About the job

Job summary

Do you have experience or qualifications in either criminal or financial investigations? Are you willing to work towards the required accreditation?  Do you have leadership experience, great communication skills and enjoy coaching others? 
 
Then DWP may be the place for you. This is an exciting opportunity to join our Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD) on a team committed to tackling fraud encountered through our Economic, Serious and Organised crime team. You will be at the forefront of tackling serious and organised crimes against DWP which often has links into wider criminality of modern slavery, human trafficking, and identity fraud. You will work with senior leaders across multi law enforcement agencies on high profile and serious fraud operations involving many suspects in multi-million-pound criminality.   

As Senior Operational Leader, you will role model excellent senior management leadership, overseeing investigations into either criminal or financial teams, taking responsibility for the flexible, effective, personalised delivery of customer service, quality, and performance.  You will provide transformational leadership to the site and beyond - leading through others, driving people engagement, and inspiring colleagues to deliver objectives.  

CFCD is a great place to work where the leadership team are passionate about attracting the best talent whilst nurturing and valuing new and existing colleagues to be the best they can be. We are looking for people who can demonstrate our values and commitment to leadership which are based around Collaboration, Resilience, and Inclusivity. We look for emotionally aware leaders who enable teams to be innovative, adaptable, and flexible. We want you to be comfortable challenging the norm and finding daring and dynamic solutions that support our values and enable colleagues to shine in whatever role they do.  

Job description

As a Senior Operational Leader, you can expect to be involved in a range of the following: 

• Report directly to the Grade 7, being fully accountable for the management of a large, geographically diverse team of HEO Investigators, setting strategic business priorities for your areas of responsibility and driving performance against key objectives.  
• Be a self-starter, able to use your own initiative and make sound, complex decisions at pace.  
• Be able to quickly instil technical knowledge and use initiative to seek solutions to problems; making interpretative judgements where circumstances fall outside of available guidance.    
• Lead performance within your business area, undertaking regular face-to-face performance reviews with your direct reports, identifying risks to performance achievement, and driving forward continuous improvement.  
• Be at the forefront of overseeing business change; leading others through the implementation, and embedding, of new policies and procedures.  
• Work alongside multiple, senior representatives from other government departments/external bodies, building strong, collaborative relationships which enhance our reputation and achieve excellent outcomes.  
• Provide visible, effective leadership through regular site visits, taking a personal lead in engaging with and communicating key messages with clarity and passion to obtain buy in.  
• Motivate teams to operate flexibly, seeking feedback, listening, and acting on this, setting performance standards and personalising services for our customers.  
• Encourage creative thinking and collaborative working between teams and directorates to drive innovation and service improvements.  
• Contribute to people planning activities, ensuring appropriate and effective deployment of people and resources within and between sites.  
• Develop a holistic grasp of all customer types enabling you to lead, design and manage new business roles and processes that continuously improve the quality of customer experience.  
• Ensure all matters are dealt with promptly and sensitively, in line with DWP policies and procedures, and legislative frameworks, managing risk exposure by overseeing compliance.  

Person specification

Key Criteria

What we are looking for in our Senior Operational Leaders: 

• Strong and effective leadership experience, with the ability to lead through others and make sound business decisions at pace.    
• Can communicate with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm with colleagues, partners, and stakeholders to drive positive outcomes.  
• Have experience and knowledge of leading diverse teams, through effective coaching and mentoring, to improve service delivery.  
• Can drive performance improvement through proactive management of processes and ensuring compliance with performance management policies and procedures.  
• Have a flexible, agile outlook, able to innovate and display creative thinking.  
• Have the resilience to overcome difficulties, taking ownership for resolving issues.  
• Have knowledge of risk assessment processes, business continuity planning and diversity impact assessments. 
• Understand and engage with change. Inspire and obtain buy-in from colleagues by encouraging discussion, initiative, and ideas in support of the long term DWP vision. 
• 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. 

Desirable Skills

• Empower and encourage your diverse workforce, providing real opportunities for people to develop their strengths and innovate.  
• Have strong interpersonal skills, with a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to remotely manage staff. 
• Are honest, with integrity and probity, and have a personal demeanour that inspires confidence and loyalty. 
• Understand the political context within which DWP operates. 
• Have excellent presentation and communication abilities. 
• Hold a solid understanding of equality and diversity, and how it impacts upon service delivery.  
• Have excellent, planning, delegation, and organisational skills, as well as strong negotiating and influencing skills.  
• Have excellent collaboration skills, particularly as a DWP representative in national multi-agency meetings, requiring strategic decisions.  

Essential Criteria 

Please note that the role that you are applying requires National Security Vetting (NSV) to the level – Security Check (SC).  You can find more information at United Kingdom Security Vetting: Applicant - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)  

If you are successful in your application, you will need to attain SC clearance before you can take up post.  This is mandatory and is in addition to completion of Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS).

The purpose of the NSV process is to provide a level of assurance about an individual’s trustworthiness, integrity and reliability, and other factors that increase their vulnerability to corruption or risk of committing a security breach. It involves the investigation of an individual’s background and circumstances to achieve this aim.

To be eligible to apply, you will need to have 5 years continual UK residency prior to the date of your application.  In certain circumstances a minimum period of 3 years may be considered with additional checks.  If you do not have continual UK residency, we will not be able to proceed with your application, because you will be unable to obtain Security Clearance.  This includes if you have been out of the UK for six months or more during this time.

The application process will ask for personal details about you, your address history, previous relationships, your parents, your employment history, your financial circumstances, and details of any pending, spent or unspent convictions.  This list is not exhaustive.  Please view the Vetting explained - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) for more information.

If you require any further information, please contact the vacancy holder – the details are on the jobs portal through which you made your application.

If you are successful in your application, we recommend that you familiarise yourself with the NSV process and advise that you collate as much information as you can prior to starting your Vetting application.  

If you go on to attain Security Clearance, then you should be aware of the following:

Behaviours expected of you to maintain clearance

Keeping your clearance is dependent upon maintaining good security behaviours. You must:

• Not take any illegal drugs.
• Always act with honesty and integrity and, if you are a Civil Servant, adhere to the Civil Service Code.
• Always act in a way that will not put you at risk of being unduly influenced, exploited, or blackmailed by people such as criminals and journalists.

In addition to the above candidates who are successful will be asked about the following before we offer them a position.     
 
Candidates must declare to the best of their knowledge:  

• Any disciplinary finding of guilt / failure to meet the appropriate standard of conduct relating to their employment they have ever had.
• Any charge of a disciplinary offence / notification of a failure to meet the appropriate standards they have ever had where the case has not yet been concluded.
• Any past convictions, criminal findings, or police cautions, regardless of whether they are ‘spent’, they have ever had.
• The disclosure of this information will not automatically disbar the candidate from this role, but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on the candidate’s credibility if questioned in court.

What Checks are Involved? 

• Successful completion of the Baseline Personnel Security Standard.
• Completion, by the individual, of a security questionnaire.
• A departmental/company records check which will include, for example personal files, staff reports, sick leave returns and security records.
• A check of both spent and unspent criminal records.
• A check of credit and financial history with a credit reference agency.
• A check of Security Service (MI5) records.
• Exceptionally, if there are any unresolved security concerns about the individual, or if recommended by the Security Service, the individual may also be interviewed.
• In the event of any unresolved financial concerns, the individual may also be required to complete a separate financial questionnaire so that a full review of personal finances can be carried out.

Checks may extend to third parties included on the security questionnaire. 

Technical Knowledge: 

To apply for this post all candidates must already hold at least one of the following:    

• Accredited Counter Fraud Investigations Program (ACFIP). 
• Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship (CFIA). 
• An equivalent such as PINs (Professionalism in Security).   
• SAO accreditation via the National Crime Agency. 

Or be willing to attain 

• Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship (CFIA) 

DWP endorses the use of apprenticeships and successful candidates meeting the Counter Fraud Investigator Apprenticeship (CFIA) eligibility criteria will be required to complete this learning programme and achieve the level 4 award (as a condition of their appointment).   

CFIA includes face to face learning elements which the applicant needs to be aware could require them to travel outside of daily travelling times and incur overnight stays away from home. 

Functional Skills at Level 2 for English and Mathematics are a requirement of all apprenticeships. Learners who are not already qualified to this level or who are unable to produce certificates verifying this will be required to complete functional skills assessments as part of their learning journey. 

More details on what is involved in this learning can be found in the links below: 

Counter fraud investigator / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education  

Functional Skills qualifications: requirements and guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) 

Candidates are strongly advised to familiarise themselves with the requirements of this learning. 

You must be willing to attain the appropriate accreditation to undertake the technical functions of the role.  This may be attained through completion of a qualification or apprenticeship (see slide in candidate pack ‘Accreditation and Functional Requirements’).  

Where a qualification is not achieved, it would not be possible to fulfil the role requirements and candidates will be redeployed, within CFCD where possible, following Workforce Management Policy and Procedures. If you have questions about equivalent qualifications, please contact the vacancy holder.   

Travel Requirements: 

You are required to attend and oversee:    

• Briefings and operational planning with external stakeholders such as Police, Lawyers, and Barristers.   
• Participate in high profile arrests, search, and seizure exercises.  
• Attendance at Court to support criminal or financial proceedings and hearings.  
• Due to the nature of the role this could be at any location nationally and during unsociable hours (both night/day and weekends). A Departmental vehicle OR hire car may be made available if you hold a full UK driving license.  

Learning Requirements

DWP (Department for Work and Pensions) is committed to ensuring their teams are a professional workforce. 

Where entry routes are available, it is a professional requirement of Counter Fraud roles within DWP to attain, and retain, membership of the GCFP (Government Counter Fraud Profession) at Practitioner level. 

After you have completed your learning routeway, this will entail undertaking an annual self-assessment to evidence your knowledge, skills, and experience within your role to attain and/or retain practitioner level membership.

Further support

If you have questions or concerns at any point, please talk to the Vacancy Holder.  It is much easier to discuss and address an issue at an early stage than after concerns have been raised.

Benefits

Benefits including:

• Generous annual leave - 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus bank holidays and one day of leave for the King’s Birthday. The exact number of days of annual leave will be determined by any current years of service.
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave. We also recognise the importance of a good work-life balance and offer flexible working and a family friendly approach to work.
• Training and apprenticeships and up to 5 days’ personal development & learning allowance
• Flexible/hybrid working
• Employee discount schemes
• Free wellbeing support
• Opportunities to make a real difference through joining forums, initiatives & charities
• Interest free travel loans
• Vodafone advantage discount scheme
• Highly sought after civil service pension- your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where:
  - The employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension.
  - Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution; and
  - Your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.
  - For more information, visit civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

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 and Strengths.

Stage 1 - Application and Sift 

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete examples of the Civil Service Behaviours using no more than 250 words for each behaviour. These should contain things you have done in the past and how your skills and experience demonstrate those Civil Service Behaviours.    

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead or both the lead and the 2nd lead behaviour. 

If so, we will sift on:      

• Leadership (Lead Behaviour)
• Making Effective Decisions (Second lead Behaviour)

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to an interview.   Please note candidates will be provided an explanation of their score at sift detailing if an initial sift or full sift was carried out on their application.

If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.  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 use the WHO or STAR model to explain:    

• WHO - What it was, how you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or    
• STAR - What was the Situation? That were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions?       

**Please note the closing date for your full application is 23:55 on 02/04/2024** 

 
Sift to be held 15/04/2024 to 19/04/2024. These dates made be subject to change.  

Candidate Pack   

It is important that you take time to read the Candidate Pack which can be found at the bottom of this job advert. This provides further information about the role and working in DWP.  

Stage 2 - Interview

Those who pass the Written Application Sift with the required score will be invited to a blended interview and will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account.  

Please note that interviews will be Face-to-Face at either of our Liverpool, Pontypridd or Staines offices. You will receive an invite with the relevant details to attend the office at the appointed time through the email account you provide us with on your application.  

Interviews are scheduled to take place from 13/05/2024 to 17/05/2024, please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. Interviews will be scheduled Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:00.

Preparing for the interview  

The interview will take place face to face and will last for approximately 45 minutes where you will be asked a mixture of Behavioural and Strength questions.  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.   

Behaviours 

You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed above at Level 3.  

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behavioural questions in advance of the interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths. 

An example of a Behavioural question would be “Tell me about a time when you’ve had to deal with a difficult customer.”  

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 use the WHO or STAR model to explain:     

• WHO - What it was, How you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or  
• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions? 

If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. 

Strengths 

It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role.  

While strengths 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. 

If you withdraw your application at any stage, it will not be progressed any further.    

Stage 3 – Offer  

Once all interviews have been completed, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first.  

The successful candidate(s) will be notified of a start date following successful security checks, which is likely to be during July/August 2024.  

Important information.   

Working Pattern​  

Part-time and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. We will do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line with current business needs. Please note that successful part time and job share candidates will be required to work full time for specific periods to complete all training and consolidation. ​  

​Hours of Work ​  

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.​ 

Managers will agree working patterns with successful applicants within these business hours and review these as appropriate.  ​  

You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.  

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.  

Candidates should also 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 

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. 

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. 

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.  

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.  

Reasonable Adjustments 

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 “Assistance required” 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 are 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.