drive continuous improvement, manage organisational risk, and help shape the future direction of forensic quality and technical governance across C&FS and other areas undertaking forensic science activities.

Job description

Reporting to the Head of Forensics, you will act as HMRC's operational lead for Quality Assurance and Technical Management within Cyber & Forensic Services (C&FS).

You will lead, inspire and develop the Quality Assurance & Technical Management teams, providing strategic direction and oversight across accreditation, compliance, technical management, and quality assurance activities.

Through your teams, you will ensure forensic services continue to meet the requirements of the Forensic Science Regulator's Codes of Practice, relevant ISO standards, and wider regulatory obligations, whilst supporting effective operational delivery.

Working closely with operational leads, senior stakeholders, regulatory bodies, and external partners, you will provide leadership on quality-related risks, technical management, and accreditation matters, ensuring compliance requirements remain proportionate, practical, and aligned with business needs.

In addition, you will maintain awareness of developments in forensic science, accreditation, legislation, and regulatory requirements, ensuring HMRC remains well-positioned to respond to emerging challenges, changes in best practice, and future opportunities.

The role requires frequent travel to HMRC forensic locations, particularly Nottingham and Stratford, to provide visible leadership, support staff development, maintain effective relationships with operational teams, and oversee key quality assurance and technical management activities. Regular travel to other HMRC sites may also be required in line with business needs.

Person specification

In order to achieve this, duties will include, but are not limited to:

• Leading the Quality Assurance & Technical Management teams across multiple locations in London (Stratford), Nottingham, Dover and Belfast with frequent travel to other HMRC regional sites, ensuring forensic activities meet regulatory, accreditation, and business requirements.
• Setting the strategic direction for quality assurance and technical management, ensuring delivery of departmental objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Ensure the Quality Assurance & Technical Management teams are effectively led and managed, promoting a positive, inclusive culture that supports colleague wellbeing, professional development, talent management, and continuous improvement.
• Oversee the forensic quality management system, ensuring it remains effective, proportionate, compliant, and supportive of operational delivery.
• Will be the operational lead for quality assurance, accreditation, and compliance matters, ensuring HMRC meets its obligations under the Forensic Science Regulator's Codes of Practice and relevant ISO standards, whilst maintaining effective relationships with the Forensic Science Regulator, UKAS, and other external stakeholders.
• Establishing and promoting key objectives for the function, empowering teams to deliver whilst maintaining appropriate oversight of risks, resources, and priorities.
• Providing leadership and oversight of complex quality and technical decisions, ensuring a consistent and proportionate approach across forensic disciplines.
• Ensuring quality assurance, accreditation, compliance, and technical management considerations are fully represented and considered during strategic decision-making across C&FS.
• Leading teams responsible for maintaining the quality management system, practitioner competency frameworks, technical validation activities, forensic standards, and quality assurance processes.
• Acting as the point of contact for the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS) and overseeing the delivery of external assessments, audit activity, accreditation maintenance, and accreditation expansion.
• Providing oversight and direction in relation to internal and external audit findings, ensuring issues are appropriately addressed and opportunities for improvement are identified and delivered.
• Provide oversight of significant quality risks, non-conformities, and compliance issues, ensuring corrective actions are implemented and monitored to completion. Escalate high-risk matters to the Senior Accountable Individual (SAI) where required, providing assurance and recommendations to support informed decision-making.
• Leading on escalated quality-related risks and issues, taking appropriate action where required to safeguard accreditation, compliance, and HMRC's reputation.
• Developing and maintaining effective relationships with the Forensic Science Regulator, UKAS, law enforcement partners, and the wider forensic community.
• Leading a team remotely over a national spread or demonstrable aptitude to do so.
• Acting as an ambassador for C&FS within the forensic quality and accreditation community, representing HMRC at national forums, working groups, and industry events where appropriate.
• Leading on adopting and exploiting new technologies, systems, and digital solutions to improve service delivery and efficiency.