Jobs at The South African Revenue Service (SARS)

Job Purpose

• To conduct investigations on different digital forensic disciplines to identify, acquire, preserve, analyse and report on digital evidence that withstands legal scrutiny and to collate and process relevant electronic evidence (documents, data and information) and present digital output in support of the investigative process.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

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

OR

• Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 10 years Digital Forensic 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

• Verify on traceability, reliability, and legal defensibility of information flowing into the investigative process and advise on potentials risks and mitigative actions
• Maintain the evidence value chain to ensure traceability, reliability, and legal defensibility of evidence throughout its lifecycle.
• Plan and organise own work tasks within area of work. (I)
• Identify and resolve queries and problems timeously, apply discretion in line with process guidelines provided.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects to solve emerging problems. (I)
• Convert and process data into a format suitable for use by investigative team.
• Enrich data using organizational and project specific data and sources
• Effectively utilise resources allocated to the job to perform contracted work outputs and report on and escalate any shortfalls.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation. (I)
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives. (I)
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements because of the change. (I)
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks. (I)
• Accumulate information to report on work progress and use for decision making purposes and the identification of improvement opportunities. (I)
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation. (I)

Governance

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

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

• 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
• Responsiveness to operational demands

Technical competencies

• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Investigative Skills
• Reporting
• Search and Seizure
• Digital Forensics
• Evidence Management – handling, conversion and managing data integrity
• Planning and organising
• Problem analysis and judgment
• Business Knowledge
• Capacity Planning
• Project Coordination and operational support

Deadline:8th September,2025

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Job Purpose

• To formulate a Digital Forensics Investigations tactical strategy and associated delivery plans related to multiple practice areas by managing and enabling digital forensics investigations, data recovery and data analysis to support all investigative business units and other divisions within the organisation. In addition, the incumbent will control, coordinate and optimise budgeted resources to meet specific objectives and deliver agreed results. The incumbent will also be required to identify opportunities for continuous improvement in the fast-paced environment of digital forensics to enable the achievement of enforcement objectives.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

• Honours Degree / Postgraduate Diploma (NQF 8) 10 – 12 years’ experience in Digital Forensic Investigations, of which 3 - 4 years at a middle management level.
  OR
• Bachelor's Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) AND 12 - 15 years’ experience in Digital Forensic Investigations of which 3 - 4 years at a middle management level

Additional Technical Competencies:

• Collection and preservation of evidence and the chain of custody (Investigations)
• GOC Secret - (a) sensitive information, the disclosure of which may endanger the security or national interest of the Republic or could jeopardise the international relations of the Republic;(b) commercial information, the disclosure of which may cause serious financial loss to an entity; or (c) personal information, the disclosure of which may endanger the physical security of a person. E.g. VIP/Restricted Taxpayer information.
• Adequate knowledge of First Responder processes
• Interviewing and interrogation (Investigations)
• Investigative reporting
• Testify in formal and criminal proceedings

Job Outputs:

• Develop and execute digital forensics investigations policies, procedures and practise notes in line with all legislation administered by the Commissioner for SARS, the Constitution and the Criminal Procedure Act.
• Assist and attend to any requests from other Law Enforcement Agencies and other Revenue Authorities, in accordance with the Digital Forensics Investigations governance processes.
• Develop and execute tactical digital forensics, data recovery and data analysis investigation strategy and delivery plans that are aligned with Syndicated Tax and Customs Crime investigation Strategy.
• Implement the production plan of all digital forensics, investigations, data recovery and analysis and the reporting and resolution of any weaknesses and shortcomings.
• Implement, monitor and evaluate the quality of digital forensics investigations performance programmes and recommend changes in line with technical requirements.
• Oversee any complex digital forensics investigations and report outcomes.
• Develop tactical strategy and delivery plans in support of functional objectives in partnership with leadership.
• Direct, control, coordinate and optimise budgeted resources to meet specific objectives and deliver agreed results and productivity requirements.
• Ensure the development and implementation of multiple practices in alignment with operational policy and procedural frameworks.
• Identify and recommend opportunities to continuously improve all functions and systems in line with national, regional, and organisational changes.
• Plan for handling work outputs, pull together interdependent activities and specify priorities, standards and procedures to ensure tactical excellence.
• Proactively identify interconnected problems, determine its impact and use to develop best fit alternatives, driving best practice solutions.
• Provide periodic reports on performance against plan and progress on medium-term initiatives and use to realign operating plan and objectives appropriately.
• Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, policies and procedures, and direct the implementation of change and innovation initiated by the organisation.
• Timeously communicate top-down policy modification, objective achievement progress and critical success factors to impacted stakeholders.
• Use the insights gained through integrated business reports to measure success and realign tactical strategy development objectives appropriately.
• Ensure accuracy and integrity of data on the digital forensics investigations case management system for Digital Forensics Investigations.

Governance

• Implement governance, risk and compliance policy in own practice areas to identify and manage governance and risk exposure liability.
• Manage and or advise on the translation and application of policy in the specific functional area.

People

• Create a positive work climate and culture to energise employees and give meaning to work, minimise work disruption and maximise employee productivity.
• Develop and implement appropriate people capacity plans in line with delivery and efficiency targets, on budget and in partnership with specialised areas.
• Plan and develop enhanced organisational efficiency by identifying and addressing development requirements and providing tools for people resources.
• Translate performance expectations into specific metrics and goals to identify and provide effective services, solve problems and achieve objectives.

Finance

• Draw up a budget aligned to business unit delivery plans, monitor planned vs. actual, minimise expenditure and report on cost efficiency.
• Implement and monitor financial control, management of costs and corporate governance in area of accountability.

Client

• Build strong relationships and develop service level agreements that promote SARS with internal and external stakeholders.
• Develop and ensure implementation of practices which builds service delivery excellence and encourages others to provide exceptional client service.
• Manage an integrated service excellence culture, which builds rewarding relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service.

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Problem Solving and Analysis
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Ability to translate strategy into execution
• Concern for Impact of own behaviour on others
• Develops teams and nurtures interdependency
• Inspires others to Positive Action
• Nurtures Future Talent
• Stewardship and Service Orientation
• Strong Results Orientation
• Values and Manages Diversity
• Business Acumen
• Change Management
• Continuous Process improvement
• Criminal Investigation
• Decisiveness
• Effective Business Communication
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Investigative Skills
• Managerial Budgeting
• Planning and Organising
• Planning, Management and Measurement
• Problem Analysis and Judgement
• Search and Seizure
• Strategic Planning