About the job

Job summary

The Enhanced Employment Support Division designs policy interventions for people with additional barriers to entering the labour market. We are responsible for labour market contracted employment provision (CEP) e.g. Restart, and for working with DLUHC and local areas on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Job description

The vacancy is for the head of Restart and Contracted Employment Provision Strategy. Responsibilities will include delivering policy input to enable a contract extension of Restart, Restart BAU policy, policy design of post-Restart pilots including mandatory work placements, contracted employment provision strategy advising different teams on policy design of interventions and route to market. The postholder will work closely with commercial colleagues, Contract Management and Performance Directorate, operations and analysts and be able to work in a multi-disciplinary way in order to advise Ministers, senior officials and HM Treasury. This is a busy and pressurised role with a small team supporting. The postholder will lead and develop the team.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Working together in a collaborative way (Lead Criteria) - You will have a particular strength in working with others and collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, resolving conflicts and finding a pragmatic solution that works for all parties.
• Policy Expertise - You will be an experienced policy professional who has led policy teams. You will be comfortable with all aspects of the policy-making process from design to delivery, including evidence-based policy design, seeking stakeholder views, leading groups to reconcile multiple viewpoints, determining a way forward, foreseeing and mitigating risks, ensuring a policy is deliverable and that all delivery partners are committed to a shared timeline, observing appropriate governance, driving through to implementation, monitoring performance and spend, and evaluation.
• Working in a contractual framework - You will have worked in a commercial context, delivering major projects or programmes and have an understanding of how the commercial context influences policy design, including how policy may need to adapt to comply with commercial legal parameters.

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

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.

1. Application & Sift

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement. 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 "Working together in a collaborative way" will determine if the other criteria are scored. 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.

2. Interview Stage

If you are successful at the sift you will be invited to a MS Teams interview. The interview will comprise of Behaviour-Based questions, and shorter strength based questions. The guidance on Success Profiles explains these selection tools. The Behaviours being assessed are detailed in the job advert. 

Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Leadership
• Communicating & Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

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

The strengths to be assessed will not be shared ahead of the interview. 

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.

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

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.

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.