About the job

Job summary

Are you highly motivated and keen to be involved in projects and programmes transforming services across the UK’s largest government department? 

Are you interested in pursuing or further developing a career in Project Delivery?   
 
Are you motivated, curious and committed to creating a bright future for our customers?  

Do you enjoy collaborating with others to deliver?  

If so, you should consider a career in Project Delivery within DWP.     

We are looking for people who understand the challenges of introducing something new and want to use their skills to support and enable the transformation of services for customers.  We would welcome applications from candidates with a diverse range of skills who are ambitious, curious and committed to developing their career in Project Delivery. 

Job description

DWP are looking to fill 20 Project Delivery Manager roles within Change and Resilience Group in some of the largest programmes across Government. Details about the various programmes in our Group can be found in the Candidate Information Pack. 

As a Project Delivery Manager, you will play a lead role in the delivery of projects and programmes to ensure that objectives are met and delivered within agreed time, cost and quality constraints.  We require individuals who are collaborative, organised and enjoy working as part of a team to deliver. In return, you will join a flourishing, supportive community delivering some of the largest transformation programmes in the UK and have opportunities to further your own learning and development.   

We have a range of challenging and exciting roles on offer, all of which are vital in supporting the successful delivery of transformation projects and programmes across DWP.  If you are highly motivated, interested in a career in Project Delivery and would like to support the Government to deliver its next set of priorities, this role is for you. We will also be looking to form a strong reserve list as we expect to have further roles in the near future.   

Our success depends on our people. We are looking for individuals to join our team who are as motivated by our unique purpose as we are! 

What are the role responsibilities? 

While no two days will be the same, the responsibilities may vary from role to role but include:  

• Leading teams, engaging and supporting colleagues to enable successful delivery of projects.  
• Supporting colleagues in the Project Delivery community.   
• Collaborating with colleagues from across DWP including Digital, Policy and Operational Delivery to define business requirements, identify problems and opportunities. 
• Creating customer focused solutions - putting user needs and customer experience at the forefront of designing transformation.  
• Collating and analysing data from a range of sources to help inform decision making. 
• Engaging with colleagues to identify and monitor business readiness in preparation for implementation. 
• Developing, and managing project risks, issues and interdependencies, escalating these as appropriate.  
• Developing innovative solutions - adapting, iterating and improving these at pace particularly when priorities change.  
• Agreeing and documenting changes to deliverables as agreed with stakeholders in accordance with the Change Management process. 
• Supporting or setting appropriate governance assurance. 
• Seeking out, developing and sharing first class project delivery practices, building strong internal and external networks and showing commitment to personal development.  

Our Mission

The Department for Work and Pensions is one of the biggest government departments, delivering vital services to some of the most vulnerable people in society. As part of the UK’s biggest public service department, we make sure that millions of people receive their State Pension and working age, disability and ill health benefits each year.  

Change and Resilience Group (CRG) lead on the Department’s portfolio of Change programmes and projects.  We work in multi-disciplinary teams to continually improve how we do things and deliver our services with minimal disruption to DWP customers. More information can be found in the Candidate Information Pack attached and below:  

The size and scale of DWP means that there are plenty of opportunities to develop, learn and progress throughout your career.  We are committed to developing our people now and in the future. Our aim is for our colleagues to be appropriately skilled and qualified from the moment of entry up to becoming an experienced Project Delivery practitioner within their role. The Government Project Delivery Profession accreditation scheme is at the heart of what we are delivering within DWP. This scheme, designed for all Project Delivery professionals working in projects, programmes and portfolios, provides an industry aligned standard by which project delivery professionals working across government can be recognised for their knowledge, skills and experience

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make Change and Resilience Group as diverse as possible, and we particularly welcome applications from underrepresented groups, including people from an ethnic minority background, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

Person specification

The Essential Criteria for this role are:

Track record of delivering successful outcomes: You can demonstrate evidence of delivering a range of activities with competing deadlines on a day-to-day basis. You have strong problem-solving skills and dealing with uncertainty.

Leadership: You are able to demonstrate how you have successfully led people to achieve objectives promoting diversity and inclusion.
 
Communication Skills:  You build strong relationships with a range of people and enjoy collaborating with others to deliver outcomes. You can communicate information in a straightforward, honest and engaging manner, choosing appropriate styles to maximise understanding and impact to a range of audiences. 

Planning Skills: You can demonstrate evidence that you are able to prioritise, multitask, and deliver on competing priorities whilst keeping yourself and others focused. You ensure risks are identified and actions are taken to avoid delay. 

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%

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. 

• Due to the nature of these posts, it requires the post holders to work out of one of the DWP Change hubs. These are located in: Birmingham Arena Central, Blackpool Peel Park, Glasgow Atlantic Quay, Leeds Quarry House, London Caxton House, Manchester St Peters Square, Newcastle Benton Park, Sheffield Kings Court, Pontypridd Treforest Ty Taf.
• Travel to other Hubs may be required.
• For vacancies in Wales, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.
• You will be asked to complete a location preference as part of your application. Successful candidates will be posted in merit order based on your location preferences (within reasonable daily travelling distance) and the geographical requirements of the business. Dependent on your position on the merit list, if none of your location preferences remain at the point we make a job offer DWP may offer you a role at an alternative advertised location. If we are unable to offer you a role in any of your preferred locations, and you are unable to accept a role at an alternative advertised location, we will add you to the reserve list if one is being held.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Work Strengths Test.

Civil Service Jobs will check if you have an applicable banked test score.

• If you do, you won’t be invited to the test.
• If you don’t, you will be invited to the test, and must take it.

If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application. 

Please complete the online test and written application as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). The closing date for the tests is Monday 26 February at 23:55. If you fail to complete the online test and written application before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a CV showing your job history, qualifications and experiences and a personal statement (1250 words max). Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Your CV will not be used in the sifting process. 

You will then be asked to submit a personal statement of 1250 words. The written sift will be conducted using evidence from your personal statement which will be assessed against the Essential Criteria.

When completing your personal statement, the layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criterion separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several essential criteria. Please ensure you provide as much evidence as you can to allow us to assess your skills, knowledge and experience.

Share with us what makes you suited to this role. We would like to find out what you can do, the skills you hold and the life experience or passion you have that could be aligned to the essential criteria.

Information Session

There will be an information session available for prospective candidates on Wednesday 14 February at 14:00-15:00.

Please contact changegroup.businessmanagementteam@dwp.gov.uk and we will send you the details via email. If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know.

The Interview

Interviews will take place remotely by an MS Teams video call. The interview will take approximately 45 minutes and further details and instructions will be provided closer to the scheduled interview. All applicants who progress to interview will be assessed on behaviours, strengths and ability.

An assessment will be used at interview stage to test the success profile element: Ability.

Details will be given to candidates on invitation to interview.

For more advice around how to answer behaviour and strength questions and an indicative timeline for the sift and interview dates, please see the attached Candidate Information Pack. Please note that any dates given are subject to change. 

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 12 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 or 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.

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. 

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.