Investigator: Digital Forensics (Syndicated Tax and Customs Crime) at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To conduct investigations on different digital forensic disciplines in order to identify, acquire, preserve, analyse and report on digital evidence that withstands legal scrutiny.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Relevant bachelor’s degree / Advanced Diploma Digital Forensics/ Computer Science (NQF 7) AND 5 - 7 years’ experience in a similar environment, of which 2 – 3 years at a technically skilled level                                                                                            

        OR

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years related experience, of which 2 - 3 years at a technically skilled level

Additional Technical Competencies:

• Collection and preservation of evidence and the chain of custody (Investigations)
• Adjective Law - Applied Knowledge (with supervision). It concerns that part of the law that determines how the legal rules imposed by the substantive law will be administered or enforced in other words the practical application thereof. It for
• instance determines how SARS can obtain certain information about a specific individual in relation to his/her finances to determine his/her liability for tax and what can be done if that person did not comply with the substantive law i.e. the fiscal legislation. It also prescribes the conduct for which a person can be penalised, at what rate and how to collect the penalty in order to enforce the legislation. It also prescribed the manner in which i.e. to conduct a SARS criminal investigation.
• GOC Confidential - (a) sensitive information, the unlawful disclosure of which may be harmful to the security or national interest of the Republic or could prejudice the Republic in its international relations;(b) commercial information, the disclosure of which may cause financial loss to an entity or may prejudice an entity in its relations with its clients, competitors, contractors and suppliers. E.g. Taxpayer information
• Interviewing and interrogation (Investigations)
• Investigative reporting
• Testify in formal and criminal proceedings

Job Outputs:

Process

• Secure and store relevant evidential files in correct format and naming convention (on the server) and create a working copy.
• Undertake data recovery activities in order to retrieve lost data from defective digital media storages.
• Conduct research on digital forensic related issues in order to keep abreast with environment and compile report thereof.
• Present reports clients on work done and evidence uncovered from multiple digital forensic disciplines.
• Identify relevant media artefacts, acquire and extract evidence files using relevant tools and adhering to SOP's.
• Present legal mandate, methodology followed, and evidence uncover during internal heading AND/OR in a court of law and produces an affidavit.
• Process and analyse evidential files as per the client's requirements in a lab environment.
• Report the finding to the client and attend to any additional work required by the client.
• Accumulate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities.
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks.
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects in order to solve emerging problems.
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.

Governance

• Implement and provide input into the development of governance, compliance, integrity and ethics.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.

Client

• Liaise with informers and possible witnesses in order to gather information in connection with tax evasion.
• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Behavioural competencies

• Fairness & Transparency
• Analytical Thinking
• Accountability
• Conceptual Ability
• Expertise in Context
• Problem solving and Analysis
• Honesty & Integrity
• Attention to Detail
• Trust
• Respect
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Organisational Awareness

Technical competencies

• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Investigative Skills
• Reporting
• Search and Seizure
• Digital Forensics
• Evidence Management

Deadline:14th April,2026