About the job

Job summary

We are recruiting for 2 roles:

Director - Private Pensions and Arm's Length Bodies​ and Director, Disability and Health Support​

Director, Disability and Health Support​

The Disability and Health Support Directorate in Policy Group brings together DWP’s health and disability benefits, covering: the Work Capability Assessment; Employment and Support Allowance; Personal Independence Payment; Disability Living Allowance and Industrial Injuries Disability Benefit. These areas provide support to millions of people of working age, accounting for over £30 billion in public spending, including to support children and pensioners. ​

Director - Private Pensions and Arm's Length Bodies​​

​The Private Pensions and Arm’s-Length Bodies​ Directorate leads on the delivery of several of the Departmental priorities, particularly in relation to retirement savings and financial wellbeing in later life. 

​​This role involves close working with colleagues across Government, particularly with HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority, and with the broad range of private and public sector partners in the financial services sector.​​

Job description

Director, Disability and Health Support

What are my responsibilities?

• Be an active member of Policy Group’s Senior Leadership Team and an active member of the Department’s senior leadership community,
• Lead a large & diverse Directorate of c150 people, creating a motivated and high performing team which places an emphasis on individual wellbeing and development 
• Set a clear strategy, in conjunction with Ministers, which best meets the Government’s goals in a cost effective and evidence-based way
• Ensure the delivery of the policy intent of DWP’s health and disability benefits
• Lead the implementation of the Health and Disability Benefits White Paper, including the subsequent policy and legislative programme, ensuring collaborative working with No10, HMT and other Government Departments
• Be an ambassador for DWP as the Stakeholder Relationship Director for disability organisations. 

Director - Private Pensions and Arm's Length Bodies​

What are my responsibilities?

• Be an active member of Policy Group’s Senior Leadership Team and an active member of the Department’s senior leadership community,
• Play a full role in Policy Group’s Leadership team and wider Departmental leadership
• Lead a large & diverse Directorate of c250 people, creating a motivated and high performing team which places an emphasis on individual wellbeing and development ​
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across DWP, government and the wider pensions system to support outcomes for retirement savers, leading Government’s private pensions policy, including policy on automatic enrolment into workplace pensions.
• Managing relationships with and sponsorship of the Department’s pensions-related ALBs (The Pensions Regulator, Nest, the Pension Protection Fund, the Pensions Ombudsman and the Money and Pension Service)​
• Relationship with the private pensions industry, including key trade and professional bodies, which in effect provides the delivery system for Government pensions policy
• Provide sponsorship and oversight of the Department’s non-pensions ALBs, including the Health and Safety Executive and the Office for Nuclear Regulation
• Maintain and develop strong relationships with HM Treasury, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority ​
• Advise the Minister for Pensions

Person specification

Essential Criteria for the role which will be used to assess your application:

The successful candidate must be able to evidence their expertise and experience in the following areas:

• A breadth of strategy and policy capability gained through recent experience in leading policy-making and development in a complex environment, and at a senior and strategic level
• The ability to drive a range of complex strategy and policy work, providing evidence of a broad range of professional policy, strategy and change management competencies
• A high degree of strategic thinking in a complex and rapidly changing political environment; with the ability to understand, articulate and resolve complex, technical delivery and policy issues
• Effective use of a range of evidence and analysis, simplifying the complex to make effective, corporate and open decisions by focusing on the key facts
• A track record of successful senior leadership and management with proven skills in business planning, and effective delivery through multi-disciplinary teams​
• Building mutually beneficial and collaborative relationships, with the ability to negotiate and influence at the highest levels, operating with sensitivity and political astuteness, and  remaining calm under pressure;

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

To apply for these posts, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below. 

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, 

• Quarry House, Leeds, LS2 7UA
• King's Court, Hanover Way, Sheffield, S3 7UF
• Caxton House, 6 -12 Tothill St, London, SW1H 9NA

Successful candidates will be posted in merit order based on your location preferences and the geographical requirements of the business.

Given the close working with Ministers these roles may involve some travel to London and our second HQ in Leeds.

Your application is submitted in two parts:

• 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
• Three statements (maximum 500 words each) answering the 3 pre-defined questions (below), explaining why you want to work for DWP in this role; how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the Person Specification.

Q1. What has been your most significant leadership challenge in terms of scale, complexity and delivery?

Q2. How have you driven forward a complex portfolio of policy work to overcome a challenge facing your organisation? 

Q3. Please explain how you have influenced critical decisions, using data, insight and evidence, in a complex context with challenging stakeholders?  

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say'. If you are unable to apply online, or have any issues with the online application process, please contact senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

For further information on these roles and the selection process, please see candidate pack attached to this advert.

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.