John-Paul Marks

John-Paul ('JP') Marks CB (born 1979 or 1980) is a British senior civil servant who is currently serving as the Chief Executive of HM Revenue & Customs since 5 April 2025. He previously served as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government from 2022 until 2025. From 2019 to 2022, he worked in the UK Government's Department for Work and Pensions, serving as the Director General for Work and Health Services and from 2018 to 2019 he was the Director General for Universal Credit Operations.

Early life John-Paul Marks was born in Jersey in the Channel Islands. The son of Susan Marks and Dr Michael Marks, he attended the Victoria College. He attended Boston University, graduating in 2003 with an MA in international relations.

Career Civil service Marks joined the UK civil service in 2004. In HM Treasury, he served as the Speechwriter to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Marks spent much of his career before the Scottish Government at the Department for Work and Pensions, latterly as Director General. He served as Principal Private Secretary to Yvette Cooper and Iain Duncan Smith, and was Private Secretary to Mike O'Brien among other roles.

Permanent Secretary; 2022–2025

Marks was appointed as the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government on 1 January 2022. At the time of his appointment, Marks was said to be "committed to building a world-class, values-led civil service which excels in serving the public". Upon commencement as Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, he assumed the role of leading the Scottish Government civil service, ensuring it delivers the "full range of devolved powers and duties set out in the Scotland Acts". As the principal accountable officer for the Scottish Government, he is primarily responsible and accountable to the Scottish Parliament for the exercise of his responsibilities as Permanent Secretary.

As Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government, he was responsible for more than 7,000 civil servants working for the Scottish Government in Scotland, as well as other locations including Europe, North America and Asia. As Permanent Secretary, Marks was responsible for the development, implementation and communication of government policies.

Personal life Marks is married with two children. He currently resides in Scotland.