About the job

Job summary

• DWP is a large central government department that offers rewarding policy careers in its hub locations in London, Sheffield and Leeds.  
• DWP’s Policy Summer Studentships involve paid work placements that provide an opportunity to see what working in the Civil Service is like. Successful applicants will be given a placement that provide hands-on experience and insight into opportunities available in the Civil Service in the North of England.   
• A Year Policy Placement is a great way to prepare for a career in public policy and will last for 12 months from July 2024.
• There are numerous opportunities available through this scheme and you will be allocated a directorate within DWP to work in.
• Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion matters to us.  We are keen to hear from candidates from a broad range of backgrounds and experiences.
• We are working in conjunction with the Department for Education (DfE), who will also be offering a 12 month placement within their Policy Group. Please note that there are differences in salary with DWP offering £29,500 and DfE offering £27,790 pro-rata.

Job description

Your placement will involve you working on real-life policymaking. You could be:

• Leading on policy in your area, including assisting with the creation of policy documents.
• Evaluating research findings and influencing decision making.
• Working collaboratively across DWP with senior stakeholders and other government departments on major issues and presenting at governance boards.
• Supporting across your wider team with ad hoc projects and corporate work.
• Some occasional travel to other locations may be involved including overnight stays - this will be covered by DWP expenses policy.
• Shadowing civil servants to understand different roles.

You will receive the following induction and ongoing training:

• A placement manager to support and guide you.
• An allocated buddy to provide support and mentoring.
• Involvement in a range of activities and visits.
• Access to our Policy Group learning offer and other learning and development opportunities.

Person specification

We’re looking for enthusiastic people who are considering a career in public policy. Successful candidates will need to demonstrate the following key criteria at sift stage: 

1. (Lead criteria) Show commitment to developing skills, knowledge and experience of public policy making.
2. Produce high quality written work which is accurate and concise. 
3. Demonstrate inclusive and collaborative ways of working, working effectively as part of a team.
4. Use inter-personal skills to develop professional relationships.

Benefits

• Generous pension contributions
• Annual leave entitlement
• Learning and development opportunities including access to Civil Service Learning
• Inclusive and diverse working environment, with opportunities to join various staff networks

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. 

When applying for these roles, you will be required to state in preference order which of two Policy Group Hub locations you can work from, Sheffield, and Leeds. 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 
• King’s Court, Hanover Way, Sheffield, S3 7UF 
• St Pauls Place, Norfolk St, Sheffield, S1 2JF (DfE) 

Candidates successful at interview will also be asked for a preference on working in DWP or working DfE. We will do our best to appropriately match candidates based on location and department preference, though this cannot be guaranteed.

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.

1. Application & Sift

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

The CV is for reference only and will not be scored.

A sift will be carried out using your 750 word Personal Statement.

Your personal statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets all the Key Criteria set out above and not the published behaviours listed in this advert. Your statement must not exceed 750 words and you are advised to take advantage of the full word count.

We are not looking at how much time you have spent in a job, but rather how you have performed. Remember that your examples do not have to be work-focused. You may wish to draw from your experiences at university or from personal experience.

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 key criteria set out above. They are the minimum expectations for the role and only candidates with the strongest evidence will be invited to interview.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria:

• Show commitment to developing skills, knowledge and experience of public policy making,

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

2. Interview Stage

If you are successful, you will be invited to a behaviours and strengths-based interview commencing mid-April 2024. The guidance on Success Profiles explains these selection tools. The Behaviours being assessed are detailed in the job advert. 

Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

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

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

Sifting will begin after the advert closes, with outcomes issued to candidates by mid/late March. Successful candidates will be invited to interview in late March/early April.

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.

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.

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.

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.