SOUTH AFRICAN REVENUE SERVICES (SARS)

CONSULTANT CORPORATE LEGAL SERVICES

Position Reports to: Senior Manager: Corporate Legal Services     

Division: Corporate and Enterprise Services

Location: Head Office - Pretoria

Advert Closing Date:10 September 2026

About the Position

 An exciting opportunity is available for a skilled, results-driven and self-directed Legal Consultant/Advisor to join SARS Corporate Legal Services division. The successful candidate will provide high-quality legal support and advisory services to business, with a strong focus on legal drafting, contract drafting and negotiation, public procurement, IT law, litigation and dispute resolution. The role requires high ethical standards, good communication skills, attention to detail, teamwork, sound judgement, professionalism, the ability to identify and mitigate legal risks in a complex and fast-paced environment.

Job Purpose

To provide legal advisory and specialist drafting services, on non-tax related matters, to various business units within SARS.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

Bachelor’s Degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Law or related field AND  5 - 7 years’ experience in a Legal environment, of which 2 – 3 years at a technically skilled level.

ALTERNATIVE #

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

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Extensive knowledge of public sector governance, including an understanding of the roles and responsibilities assigned to government departments and agencies.
• Thorough grasp of applicable legal frameworks, such as legislation, regulations, and directives that impact IT operations and public procurement.
• Proficiency in organisational policies and procedures, ensuring full compliance with both internal and external standards.
• Capability to interpret and advise on administrative law, data protection, privacy, and cybersecurity laws relevant to the public sector.
• Strong communication skills for effective and productive engagement with stakeholders, including a range of service providers, IT professionals, management, and external legal advisers.
• Analytical ability to evaluate legal risks and propose mitigation or practical solutions within the scope of IT projects and initiatives.
• Provision of reliable guidance to Bid Specifications; Bid Evaluation as well as Bid Adjudication Committees.
• Competence in drafting legal opinions.
• Experience in drafting, reviewing, interpreting and negotiating IT-related contracts, including service level agreements and procurement documents.
• Experience in litigation and dispute resolution support. 

Job Outputs:

Process

• Accumulate information to review work progress that provides input to reporting, decision making and the identification of improvement opportunities. (I)
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks. (I)
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation. (I)
• Coordinate, administer and manage all SARS freedom of information requests.
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs. (I)
• Draft contracts (SLAs / leases / memo of understanding).
• Draft, vet, update and develop enterprise governance instruments for legal compliance with legislation SARS is required to comply with.
• Draw on own knowledge and experience to diagnose symptoms, causes and possible effects in order to solve emerging problems. (I)
• Drive processes that ensures that disputes i.e. objections and appeals (including high court litigations) are handled timeously and fairly, in line with organisational targets.
• Execute specialist input through investigation and opportunities within the product process including risk concern.
• Initiate process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change. (I)
• Participate in all key tenders and makes recommendations in conjunction with other role-players in order to facilitate decision making.
• Participate in tender and related processes, draft and vet contracts.
• Plan for value-added process improvements, initiatives and services to deliver on operational strategy and objectives. (I)
• Provide advise and support in the drafting or vetting of contracts and identify legal risks.
• Provide and oversee legal support for non-tax related legal issues related to the organisation.
• Provide direction and legal advice on draft contracts, agreements and internal policies and ensure that they are in compliance with all statutory or legal requirements.
• Provide direction by establishing a function with legal expertise to advise management on all non-tax legal matters, internal policies and procedures.
• Provide legal advice and support to the organisation on a broad spectrum of corporate commercial matters affecting the business of SARS both internally and externally.
• Provide legal advice relating to Human Resources, Finance and Procurement legal risk assessment, policy consideration and legal compliance so as to ensure sound corporate governance practices.
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation. (I)
• Support the implementation of protection of personal information and advice on compliance.
• Undertake information gathering, research and analyse data within broad guidelines to produce accurate plans and / or recommendations for business issues.
• Provide input into the strategic direction, management and performance of the legal research and development division.

Governance

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

People

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

Finance

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

Client

• Contribute to a culture of service excellence, which builds positive relationships and provides opportunity for feedback and exceptional service. (I)
• Liaise and coordinate with relevant key stakeholders in terms of the memorandums of understanding (MOU).
• Provide authoritative, specialist services, expertise and advice to internal and external stakeholders. (I)

Behavioural competencies

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

Technical competencies

• Business Knowledge
• Corporate Legal Services Management
• Data Collection and Analysis
• Efficiency improvement
• Functional Policies and Procedures
• Legal Advisory & Interpretation
• Legal Knowledge & Knowledge of Ethics
• Legal Writing Skills
• Reporting
• Research
• Service Delivery
• Vendor Evaluation and Management

Compliance Competency

• The ability to assess compliance to best practice

Employment Equity

The Employment Equity policy of SARS will be considered as part of the recruitment and selection process and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will be required to undertake an oath of secrecy, pre-employment screening, case study, pre-assessment, psychometric assessment and or vetting, and a declaration of private interest. The appointment is also subject to appropriate reference(s) and security clearance where applicable.

PLEASE APPLY HERE

SENIOR SPECIALIST: BUSINESS INTEGRATION (NATURAL ADABAS) X 2 (FIXED TERM CONTRACT) (10823)

Position Reports to:  Manager: Information Technology Service   

Division: Strategy Enab & Modernisation

Location: Head Office

Advert Closing Date:  25 May 2026

About the Position

SARS is looking for a skilled, suitably experienced, and results-driven Software Developer, specializing in Natural ADABAS Development with a particular emphasis on NaturalOne.

The candidate must have strong communication skills and be able demonstrate the ability to conceptualize ideas and turn these into practical solutions. 

Experience in implementing systems both independently and as part of a software development team is required.

Job Purpose

To provide expertise, advice and support to deliver on operational implementation plans and / or associated service delivery processes, ensuring effective and efficient development, enhancements, implementation, maintenance and optimisation of application modules/subsystems, in order to continuously enhance service delivery.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

Bachelor’s degree / Advanced Diploma (NQF 7) in Information Technology (IT) AND 8-10 years' experience in a Natural / ADABAS environment, of which 3-4 years is at junior specialist level.

OR

Senior Certificate (NQF 4) and a relevant IT Qualification(s) / Certification(s) Information Technology (IT), and 8-10 years' experience in a Natural / ADABAS environment, of which 3-4 years is at junior specialist level.

ALTERNATIVE #

Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 15 years development experience in a Natural / ADABAS environment, of which 3-4 years is at junior specialist level.

Minimum Functional Requirements

• Natural ADABAS
• NaturalONE
• IBM Mainframe (z/OS)
• Job Control Language (JCL)
• Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and IBM MQ

Job Outputs:

Process

• Analyse and make recommendations about improvements to specialist systems, procedures and associated area's practice.
• Contribute to IT business planning with regards to interface applications.
• Contribute to the optimum utilisation of org. resources, advising on effective planning and development of area of specialisation resource plans.
• Design, plan and implement all the integration, design and development activities that relate to the portfolio of business integration in conjunction with all relevant stakeholders.
• 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.
• Ensure proper project planning and execution as well as overall change control.
• 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.
• Provide support to integration projects by applying the required specialised skills in terms of data, design, services, processes, monitoring and patterns.
• Recommend changes to optimise processes, systems, practice areas and associated procedures and execute the implementation of change and innovation.
• Translate top-down policy, apply modification in relation to own practice area and communicate impact to relevant stakeholders.
• Troubleshoot and methodically identify research and resolve complex issues in the IT environment.
• Introduce best practices and influence the divisions to change and adopt accordingly.

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 skills attained through formal and informal learning opportunities in the execution of your job.
• Provide specialist know-how, support, advice and practice thought leadership in area of expertise.

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

Technical competencies

• Application Development and Maintenance  
• Business Knowledge
• Database Design and Management    
• Efficiency improvement  
• Functional Policies and Procedures
•  IT Knowledge 
• Reporting and Interpretation 
• System Thinking 

Compliance Competency

• GOC Confidential
• System Development Lifecycle (SDLC) (IT

PLEASE APPLY HERE

ASSURER: TARIFF AMENDMENTS (11543)

Position Reports to:   Manager: Tariff Amendment

Division:  Taxpayer Engagement         

Location:  Head Office

Advert Closing Date:  09 September 2026

About the Position

SARS is looking for a highly skilled customs official with unquestionable integrity to ensure the Schedule to the Customs and Excise Act, 91 of 1964 (the Act) published on the SARS website is accurate. The ideal candidate will ensure that the tariff subheadings and descriptions used in the publication are in line with the Harmonized System Nomenclature and South African Tariff structure. They will ensure that all completed work in the division is quality assured and adhere to governance and legislative requirements.

The role demands strong technical knowledge of Customs and Excise and the ability to do legal research, analyse import data and prepare reports, recommendations and presentations where required. The candidate must be able to work well within a team or individually. A strong customs and excise knowledge is crucial to interpret and analyse various trade agreements and other trade instruments as required to meet the strategic objectives of SARS.

Job Purpose

To quality check draft amendments for the Minister of Finance’s approval.  To quality assure all submissions related to amendments to the Schedules of the Customs and Excise Act by ensuring the accuracy, quality, and ongoing maintenance including historical records of data across all legacy and new tariff management systems, as well as internal and external tariff publications, in alignment with legislative, national, and international requirements.

Education and Experience

Minimum Qualification & Experience Required

National Diploma / Advanced Certificate (NQF 6) ) in International Trade, Economics, Commerce, Business or Law AND 2 - 3 years’ experience in a in a tariff classification or tariff management environment, with a thorough knowledge of the schedules to the Customs and Excise Act of which 1 – 2 years at a knowledge worker level

Alternative Minimum Experience:

Senior Certificate (NQF 4) AND 5 years related experience, in tariff classification or tariff management environment with a thorough knowledge of the schedules to the Customs and Excise Act. A thorough understanding of the Harmonised System, the architecture of a clearing and/or publishing system and the interaction surrounding this environment would be preferred, of which 1 - 2 years at a knowledge worker level

Minimum Functional Requirements

Job Outputs:

• Draft, review, quality-assure and finalise amendment instruments and supporting documents.
• Run governance & publication: manage approvals, public comment, consideration of submissions, and publication in the Government Gazette.
• Implement policy directives: give effect to HS updates; trade agreements/policy directives (dtic/ITAC); and indirect tax policy matters (National Treasury).
• Quality assurance & risk: implement structured reviews; identify and mitigate legal, operational and fiscal risks before implementation.
• Monitoring & insights: track utilisation/impact post-implementation; recommend improvements to drafting methods, templates and processes.
• Data Analysis, the ability to calculate the financial implications of tariff amendments.

Process

• Accumulate information and provide reports with recommendations applicable to area of specialisation. (I)
• Apply practical and applied knowledge and act authoritatively on methods, systems and procedures to identify trends and potential risks. (I)
• Communication of situational interpretation and judgement of work outputs and queries in area of specialisation. (I)
• Correctly apply policies, practices, standards, procedures and legislation in the delivery of work outputs. (I)
• Effectively plan and schedule own activities to continuously improve quality and service delivery in area of specialisation. (I)
• Execute process and procedural change, implement the change and provide guidelines and support related to new requirements as a result of the change. (I)
• Provide specialist input through the investigation of opportunities for operational and process, product and risk optimisation. (I)
• Use practical and applied knowledge and situational judgement to arrive at decisions. (I)
• Legislative drafting & statutory interpretation: Proven ability to translate policy intent into clear, defensible legal text and schedules.
• Tariff & HS mastery: Advanced knowledge of Customs & Excise Act, Harmonized System (HS) structure, Section/Chapter/Heading Notes, GRIs (1–6), and SARS classification principles.
• Research & analysis: Ability to conduct legal research, analyse utilisation/impact data, and prepare high-quality recommendations and publications.
• Governance & publication: Experience navigating SARS governance, public-comment processes and Government Gazette publication.
• Communication: Excellent written and verbal communication, with the ability to produce persuasive, accurate drafting notes and briefs.
• Provide updated Schedules for loading on the SARS website to ensure that the updates and publications are aligned with legislation.

Governance

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

People

• Develop and maintain productive working relationships with peers and team members to achieve predefined objectives. (I)
• Maintain professional interaction and ensure ethical dealings with clients at all times by constantly building customer relationships

Finance

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

Client

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

Behavioural competencies

• Accountability
• Attention to detail
• Commitment to continuous learning
• Conceptual Ability
• Expertise in Context
• Fairness and Transparency
• Honesty and Integrity
• Organisational Awareness
• Respect
• Trust

Technical competencies

• Business Knowledge
• Decision Making and Problem Solving
• Decisiveness
• Execute, Implement and Follow Through
• Legal Compliance
• Legal Knowledge and knowledge of ethics
• Reporting
• Tariff and Classification (CUSTOMS EU FRAMEWORK)

Compliance Competency

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 client, competitors, contractors and suppliers. E.g. Taxpayer information

Employment Equity

The Employment Equity policy of SARS will be considered as part of the recruitment and selection process and Persons with Disabilities are encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will be required to undertake an oath of secrecy, pre-employment screening, case study, pre-assessment, psychometric assessment and or vetting, and a declaration of private interest. The appointment is also subject to appropriate reference(s) and security clearance where applicable.  

PLEASE APPLY HERE