About the job

Job summary

Are you a confident strategic leader, who is experienced in leading multidisciplinary teams, in a fast paced and complex environment? Then this is the role for you.

The Synergy Programme represents a step change in how we’ll deliver corporate functions across Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Home Office (HO), Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which together make up almost half of the civil service. ​

The programme’s purpose is to enable better public services through better ways of working, supporting more than a quarter of a million officials and public servants who deliver some of the most vital and high-risk public services in our country. ​Synergy’s mission is to make working lives easier and help deliver crucial public services by providing systems that are smarter, faster, more intuitive, and are designed around the needs of the user. ​

We’re transforming the way we deliver corporate services in government, simplifying the way we do things, joining up functions, and showing how deep the benefits of partnership run. ​

Synergy’s objectives are to:​

• Simplify and operate through an optimised Shared Services Centre​
• Improve user experience​
• Improve data quality and reporting​
• Provide service continuity and foundation for service enhancements​
• Demonstrate value for money

Job description

As Head of Stakeholder Engagement, you will lead a proactive programme of strategic communications in the Synergy Programme, reporting directly to the SRO and Programme Director. Your role will be to further Programme objectives, including helping to shift mindsets and associated ways of working to land significant cultural transformation at all levels. 

You will play a pivotal role in leading and coordinating Synergy communications from the centre, working with Communication partners across the four departments and with our strategic partners and suppliers to ensure consistency, coherence and a clear narrative that describes our transformation journey and ambition as well as responding to any requests for further information and clarity as the Programme progresses. Your work will be both proactive and reactive and you will need to be able to balance competing priorities, using limited resource effectively to achieve this. You will provide strong leadership and strategic direction to lead the team to provide a high-quality, timely and accurate communications function for the Programme. 

Please see the candidate pack attached to the advert for Key responsibilities. 

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Demonstrable experience of leading a multidisciplinary team, in a fast paced and complex programme or change management environment, to deliver strategic communications, engagement, business change and transformation that maximise change adoption and acceptance (Lead criteria)
• Demonstrable experience of establishing excellent partner management skills, relationships and networks in multi-stakeholder environment to deliver business change in a collaborative and inclusive way
• Being a visible, senior leader, helping to shape an innovative, inclusive culture that champions continuous improvement and development
• Ability to influence and challenge assumptions in an assertive yet constructive way with senior delivery partners, stakeholders, or clients to deliver programme priorities
• A track record of adopting a whole systems approach to delivery of inspiring and engaging communications that align with the vision and programme direction.

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

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.

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years;
• A supporting statement (maximum 1250 words) explaining why you want to work for DWP in this role; how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. 

For perspective candidates, there will be a Candidate Engagement session in which the vacancy holder will give details about the role and provide you an opportunity to ask any questions about DWP, the role or the process. The Candidate Engagement session will take place on 15th February at 14:00 Join Here.  This is not part of the selection process and is an optional event.

For more information about the Synergy Programme, this role and the applications process, please see the candidate pack attached.

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.