About the job

Job summary

The Fiscal Events team is a new team which will sit at the heart of the Department in the Strategy, Governance & International Directorate. The team is responsible for planning and delivering activity as part of major fiscal events such as the Budget, working in partnership with Strategic Finance. This is an exciting time to join the team as DWP has worked closely with HMT on major policy packages at recent fiscal events covering labour market and welfare measures.  

It is a high-profile and exciting work area where team members will routinely provide advice to DWP Ministers and the Executive Team and will engage with senior officials across the Department.

Job description

These two Grade 6 roles will form the leadership team for the Fiscal Events team (with the Deputy Director) and will be responsible for driving forward progress on fiscal events. This will cover a wide span of departmental activity and involve often working to tight timescales and deadlines.

This role will be critical to helping the Strategy function coordinate a central narrative and policy direction for fiscal events, help track and manage the range of policies in development, ensure clear channels of communication with internal and cross-Government stakeholders, and plan for the delivery and implementation of any new fiscal event announcements. This role will require extremely close partnerships working with Strategic Finance and Departmental Planning teams and with policy teams across DWP. This role entails leading a small, high-calibre team, demonstrating strong people leadership skills and the ability to lead and engage across the organisation while delivering under tight time pressures.

The key tasks for the post-holders will include:

• Coordinating across the full breadth of the Department’s activity at fiscal events, bringing together robust plans to manage this. Ensuring communications to a wide range of stakeholders are clear and comprehensive amid under pressure.  
• Providing clear briefings to senior officials and Ministers, both in writing and in person, often to tight deadlines. The post-holder will be expected to analyse and interpret information, distilling that into coherent advice to support the Department in making effective decisions.
• Working with colleagues across the department, HMT and No.10. This includes building a strong network across policy teams, Strategic Finance, private office and wider teams in the Department to understand latest movements in an uncertain environment.  

Person specification

Experience Key Criteria

• Ability to communicate complex work clearly and comprehensively to senior audiences (Lead Criteria)
• Ability to work and think at a strategic level, taking account of priorities across the Department and Government
• Ability to lead high-performing teams, and provide visible leadership across the organisation
• Ability to deliver results in fast-moving unpredictable circumstances and respond to challenging deadlines
• Ability to build effective networks of stakeholders to deliver results

 Experience of working of fiscal events would be desirable. 

Benefits

• An employer pension contribution of up to 27%
• Generous annual leave entitlement of 25 days for new entrants rising up to 30 days, (based on your working pattern)
• Family friendly flexible working arrangements, such as hybrid working, job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours
• Learning and development tailored to your role this could include industry recognised qualifications, coaching and mentoring
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join staff networks including: Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more
• Professional development, coaching, mentoring and career progression opportunities
• Time off volunteering and charitable giving
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket

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 Experience.

1. Application & Sift

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (1000 words max). The CV is for reference only and will not be scored.

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

A sift will be carried out using your 1000 word Personal Statement.

Your personal statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets all the Experience Key Criteria set out below and not the published behaviours listed in this advert.

We are not looking at how much time you have spent in a job, but rather how you have performed. Your Personal Statement must show demonstrable evidence of what you did, how you did it, and what outcome was achieved. This should include the impact of your approach and evidence of your ability to take forward different approaches in different circumstances.

The standards detailed in the Experience Key Criteria are the minimum expectations for the role and only candidates with the strongest evidence will be invited to interview. In the event of a large number of applications, meeting the pass standard for the lead criteria:

'Ability to communicate complex work clearly and comprehensively to senior audiences'

Candidates will have to meet the standard for all criteria to progress to interview.

Your statement must not exceed 1000 words and you are advised to take advantage of the full word count.

The closing date for applications is 10/01/2024, late submissions will not be accepted.

2. Interview Stage

If you are successful at the sift you will be invited to an interview. The interview will comprise of Behaviour-Based questions. The guidance on Success Profiles explains these selection tools. The Behaviours being assessed are detailed in the job advert.

Behaviours:

• Seeing The Big Picture (Lead Behaviour)
• Leadership
• Delivering At Pace
• Communicating & Influencing
• Working Together

Note that the Behaviours will be assessed at interview stage only.

When applying for these roles, you will be required to state in preference order which of the three Policy Group Hub locations you can work from, Sheffield, Leeds, and London. Please be aware these roles can only be carried out in the UK, not overseas, and your office base must be one of the three Policy Group Hubs. Appointments may be made to candidates in merit order based on location preferences and geographical requirements  

By indicating your preferred Policy Group hub location(s) in your application you are stating that you are willing to accept a post in any of your chosen hub location(s). 

• Quarry House, Leeds, LS2 7UA 
• Caxton House, Tothill St, London, SW1H 9NA 
• King’s Court, Hanover Way, Sheffield, S3 7UF 

The Department is committed to promoting flexible ways of working, whilst enabling the business to operate at maximum efficiency and will expect colleagues to work from a blend of locations, including some time working at home, as required

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information Find out more about Working for DWP A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 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. 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. 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. New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. 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.