Taxman seeking head of IT

HM Revenue & Customs has advertised one of the top IT jobs in the country – a chief information officer for the taxman.

The government department is on the lookout for a CIO to lead IT and information systems for the next three years.

The new CIO replaces Steve Lamey who has taken on the director general role.

HMRC hopes that the new candidate will overhaul IT/IS functions and security, which came under fire last year when the data on 25 million people was lost. They will also be charged with improving tax compliance.

HMRC is only considering candidates that have worked in a large public sector organisations or a FTSE 100 company and who has European experience.

The job will pay a maximum starting salary of £180,000, but there's a prospect of it increasing to £205,000.

The CIO will be responsible for a £1bn of taxpayer's money and a 1,400 member team, as well as being part of HMRC's executive committee.

The closing date for candidates is 2 February

Further reading:

HMRC cracks £200m personal tax scheme