About the job

Job summary

This is a demanding role working in an environment where you will need be able to show your excellent communication and influencing skills as you collaborate fully with both internal and external stakeholders across all areas of DWP.

You will support the Deputy Director for People Safety to lead a team of over 60 talented colleagues within the centralised ‘Safe interactions team’. You will by setting the right environment for your team to thrive, you will bring energy and drive to your teams, translating DWP ambitions and objectives into meaningful actions that your team can drive forwards. Always looking ahead to ensure your teams have the capability and tools they need to deliver, inspiring your teams, leading through change, and developing strategies and plans.  

You will proactively drive forward change and demonstrate inspiring Leadership, taking the initiative to deal with strategic issues whilst encouraging senior leaders to initiate solutions.

As a leader within the DWP People Safety team you will support the Departmental “Competent Person” framework to ensure the business remains compliant with legislative changes and that its policies and processes remain centred around the keeping our staff and customers safe. The roles support the continued expansion of the area of accountability to ensure that DWP continues to be exemplar in its safety management and maturing safety culture.

For jobs based in Wales the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

Job description

• You will inspire and motivate your team to deliver to often challenging demands, encouraging a solution focused approach and encouraging a continuously learning mindset supporting transformation.
• Identifying talent and leadership potential, you will support the development of your leaders, promoting the uptake of professional accreditation and creating high performing teams.
• Seeing the big picture and translating DWP objectives into meaningful actions and outcomes to ensure your teams understand what is expected of them to deliver our departmental objectives.
• Building networks across DWP and beyond to optimise the service we offer and ensuring the voice of the customer is embedded in all we do.
• Provide and evaluate drafts at short notice for briefings, Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests in a clear, concise manner.
• Influence Health and Safety development across the team, function and DWP, identifying opportunities for delivering efficiencies through greater collaborative working and harmonization of common policies and procedures.
• Frequent travel and occasional overnight stays will be required.
• Strong leadership skills, having the ability to handle difficult situations and rise to multiple challenges, leading through ambiguity and bringing flexibility, curiosity and diverse perspectives whilst respecting differences and equality and being able to inspire and motivate people ensuring your team deliver positive outcomes in support of wider People Safety/DWP aims.
• An ability to build strong interpersonal relationships with a wide range of diverse stakeholders, customers, and other leaders working across boundaries to ensure effective prioritisation and collaboration, ensuring inclusivity and an attention to the needs of those who are impacted by you personally and by the team you lead.
• The ability to balance multiple priorities ensuring all options are used in securing an outcome within agreed deadlines, using the resources available and maintaining a level of performance both personally and with your team that ensures your outcomes meet the demands expected of you.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to get to the heart of issues/challenges and communicate succinctly to a range of audiences and monitor the effectiveness of your communications.
• Identifying key recommendations that can be shared with other senior leaders; being able to identify several options that can be considered as solutions to any business problem that results in the delivery of an excellent and continuously improving service to customers.
• Support negotiations with senior stakeholders, service partners and Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) on key health and safety issues, where appropriate resolving issues directly with Union safety representatives.
• Ongoing development of a new Safe Interactions platform by working by working with key stakeholders, Senior operational leaders and developing the plans and structure to support ongoing iterations.
• You will be a strategic team leader who can understand all aspects of Health and Safety, make connections across these areas and be able to draw on expertise as required to provide solutions. In doing so you will promote a safe and inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are listened to, and all individual needs are considered. You will be able to lead a large and geographically dispersed team to deliver solutions.

Person specification

• Excellent leadership skills to enable you to lead a team, building trust and acting as a role model for flexibility, authenticity, integrity, inclusivity and continuous learning (lead criteria).
• Strong communication skills, and highly competent at building trust-based relationships at pace and engaging professionally and confidently with stakeholders at all levels, with a strong ability to influence others, often in challenging situations.
• Excellent planning, organisational and prioritisation skills, able to assimilate large volumes of varied information quickly and, with an understanding of the wider context, make well-informed, evidence-based decisions and take appropriate action.
• A self-starter with the flexibility and resilience to adapt quickly to new demands and lead and work effectively with others driving a collaborative approach to deliver a high-quality service under pressure.
• An ability to bring flexibility, curiosity and diverse perspectives into your work to drive innovation and achieve successful business outcomes.
• Have a clear understanding of the importance of H&S in organisations, operationally and strategically across all aspects of business delivery, whether economic, social, political, environmental, or technical. You will be able to work at pace to deliver solutions.
• Understanding the need for safe interactions and how its impacts on our people and customers as we build towards enabling safety culture within DWP.

To note: A Health and Safety qualification is desirable but not essential, but the successful candidate must be able to work towards a level 6 qualification in a Health and Safety discipline within two years.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• https://www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/members/joining-the-civil-service-pension-scheme/ with an average employer contribution of 27%

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.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and 1250 personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Selection will be by a written sift, followed by an interview (face-to-face or video).

CV

The CV is an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV.  Our CV element is short, and allows an initial check of eligibility, so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your Personal Statement.

Personal statement – 1250 words

When completing your personal statement, please read and understand the Key Criteria  thoroughly as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against. 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 evidence: the key personal requirements and what have you done that relates to the requirements. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why, what you can do and the skills you have that are transferable to the key requirements, and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.

Application

Written Sift

The written sift will be conducted using evidence from your CV and Personal Statement and will be assessed against the Key Criteria of the Person Specification within the advert.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead Criteria: Excellent leadership skills to enable you to lead a team, building trust and acting as a role model for flexibility, authenticity, integrity, inclusivity and continuous learning. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview. This will be a face to face. The interview panel will be a minimum of two people. The interview will assess: Behaviours and Strengths.  The interview aims to be more of a conversation exploring the candidate’s capability for the role.

You will be asked to do a 5 minute presentation and to help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the presentation and behaviour questions in advance of the interview. These questions should be treated as confidential. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths.

The Civil Service uses a Behaviour Framework to assess candidates’, knowledge and skills.

You will be assessed against:

• Leadership:
• Communicating and Influencing.
• Working Together:
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions

It may help to use the WHO or STAR model to explain:

What the task/ work was, How you approached the task/work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? Or What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?

Candidates will be asked further probing questions to determine suitability for the role.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed. 

Selection and Feedback

We will notify all candidates as soon as possible. 

A reserve list will be held for up to 6 months, which we may also use to fill future similar vacancies

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

Security Information

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 /Disclosure Scotland 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. 

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk 

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.

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.

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

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.

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.