HMRC plans to recruit more than 50 web experts for its first digital centre, in a bid to revolutionise its online tax services in the North East.
The new employees would be tasked with making tax affairs easier and faster to manage on the internet.
HMRC chief digital and information officer Mark Dearnley said the move marks the beginning of the body’s online transformation, with more centres to be opened further down the line.
"The digital centres will foster a culture of innovation not seen across government before so that we can continually find new ways of supporting customers," Dearnley said.
"This recruitment is the first step on our journey to offer a digital service that allows our customers to service their own needs online and reduces the dependence on paper."
In addition, the centre’s digital staff, together with technology suppliers, would determine the requirements of taxpayers, trialling new services in real-time and upgrading services after their launch.
The new jobs range from product managers, interaction designers and user researchers to technical architects and software developers.
Existing HMRC staff and external candidates can apply for the first tranche of vacancies, with a further 30 existing HMRC staff to be dedicated to the centre.
The government’s director of digital, Mike Brack:"Digital by default will make tax simpler, clearer and faster for users, and bring new skills and ways of working into HMRC.
"The department’s exemplar digital services will go live by 2014, and Government Digital Service will be working closely with HMRC to develop its digital talent in the North East and throughout the UK."
