About the job

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department, it administers a range of working age, pension age, disability and ill health benefits to around 18 million claimants and customers.

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) helps parents, who are unable to make a private financial agreement in support of their child(ren)’s living costs, ensure and at times enforce, the legal responsibility to provide financial support. Our mission is to ‘get money to children’ because it makes a real difference to children’s lives.

Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is not only undergoing a significant period of change as we drive a crucial transformation agenda, but in tandem, we continue to deliver a politically significant and fundamentally crucial service to millions of separated families around the country who depend upon the work we do. Our story over the last two years is one of impressive progress and improvement. Despite the progress we’ve made, we are unashamedly ambitious about what more we can achieve and the difference we can make for the families who need us.

Child Maintenance Service is an amazing place to work. Walk into any one of our service centres and you will be overwhelmed by the passion and commitment that our people have for supporting our customers. This is a high profile role within a fast paced, changeable and demanding environment.

Job description

DWP is looking to fill an Operational Leader role at SEO grade.

The successful candidate will lead day to day operations on site with 4 workgroups.  You will personally lead 240 people on engagement in a fast-paced customer service environment, delivering change and communications.

You will build a strong culture around delivering excellent service and celebrating success.

You will ensure that HR processes are adhered to, meeting required standards.  As part of your local service centre team, and wider when required you will support HR Investigations and decision making.

You will also work as part of a wider national team to deliver key operational priorities, identify service improvements, drive down failure demand and improve the customer experience.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• Provide visible leadership by personally leading engagement, delivering key messages and providing clear direction to implement change.
• Accountable for the management of performance for the site, undertaking regular performance reviews, setting standards, and coaching workgroup leaders. Identifying risks to performance achievement, and driving forward continuous improvement and celebrating success.
• Lead by example and motivate and encourage teams through change, supporting a fast-paced service modernisation programme and channel optimisation.
• Have a focus on continuously improving, seeking feedback, listening, and acting on this, setting performance standards and empowering teams to succeed.
• Drive collaboration across CMS nationally, working with wider colleagues to work as one team, identifying opportunities to deliver better outcomes.   Collaborating across DWP Design, Modernisation and Digital colleagues to put in place strong working relationships, with a focus on a common goal of delivering a Quality Service.
• Contribute to people planning activities ensuring appropriate and effective deployment of people and resources to manage workloads.
• Driving excellent customer service, ensuring service standards fully meet client expectations, learning and improving the service from customer experience feedback.
• Take responsibility for Quality and Accuracy, taking learning from dissatisfactions and complaints to instigate service improvements.
• Monitor and improve process adherence to drive down security breaches.
• Supporting the Grade 7 Senior Leader, by leading/attending national meetings as appropriate.

Person specification

Your evidence will be assessed against the following essential criteria.  You must provide specific examples to demonstrate these criteria in your personal statement:

• You have strong and effective leadership experience with an ability to communicate with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders to drive positive outcomes.
• You build a strong team and lead through your leaders to deliver consistently high outcomes and customer service.
• You have experience and knowledge of leading diverse teams through effective coaching and mentoring to improve service delivery.
• You can drive performance improvement, be proactive managing processes and compliance with procedures, and you demonstrate resilience to overcome difficulties by taking ownership for resolving issues.
• You can understand and engage with change and inspire the buy-in from colleagues, encouraging discussion, initiative, and ideas in support of the long term DWP vision.
• You can build trust and relationships with colleagues and a range of stakeholders. 
• You can effectively monitor performance, have sound analytical skills, and the ability to effectively interpret and use management information to deliver against performance objectives while maintaining quality.
• You empower and encourage your diverse workforce, providing opportunities for people to develop their strengths and innovate.
• You have experience of identifying opportunities to continuously improve.

Desirable Criteria: 

• A sound working knowledge of Child Maintenance System, and working in a multi-channel environment.

Benefits

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service you will have access to an abundance of fantastic benefits, including:

• Generous holiday allowance of 23 or 25 days for new starters dependent on grade based on full-time work pattern, which increases to 30 days over time, in addition to public/bank holidays
• An attractive pension Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of over 26%
• Flexible working options, including full-time, part-time, flexi-time and hybrid working for some roles
• A culture encouraging inclusivity and diversity with a range of local and national employee networks
• A host of packages to support wellbeing and a healthy work/life balance
• Learning and development tailored to your role

This is just a snapshot of some of the benefits if you join our brilliant Civil Service. To read about our full range of amazing benefits, visit thinking of joining the civil service.

Working Arrangements

Whether you’re looking for part time or full time hours, we offer a variety of working patterns to suit your lifestyle.

You can choose to be contracted to work part-time or full-time hours within our standard operating hours, which are Monday to Friday 7:45am to 8pm and Saturday 8.45am to 5pm. 

Full time employees will be contracted to work 37 hours per week (42 hours including meal breaks) and part-time employees will be contracted to work less. Flexible working patterns can be requested and will be considered on an individual basis. It depends on the business area if this can be accommodated.

Training

DWP is committed to your successful development and will give you the tools to build a career as a brilliant and competent professional. When you join CMS, you will complete a comprehensive period of full-time office based training and work-based learning, which will take approximately 11 weeks. This will give you the tools and knowledge to be successful in your role.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete an anonymised CV and personal statement of no more than 1250 words.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Stage 1: Application & Sift

The CV is an on-line tool, there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.  When giving details of your employment history, you should include details of work you have completed and projects you have been involved in.  However the CV is not scored so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your Personal Statement.

Your Personal Statement should contain no more than 1250 words. Use your 1250 word Personal Statement to describe how you meet the Essential Criteria as detailed in the job advert. The layout is entirely your choice, you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criterion separately; however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several of the criteria. Please share with us what makes you suited to this role. We would like to find out what you can do, the skills you hold and the life experience or passion that you have that could be aligned to the criteria listed within the Person Specification.

The sift panel will use the information in your Personal Statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the Essential Criteria outlined in the advert.

Important Information Regarding Anonymisation

Due to the DWP’s use of anonymised recruitment practices it is not possible for applicants to upload/attach a CV.  Please remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This relates to name and contact details which might usually appear on your CV/Personal statement. Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.

When entering information relating to your employment history you will be asked to remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This relates to name and contact details which might usually appear on your CV/Personal statement. Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.

Sift

The sift panel will use the information in your Personal Statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential criteria outlined in the advert. 

Please note depending on the volume of applications we may choose to invite candidates straight to interview and dispense with the sift stage. For this reason, the timeline for the interview window is subject to change depending on the approach we choose to take.

Stage 2: Interview

Unless you are otherwise informed, the final stage of the process will be a blended interview via Microsoft Teams.

The blended interview will consist of Behaviour and Strength questions. The behaviours being assessed at interview are:

• Managing a Quality Service (lead behaviour)
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

All elements of the interview will be via video link, and the whole process should take approximately 30 - 40 minutes.

A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach.

The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.

You can take notes into the interview to remind you of possible examples if you think this would help you, but to have the best interview experience possible, we do not recommend that you simply read from a script.

Please refer to the Candidate Pack for further information.

Approximate campaign timeline:

Sift Period: 09/07/2024 - 12/07/2024

Interviews: 25/07/2024 - 31/07/2024

Sift and interview dates are subject to change.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.

Further Information

Find out more about Working for DWP

Any move to DWP from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing.

Tenure in post

Candidates should note that if successful in this campaign, you will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months unless on promotion. 

Reserve lists

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. If you are placed on a reserve list if your application is successful but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:

• If you are offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances*. 
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.

*Note -  Exceptional circumstances could be when a candidate has requested a contractual Part Time Working Pattern and this pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered or in cases of serious ill health.

Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time.  

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via DWPRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.