Careers at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To provide customs and excise pre-litigation and litigation service in the Higher Courts on customs and excise disputes.  The function involves the entire scope of litigation services, from researching legal and tax principles, analysing the merits of SARS’s position, follow internal governance processes, reviewing counsel’s drafts of court documents including pleadings and heads of argument, preparing deponents, and attendance in court when matters are heard. An important part of the pre-litigation process is to timeously attend to all notices of intended legal action in order to prevent unnecessary litigation.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Law Degree preferably a LLB AND 8-10 years' experience in a legal / tax environment, of which 3-4 years at operational specialist level.
• Admission as an attorney or advocate is a further requirement.  
• Experience in a Customs & Excise/International Trade Litigation environment will further enhance the candidate’s application.

Minimum Functional Requirements

Job Outputs:

Process

• To prepare cases involving intricate interpretive or quantitative issues in the pre -litigation and litigation phases of the Magistrates Courts, Higher Courts, the SCA and the Constitutional Court, where applicable.
• To enter into settlement negotiations with taxpayers and their representatives.
• Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures and associated area's practice.
• Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures and associated area's practice.
• Develop a single practice area in alignment with operational activity and procedural frameworks and ensure tactical implementation.
• Draw on own technical or professional expertise, knowledge and experience to identify and recommend tactical solutions to defined problems in practices.
• Integrate business information, compare, analyse and produce reports to identify trends, discrepancies and inconsistencies for decision making purposes.
• Optimise goal achievement through tactical strategy implementation and optimisation of practises, processes and systems across an internal value chain.
• Plan for value-added, continuous practice and system improvements to deliver on objectives to enhance tactical implementation and excellence.
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives, best practice implementation solutions.
• Translate top-down policy in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders.
• Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans.
• Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associate procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation

Governance

• Develop and/or align governance and compliance policies for own practice area to identify and manage risk exposure liability. 

People

• Integrate new knowledge and transfer of skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.

Finance

• Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of specialisation.

Client

• Develop & ensure implementation of a practice that builds service delivery excellence & encourage others to provide exceptional stakeholder service.
• Participate in the specialist practice community and contribute positively to organisation knowledge management.
• Provide authoritative, specialist expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Conceptual Ability
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Business Knowledge
• Court Processes and Procedures
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Legal Advisory and Interpretation
• Legal Compliance
• Legal Knowledge and knowledge of ethics
• Legal Writing Skills
• Reporting and Interpretation

Deadline:20th May,2026

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Job Purpose

• The primary purpose of the senior software tester is the execution of test cases of both medium and high complexity, relating to both system function and process, as well as the identification and logging of defects in accordance with SARS standards. Also may be required to carry out basic system testing without the presence of formal test cases and within agile development environments. 

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) in Information Technology AND 2-3 years’ experience in a software testing environment, of which 1-2 years at a knowledge worker level.

ALTERNATIVE #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 5 years’ experience in a software testing environment, of which 1-2 years at a knowledge worker level.
• Must have completed some form of formal, certified training in Software Testing Techniques (e.g. ITSEB or ISTQB foundation).

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Software testing - Have a working knowledge of the following applications: MS Word, MS Excel and HP Quality Centre/Octane. 

Job Outputs:

Process

• Execute test cases captured and assigned within QC/ Octane.
• Execute varied range of multiple complexity test cases as assigned and defects recorded as per divisional policy and procedures.
• Actively participate in all Testing Levels (Unit / Systems/ Regression/ Stability / Distribution / Disaster recover, etc.)
• Actively participate in the Testing Life-Cycle.
• Apply and utilise systems in a manner that ensures efficient and effective service delivery, optimised quality, financial accuracy and calculation.
• Be observant and engage on possible violations of procedures and standards of conduct and escalate where necessary.
• Capture defects within QC/ Octane in accordance with SARS defect reporting standards.
• Manage the early identification of defects and systems failures.
• Perform backward compatibility testing of latest software versions that not all users may be running on.
• Perform compatibility testing to prevent software failure due to compatibility between application software, operating systems or operating systems versions such as Desktop Applications, Web Browsers i.e Internet Explorer new versions etc.
• Take accountability for delivery of contracted work outputs within agreed parameters, quality standards and client service targets.
• Test activities that verify a specific action or function of the application and test objective and output answers the questions: "can the user do this" or "does this particular feature work?"
• Update QC/ Octane to reflect testing progress.
• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation.
• 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.
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation.
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation.
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to arrive at decisions.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of specialisation and continuously identify and escalate risks.

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives.
• Continuously assess own performance, seek timely and clear feedback and request training where appropriate.

Finance

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to ensure cost effectiveness and reduction of financial costs.
• Adhere to specified polices, standards, legislation and procedures to prevent wastage on resources, unauthorised expenditure and wasteful expenditure and report violations.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Ensure own understanding and adherence to customer service delivery and provide specialist support to meet or exceed customer expectations.

Behavioural competencies

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

Technical competencies

• Business Knowledge 
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement  
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• IT Strategy and Planning
• Reporting
• Standard operating procedure compliance 
• Quality Management 
• Business Analysis Tech 
• Project Management Processes 
• Software Metrics 
• Software Testing 

Deadline:31st May,2026

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Job Purpose

• To perform business analysis tasks by specialising in supporting stakeholders of a specific system application, maintaining the system, and handling user enquiries, user issues, and enhancements to the system, under guidance and supervision. To have a deep understanding of a specific application or set of applications he or she supports, how users use the application, and what other systems integrate with the application.  

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Requirements

• Relevant Higher Certificate (NQF 5) in IT AND 3 years' experience in IT system maintenance and support environment 

ALTERNATIVE #

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 4 years' experience in IT system maintenance and support environment.

Job Outputs:

Process

• Share transactional results and queries within your work area according to established policies and quality standards.
• Support the refinement and creation of standards, procedures, and processes specific to your field to drive ongoing improvements in quality and service.
• Assist with change initiatives by offering relevant support in your area.
• Meet contracted performance goals and quickly escalate any unresolved issues related to delivery or quality to management and process owners.
• Use your expertise to recognize and develop solutions that enhance service delivery and boost quality.
• Plan and organize your activities effectively to foster continuous improvements in quality and service within your work area.
• Report transactional and process-related activities following guidelines to ensure timely information for decision-making.
• Stay alert for potential violations of procedures or codes of conduct and escalate them as necessary.
• Take responsibility for achieving agreed-upon work outputs while meeting set parameters, quality standards, and client service expectations.
• Make sure all completed tasks comply with relevant policies, procedures, governance requirements, and legislation, and report any deviations or discrepancies.
• Build and maintain productive relationships with colleagues and SARS stakeholders to reach shared objectives.
• Review assigned incident inventory on the management console.
• Analyze production inventory received through management reports.
• Investigate all allocated queries to determine their root cause.
• Request additional information when details are missing.
• Replicate defects in the testing environment with thorough documentation.
• Carry out comprehensive system regression and stability tests when implementing fixes; help identify suitable workaround solutions for system issues.
• Create User and Functional Requirements Specifications for production fixes.
• Collaborate with peers across departments.
• Coordinate with business partners and both internal and external development teams.
• Provide regular updates to management regarding trends, escalations, and decisions that require attention.
• Contribute to end-user training and education, such as compiling and updating FAQ materials in a knowledge base.
• Present complex technical concepts and solutions in clear, non-technical language to facilitate understanding.

Governance

• Comply to set governance and compliance procedures and processes related to an area of work and continuously identify and escalate risks.
• Ensure that completed work adhere to relevant policies, procedures, governance and legislative requirements and report on deviations & discrepancies.

People

• Drive own performance and development to achieve and improve on work outputs in line with required response time, quality and service delivery standards.
• Search for, integrate and share new knowledge attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.

Finance

• Adhere to specified policies, standards, legislation and procedures to prevent wastage on resources, unauthorised expenditure and wasteful expenditure and report violations.

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.
• Ensure client satisfaction by engaging and delivering a service that is consistent, seamless, quick and error free.

Behavioural competencies

• Honesty and Integrity 
• Attention to Detail
• Commitment to Continuous Learning
• Organisational Awareness
• Building Sustainability
• Fairness and Transparency
• Analytical Thinking
• Accountability
• Conceptual Ability
• Trust
• Respect
• Problem Solving and Analysis

Technical competencies

• Business IT Systems
• Business Knowledge
• Computer Literacy
• Customer Relationship Management
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• IT Business Analysis
• Planning and Organising
• Relationship Building
• Reporting
• System Thinking

Deadline:31st May,2026

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 Job Purpose

• To independently identify compliance and revenue enhancement / protection opportunities with the aim of piloting identified cases to evaluate whether regional implementation may be recommended.  To plan and conduct verifications, as well as limited scope audits, across multiple tax types within multiple periods and multiple risks while understanding the risk implications across other tax types, in compliance with all legislative requirements.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Relevant Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Accounting, Tax and/ or Audit and 5-7 years' Tax Audit   experience, of which 2-3 years at functional  Audit level.

 ALTERNATE:

•  Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years’ experience in Tax Audit, of which 2-3 years at functional Audit specialist level.

Job Outputs:

 Process

• Be observant and engage on possible violations of procedures and standards of conduct and escalate where necessary.
• Effectively utilise resources allocated to the job in order to perform contracted work outputs and report on and
• Escalate any shortfalls.
• Plan and conduct multiple tax audits/verifications on a risk profile basis to ensure compliance to the relevant acts.
• Plan and organise own work tasks within area of work.
• Identify and resolve queries and problems timeously, apply discretion in line with process guidelines provided.
• Execute specialist input through investigation &opportunities within the product process including risk concern.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process product and risk optimisation.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives.
• 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.
• 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

 Governance

• Implement and provide input into the development of governance, compliance, integrity and ethics processes within area of specialization

 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

• Identify, plan and conduct and verifications and limited scope audits to ensure compliance and report on findings and recommendations.
• 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 and Transparency
• Analytical Thinking
• Accountability
• Conceptual Ability
• Drive for Results
• Persuasion Ability
• Trust
• Respect
• Honesty and Integrity
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Analytical Thinking
• Attention to Detail
• Organisational Awareness
• Building Sustainability

 Technical competencies

• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Reporting
• Analysis and Interpretation of Financial Statements
• Business Knowledge
• Audit Methodology
• Quality Orientation
• Customer Liaison
• Problem Analysis and Judgement
• Planning and Organising
• Business Acumen
• Risk Identification

Deadline:20th May,2026

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Job Purpose

• To formulate a holistic Human Resource organisational business model in alignment with the overall organisational business model and strategy, contributing to strategy formulation and enabling organisation wide adoption and contribution to the SARS mandate.
• SARS’s strategic objective 4 is to develop a high performing, diverse, agile, engaged and evolved workforce. The CHRO plays a critical role in realising this objective.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required  

• A Master’s Degree (NQF 9) in Human Resources or Industrial Psychology or similar AND 15-18 years' experience in all aspects of Human Resources of which 6-8 years at Executive or top management level
• Proven working experience across the Human Capital & Development Value Chain.

ALTERNATIVE #

• Honours Degree / Postgraduate Diploma (NQF 8) in Human Resources or Industrial Psychology or similar AND 18+ years' experience in all aspects of Human Resources of which 6-8 years at executive or top management level 
• Proven working experience across the Human Capital & Development Value Chain.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• HR Strategy Development: Develop and implement HR strategies that support organizational objectives.
• Talent Acquisition: Focus on sourcing skilled individuals whose values align with SARS’. Develop and implement strategies to attract and retain top talent.
• Employee Relations: Foster healthy relationships among employees, maximizing organizational efficiency. Balance employee needs and business interests.
• Employee Development: Promote upskilling and professional growth among employees.
• Management and oversight of HR Centres of Excellence and decentralised HR Business partners.
• Promotion of Employee wellness and well-being; Foster a positive work environment through wellness programs and initiatives.
• Compliance and Regulations: Ensuring compliance with all applicable employment laws and regulations is crucial. Facilitate organisational objectives related to the EE Act.
• Collaborate on innovation, technology changes and the future world of work requirements for SARS.
• Technology Integration: Identify and implement innovative HR technologies to enhance efficiency.
• Provide guidance to the Deputy Commissioner CES and the SARS Executive Committee on HR matters.
• Business Results: Contribute to business results by aligning HR strategies with business goals and providing data-driven insights to inform decision-making. Use HR analytics to identify trends and related insights to enhance strategic objectives.
• Foster a conducive workplace culture.
• Responsible for building and fostering DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)

Job Outputs:

Process

• Champion policy frameworks and objectives with internal partners to ensure integration between functions in pursuit of strategic goals.
• Communicate a meaningful strategic context that articulates functional purpose in relation to the organisational vision, purpose, and philosophy.
• Develop annual and longer-term resource plan and secure capacity to achieve divisional objectives consistent with long term strategic plan.
• Develop functional operating model and align value chain to organisational objectives in partnership with relevant stakeholders.
• Interpret internal and external organisational changes, model change impact scenarios and introduce or adapt systems in alignment with strategic intent.
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, model alternative solutions, develop and establish contingency plans aligned to the divisional direction.
• Provide authoritative advice and guidance that supports the realisation of major organisational objectives in line with the SARS mandate.
• Provide periodic reports on performance against plan and progress on long-term initiatives and use to realign operating plan and objectives appropriately.
• Scan the external environment, identify benchmarks and influence alternative operating plans or model to deliver on the SARS objectives and mandate.
• Use insights and knowledge gained from high level reports to conduct abstract, conceptual, and comparative analysis to define functional strategy.
• Create the context to continuously improve all functions and systems in line with national, regional, and international changes.
• Be responsive to change in order to influence and effectively manage associated functional acceptance.

Governance

• Influence the creation of enterprise-wide reports that meet all statutory requirements.
• Strategically influence the development, adoption, implementation and adherence to governance, risk, and compliance frameworks.

People

• Influence and direct the development of human capability and accountability framework in the division in support of people management strategies.
• Lead the development and cultivation of an organisational culture where the organisational values are demonstrated and lived.
• Provide leadership and direction by articulating and reinforcing the vision or direction for a division.

Finance

• Ensure that the functional strategy is adequately budgeted for through the development and implementation of a requisite budget.
• Implement effective financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in functional area.

Client

• Define and influence relationships and service level agreements made with internal and external stakeholders.
• Ensure strategic representation of SARS and promote the enterprise with public service leaders and all stakeholders.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Ability to translate Strategy into Execution
• Stewardship & Service Orientation
• Concern for Impact of own behaviour on others
• Nurtures Future Talent
• Strong Results Orientation
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Values and Manages Diversity
• Develops Teams & Nurtures Interdependency

Technical competencies

• Business Acumen
• Business Consulting
• Decisiveness
• Effective Business Communication
• Human Resource Consulting
• Managerial Budgeting
• Planning, Management and Measurement
• Problem Analysis and Judgement
• Strategic Planning

Deadline:29th May,2026