About the job

Job summary

DWP helps people lift themselves out of poverty and to stay out of poverty, through work, saving and support. This is a hugely important public service, and our challenge is bigger than ever. As part of Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD) you will be at the heart of DWP’s front line operations, helping to change people lives and supporting CFCD purpose of fighting fraud in the welfare system.

As Senior Operational Leader, you will role model excellent senior management leadership, taking responsibility for the flexible, effective, personalised delivery of customer service, quality, and performance.  You will provide transformational leadership to a geographically diverse team - leading through others, driving people engagement, and inspiring colleagues to deliver objectives.

CFCD is a great place to work where the leadership team are passionate about attracting the best talent whilst nurturing and valuing new and existing colleagues to be the best they can be. We are looking for people who can demonstrate our values and commitment to leadership which are based around Collaboration, Resilience and Inclusivity. We look for emotionally aware leaders who enable teams to be innovative, adaptable and flexible. We want you to be comfortable challenging the norm and finding daring and dynamic solutions that support our values and enable colleagues to shine in whatever role they do.

Job description

As a Senior Operational Leader, you will:

• Report direct to the Grade 7, being fully accountable for the management of a large, geographically diverse, team of Higher Executive Officers (HEOs) setting strategic business priorities for your areas of responsibility and driving performance against key objectives.
• Be a self-starter, able to use your own initiative and make sound, complex decisions at pace.
• Be able to quickly instil technical knowledge and use initiative to seek solutions to problems; making interpretative judgements where circumstances fall outside of available guidance.
• Lead performance within your business area, undertaking regular face-to-face performance reviews with your direct reports, identifying risks to performance achievement, and driving forward continuous improvement.
• Be at the forefront of overseeing business change; leading others through the implementation, and embedding, of new policies and procedures.
• Work alongside multiple, senior representatives from other government departments/external bodies, building strong, collaborative relationships which enhance our reputation and achieve excellent outcomes.
• Provide visible, effective leadership through regular site visits, taking a personal lead in engaging with and communicating key messages with clarity and passion to obtain buy in.
• Motivate teams to operate flexibly, seeking feedback, listening and acting on this, setting performance standards and personalising services for our customers.
• Encourage creative thinking and collaborative working between teams and directorates to drive innovation and service improvements.
• Contribute to people planning activities, ensuring appropriate and effective deployment of people and resources within and between sites.
• Develop a holistic grasp of all customer types enabling you to lead, design and manage new business roles and processes that continuously improve the quality of customer experience.
• Ensure all matters are dealt with promptly and sensitively, in line with DWP policies and procedures, and legislative frameworks, managing risk exposure by overseeing compliance.

Person specification

What we are looking for in our leaders:

• Have strong and effective leadership experience, with the ability to lead through others and make sound business decisions at pace.
• Can communicate with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm with colleagues, partners and stakeholders to drive positive outcomes.
• Have experience and knowledge of leading diverse teams, through effective coaching and mentoring, to improve service delivery.
• Can drive performance improvement through proactive management of processes and ensuring compliance with performance management policies and procedures.
• Have a flexible, agile outlook, able to innovate and display creative thinking.
• Be proactive in identifying and have the resilience to overcome difficulties, taking ownership for resolving and driving issues forward.
• Have knowledge of risk assessment processes, business continuity planning and diversity impact assessments.
• Understand and engage with change. Inspire and obtain buy-in from colleagues by encouraging discussion, initiative, and ideas in support of the long term DWP vision.
• Can effectively monitor performance, have sound analytical skills, and the ability to effectively interpret and use management information to deliver against performance objectives while maintaining quality.
• Empower and encourage your diverse workforce, providing real opportunities for people to develop their strengths and innovate.
• Have strong interpersonal skills, with a high level of emotional intelligence and the ability to remotely manage staff.
• Are honest, with integrity and probity, and have a personal demeanour that inspires confidence and loyalty.
• Understand the political context within which DWP operates.
• Have excellent presentation and communication abilities.
• Hold a solid understanding of equality and diversity, and how it impacts upon service delivery.
• Have excellent, planning, delegation, and organisational skills, as well as strong negotiating and influencing skills.
• Have excellent collaboration skills, particularly as a DWP representative in national multi-agency meetings, requiring strategic decisions.

Benefits

With great benefits including:

• • Generous annual leave – 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus bank holidays and one day of leave for the King’s Birthday. The exact number of days of annual leave will be determined by any current years of service.
  • Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave we also recognise the importance of a good work-life balance and offer flexible working and a family friendly approach to work.
  • Training and apprenticeships and up to 5 days’ personal development & learning allowance.
  • Flexible/hybrid working.
  • Employee discount schemes.
  • Free wellbeing support.
  • Opportunities to make a real difference through joining forums, initiatives & charities.
  • Interest free travel loans.
  • Vodafone advantage discount scheme.
  • HASSRA - DWP colleagues will have the opportunity to join HASSRA, a vibrant and successful organisation that provides a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly). It also has an important part to play in helping us achieve a healthy work-life balance and wellbeing in the workplace.
  • Highly sought-after civil service pension - your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where:
  • The employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension.
  • Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution.
  • Your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.
  • For more information, visit civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk   

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 form  

Please complete the First Stage Short Application Form.  

Stage 2 - Civil Service Management Judgement Test 

After submitting your application, you will be sent an invitation with a link to complete an online Civil Service Management Judgement Test. This is designed to test your skills for the role.    

If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24 - 48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the test and Personal Statement is 23:55 on 11th June 2024. If you fail to complete the online test and personal statement 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. 

Stage 3 - Application and Sift 

If you successfully pass the test, you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement in no more than 1250 words providing evidence of how you have demonstrated the following: 

• Experience in leading diverse teams through a major change or a high-profile area of work within a tight deadline.
• Engaging with various stakeholders to achieve a common goal.
• Experience of using wide range of data to make a difficult decision and empowering your team to do the same.

Your personal statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirement set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirement needed. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable, and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role. If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in. 

**Please note the closing date for your full application is 23:55 on 11/06/2024** 

Sift scheduled to be held 12/06/2024 to 21/06/2024. These dates may be subject to change.  

Candidate Pack  

It is important that you take time to read the Candidate Pack which can be found at the bottom of this job advert. This provides further information about the role and working in DWP.  

Stage 4 - Interview  

Those who pass the Test and Written Application Sift with the required score will be invited to a blended interview and will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account. 

Please note that interviews will be held Face-to-Face and you will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview. 

Interviews are scheduled to take place from 15/07/2024, please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. Interviews will be scheduled Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:00. 

Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your interview can be confirmed.    

Preparing for the interview  

The interview will take approximately 45 minutes and will consist of a Presentation plus Behaviour and Strength-based questions.

A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview offering a more inclusive approach. The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.    

The subject of the Presentation will be released to those invited to interview. 

Behaviours  

You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed above at Level 3.  

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behavioural questions in advance of the interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths.  

An example of a Behavioural question would be “Tell me about a time when you’ve had to deal with a difficult customer.”  

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model above to explain:      

• WHO - What it was, How you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or  
• STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take?  What were the Results of your actions?  

Strengths  

It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role.   

While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.  

If you withdraw your application at any stage, it will not be progressed any further.     

Stage 3 – Offer   

Once all interviews have been completed, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first. 

The successful candidate(s) will be notified of a start date following successful security checks, which is likely to be during August / September 2024. 

Important information.     

Working Pattern​   

Part-time and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. We will do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line with current business needs. Please note that successful part time and job share candidates will be required to work full time for specific periods to complete all training and consolidation. ​   

​Hours of Work ​   

The full-time working week in DWP is 37 hours. You may be required to work at any time between the hours of: ​   

• 7:45am and 8:00pm on any day between Monday to Friday, and​  
• 8:45am to 5:00pm on Saturday.​  

Managers will agree working patterns with successful applicants within these business hours and review these as appropriate.   

You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.   

Please note:    

• If you are offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances*.    
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.  

*Note - Exceptional circumstances could be when a candidate has requested a contractual Part Time Working Pattern and this pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered, or in cases of serious ill health.   

Candidates should also note that if successful in this campaign, you will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before applying for any other lateral moves within DWP.  

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.  

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. 

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. 

Reasonable Adjustments

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 Assistance required 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 are 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.

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.