About the job

Job summary

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

From the design and development of policies to the delivery of services supporting work, welfare, pensions and child maintenance, DWP is the Government’s largest department.

People are at the very heart of what we do. We ensure disabled people can live more independent lives; help tackle poverty and homelessness; provide a financial foundation for a secure old age; and support families ensuring children can fulfil their potential.

DWP has the largest commercial estate in government and our team is committed to being smaller, greener and better – helping people to work, grow and thrive. Our estate provides accommodation for colleagues who support millions of daily customer interactions in Jobcentres and Health Assessment centres, back of house offices delivering frontline services and hub sites housing expert functions such as Policy, Finance, Digital and HR.

The DWP Estates function ensures the smooth and efficient operation of this network on a day-to-day basis. We manage a private sector supply chain that delivers essential services such as security guarding, maintenance, property and leasehold, construction, cleaning and facilities management. Many of these services are business critical and we cannot safely open our offices without them. 

Our ambitions are to:

• Transition to a smaller, more affordable, and adaptable estate
• Invest in improving DWP’s buildings and infrastructure, conducted mainly through an extensive programme of planned replacement works 
• Meet our agreed Government Greening Commitments - creating a culture where sustainability is embedded
• Expertly deliver cost effective services
• Create a professional working culture that is best in class across the Government Property world.

There is no better time to join us as we transform our estate and make our buildings fit for the future.

The Strategy, Portfolio and Leasehold (SP&L) team is focused on proactively and strategically planning for DWP’s significant property portfolio, including all Job Centre Plus locations, Corporate Centres and other buildings that make up the Department’s estate.

The team brings together insights developed by our business relationship managers, data analysis from our business intelligence team and professional property planning from our portfolio strategy team to plan for the future in a way that aligns business needs and then transacted via the lease management team.  This role will be key in co-ordinating activity across the team identifying risks and opportunities to drive efficiencies.  

Job description

Key accountabilities

•  Work across the Strategy, Portfolio and Leasehold Management (SP&L) team to co-ordinate activity and provide clarity on key milestones, providing programmatic support.
• Build and maintain effective relationships across the team and with wider stakeholders.
• Ensure processes are adhered to and work with Estates colleagues to build and maintain a centralised process library. Provide training and upskilling as required.
• Serve as the Risk Lead for SP&L which involves identifying, managing and reporting on risks and issues across the team and ensure they are clearly recorded and mitigated wherever possible.
• Co-ordinate activity and interdependencies across the team and various governance forums to ensure a clear picture of priorities is in place and that activity is planned in line with this.
• Lead secretariat provision for team governance forums and events.
• Identify and implement real time process improvements and ensure these are documented and adopted across the team.
• Produce accurate and timely reports as required by the Head of Strategy, Portfolio & Leasehold, Estates Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and DWP Governance bodies.
• Co-ordination of work force planning to identify future capacity and capability needs across the function
• Work collaboratively with colleagues across DWP Estates to identify and manage the Governance requirements, track progress and report as required.
• Track the required Governance approvals and ensure that documentation is completed to the required standard and submission deadlines are met.
• Liaise with key stakeholders and senior customers in all aspects of Strategy, Portfolio and Leasehold  and act as escalation point to provide resolutions as required and a cohesive response from the team.
• Support SP&L colleagues to maintain their team’s SharePoint sites, including providing ad hoc training as required.

Person specification

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience

•  Excellent leadership skills – able to hold others to account for delivery, and give appropriate levels of support in order to succeed
• Tactical and strategic judgement – the ability to constructively challenge colleagues and agree a way forward when delivery is off-track
• Ability to analyse, interpret and use data and information from a variety of sources to produce coherent reports for senior management and ensuring stakeholders are informed.
• Extensive experience of working on own initiative, using prioritisation skills and ability to deliver at pace and to tight timescales
• Ability to work effectively across Departmental and other boundaries.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Excellent organisational skills supported by robust planning and prioritisation abilities.
• Experience of risk identification and management
• Experience of working within a Governance framework

Qualifications/professional memberships

Desirable

• Attained or is willing to work towards one or more of the following qualifications:
• An appropriate project management qualification is desirable but not essential
• An understanding of DWP is desirable but not essential

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%

This role is suitable for a hybrid working arrangement, a type of flexible working arrangement, blending a combination of all workplace options (including home) with an office identified as a base and which remains the contractual place of work.  Hybrid working means an employee working part of the week in their DWP office and, part of the week from home.

Hybrid workers will spend a minimum of 40% of their time in the office over a four-week period. 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. This means that colleagues’ experiences of hybrid working will differ.  Also, any employee’s experience of hybrid working could change over time as role requirements and possibly personal circumstances change.

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

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.

STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT As part of the application process you will be asked to provide a Personal Statement of no more than 1000 words against the essential criteria as outlined above. You will also be asked to provide a short CV. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Please do not submit a speculative application where you do not meet at least 50% of the essential criteria as these applications will be unsuccessful. Do not include Behaviour examples within your application as these will not be assessed in the sift and will only be used at interview stage. There will be an initial sift of applications based on the Personal Statement only, so please ensure you evidence how you meet the Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience requirement contained in the vacancy in this section. This will form a short list for interview. STAGE 2 - INTERVIEW All candidates who are successful at the sift stage will undertake a single virtual video interview. The interview will follow a blended approach which will help us assess candidates Behaviours and Strengths. Currently the sift is scheduled to take place w/c 8 January 2024 and interviews w/c 22 January 2024. Interviews are scheduled to take place virtually and dates are subject to change. 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 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.  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. 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. 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.