About the job

Job summary

What are we offering?

Are you someone who strives to make a difference to people’s lives? If so, we would like to hear from you!

Do you have a passion for Public Service?

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) are looking to fill a number of  Visiting Team Leader Roles throughout Wales.

These are key roles leading Visiting Officers and we welcome applications from people with strong leadership skills who are energetic and enthusiastic, to deliver exceptional customer service, with quality outcomes for our customers, partners and providers. You will have experience in dealing with internal and external stakeholders and be able to make sound decisions, drive performance, work collaboratively and lead others.

You will be able to bring teams together covering a wider geographical area and help to positively change people lives in our communities.

The posts available will be based in North and Mid Wales, South West Wales and South East Wales Districts

The roles are suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Travel across the District is required to support Visiting Officers in the local districts.

Job description

Visiting Team Leader role will:-

• Provide visible leadership and direction for a team of up to 10 EO Visiting Officers based in various offices within each district.
• Involve significant travel around multiple locations.
• Build and improve collaborative working relationships across a range of stakeholders.
• Work across all areas of DWP to ensure the referral streams are visible and accessible to all departments.
• Spearhead engagement across the team, ensuring each person feels valued for the work they do, and motivated to deliver the best for the customer and the Department.
• Personally model, and ensure from the team, full compliance with all DWP Health and Safety and security guidance and procedures.
• Embrace and promote the digital agenda, undertaking self-learning, and coaching others to maximise potential in all media and systems.
• Deal proficiently with all aspects of performance management to ensure all standards are met / exceeded, delivering service that is efficient and effective.
• Monitor quality of service through accompanied visits on a regular basis; providing feedback, coaching, and support for Visiting Officers to drive excellent customer service.
• Deal effectively with escalations and complex queries, and provide additional support to Visiting Officers when required, recognising the importance of wellbeing, diversity, and inclusion.

Person specification

Key Criteria:
What we are looking for :-

• Encourage joined up teamwork within own team and across other Product lines. Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent people engagement skills and evidence of strong leadership.
• Excellent communication skills and confidence in communicating and explaining complex areas of work to external and internal stakeholders.
• Successful candidates will be appointed to a particular DWP office. There will be a daily need to travel to visit customers in their homes, or visit Outreach Facilities within the community. The ability to travel to various locations within a wide geographical area on a daily basis is essential.
• Ability to build strong relationships by influencing; engaging and collaborating with internal and external organisations, building effective networks in order to deliver goals and objectives.
• A driven, energetic leader who can improve quality and consistency with experience of remote management.
• Able to innovate and make sound decisions sometimes at pace.
• Someone with honesty and integrity, who inspires confidence and loyalty.

 Desired skills:

• The ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

Benefits

With great benefits including:

• Generous annual leave 23 days for Full time new entrants (rising to 25 after 1 year), plus all bank holidays.
• Flexible working patterns available
• Competitive maternity, paternity, and parental leave
• A  Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27% 
• Employee Assistance with emphasis on wellbeing
• Career and Personal Development through Operational Delivery Profession
• Employee discount schemes

Location

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

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed 

Hybrid Working

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home.  This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

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.

Written Sift

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a personal statement of no more than 1250 words. This will be assessed against the Key Criteria within the responsibilities section of the advert. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Key Criteria thoroughly.  Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several Key Criteria. You may not be able to meet all the Key Criteria, but please ensure you provide as much evidence as you can to allow us to assess your skills, knowledge and experience.

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 Key Criteria.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead key criteria: 

•  Encourage joined up teamwork within own team and across other Product lines. Establish professional relationships with a range of stakeholders. (Lead criteria)

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

The interview

The interview will last approximately 45 minutes. This will be a blended interview assessing a mixture of behaviours and strengths as detailed in Success Profiles, 

Please note that interviews will be via video using Microsoft Teams and you will need to use your personal or work device to access the video link. You will receive a link to join the interview at the appointed time through the email account you provide us with on your application.

Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your interview can be confirmed.  

Blended Interview

You will be asked a mixture of Behaviour and Strength questions. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach. The Behaviour and Strength based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential. 
 
An example of a Behavioural question would be; 
 
Tell me about a time you have set about improving customer service, giving a sense of pace and criticality of success? How did you ensure this activity achieved its objectives whilst keeping costs under control? What tools and techniques did you use? 
 
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and used the WHO or STAR model to explain. 
 
It is difficult to prepare for Strength type questions. While Strength questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.

Proposed Sift and Interview dates.

Sift Period – 11th January 2024 to 16th January 2024.

Interviews – 29th January 2024 to 2nd February 2024.

The above sift and interview dates may change depending on the numbers involved; however, candidates invited to interview will be given at least three working days’ notice.

Offer

Once all interviews have been completed, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email.   
  
The successful candidates will be offered a posting and will be notified of a start date following successful security checks.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

Please note

• If you accept an offer of a post, you will be expected to withdraw from any other live campaigns you have applied for, with DWP, at this grade.
• If you are offered the role you applied for, in a location or vicinity 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.

 Candidates should note that if successful in this campaign, you will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before applying for any other lateral moves within DWP.

Further information

Find out more about Working for DWP

Working Pattern

The full-time working week in DWP is 37 hours. You may be required to work at any time between the hours of: 

• 7:45am and 8:00pm on any day between Monday to Friday, and 
• 8:45am to 5:00pm on Saturday

DWP is a family-friendly employer and we try to accommodate the widest range of working patterns, including part-time and job-sharing, but we cannot guarantee doing so because our ability to deliver our business locally must always be taken into account.

Training Requirements 

You may be required to undertake training which is necessary for you to perform your role. This will be provided by the Department for Work and Pensions at no cost to you. Every effort will be made to arrange for training to be held during your agreed normal working hours. Exceptionally, where this is not possible, you will need to be prepared to adjust your normal hours to attend for training and pay will be adjusted accordingly. In these circumstances you will be given details of your revised times of attendance for the period of the training event by management. Time off in lieu may be taken as an alternative to payment at the discretion of your manager and subject to the needs of the work where appropriate. 

Apprenticeships 

DWP takes development seriously. Our aim is for our colleagues in these roles to be appropriately skilled and qualified – as determined by the business. To support this aim you may be required to undertake a work-based qualification, which may be in the form of an apprenticeship, which will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role and your future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time, you agree to take this job on the basis that you may be required to undertake a work-based qualification; a candidate’s failure to participate fully in the professional programme, once appointed, may be a breach of their employment contract. 

Important 

If you hold a level 3 qualification (2 A levels or equivalent) then please bring your certificates with you to the interview if you have them.

Equality and Diversity

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this search:

Equality and diversity - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

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. 

Internal Fraud Database 
 
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.  
 
Criminal Record Check

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 the Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstance 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 mail to Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Additional Information

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.

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

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

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 who transfer into DWP from other government departments, 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.

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.