About the job

Job summary

About the job

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions, and child maintenance policy. We are the UK's biggest public service department and administer the State Pension and a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.

DWP is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and we aspire to being the most inclusive employer in the United Kingdom.

The Work Coach role is rewarding, varied and complex and no two days will be the same as you will be dealing with different customers face to face and their specific support needs each day. 

If you are looking for a career that makes a clear and positive difference to people’s lives, then a DWP Executive Officer role may be an ideal for you!  

About us - Department for Work and Pensions GOV.UK

Job description

As a Work Coach you hold a vital role in the Department, helping individuals and their families towards financial independence through work and enabling them to claim the support they need as they progress.

Work Coaches are customer-focused, dedicated individuals and able to deliver exceptional service with empathy and compassion to people who need their support.

As a Work Coach, you will use sound judgement to help people through some difficult, challenging times in their lives, and your tailored coaching can make an enormous difference to their ability to find, stay in, and progress in a job.

If you are looking for a job that makes a clear difference to people's lives, a Work Coach role in DWP could be just what you are looking for.

Key Accountabilities  

The Work Coach role is wide-ranging and diverse. You will be working with customers, employers, and colleagues through a combination of face to face, digital and telephone contact daily. Some of the main activities are set out below:

• Providing support to customers claiming Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseekers Allowance, and Income Support.
• Offering quality advice to customers about job search actions, supporting them to job search effectively in a digital world, and matching to suitable vacancies.
• Meeting your legal duty to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and making sure your customers get the additional support and advice to help them access our services.
• Building positive relationships with customers that encourages, motivates, and builds trust.
• Developing an in-depth knowledge of local employment opportunities and the support our service partners offer.
• Making timely decisions, based on customer needs, and referring them to appropriate help and support.
• Be accountable for performance and management of your caseload.

Person specification

What we are looking for:

• Effective communication skills both verbally and in writing to a wide range of diverse customers.
• The ability to understand complex information and give clear explanations to the customer.
• You will be able to coach customers to improve their movement in to work.
• You must be able to navigate a range of computer systems to action tasks as well as coach customers to. be confident using digital work search tools.
• You will also be required to handle telephony queries and can manage difficult situations where required in a calm and professional manner.

If you are looking for a career that makes a clear and positive difference to people’s lives, then being a Work Coach may be an ideal role for you!  You can find out more and apply here.

Do you want to be part of a team where you can be yourself, feel supported, empowered, valued, respected, fairly treated and able to achieve your full potential? 

If your answer is Yes. Join us! 

We have exciting, challenging and rewarding roles available across DWP. 

We are looking for people who are customer focused, with the right skills, commitment, and capability to deliver an exceptional public service. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £29,500, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £7,965 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Strengths.

Stage 1- Apply

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete complete the application form and write up to 500 words providing examples of how things you have done in the past and your skills and experience help you demonstrate the Civil Service Behaviour Communicating and Influencing (Level 2). 

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

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.

More information on Success Profiles and Civil Service Behaviours can be accessed by clicking the links.

Stage 2 - Selection

After submitting your application, your written application form evidence will be assessed. If you meet the required standard and your application is successful, you will then be invited to an interview that will take place at Barrow Jobcentre. You will be assessed against three Civil Service Behaviours (Level 2)

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions

The evidence you provide must relate to your own thoughts and experiences.

Feedback will only be provided following an interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

More information about the job role and additional guidance on the selection process is available here. Additional information about Barrow Jobcentre is HERE ( link to follow)

Stage 3 - Offer

Offers will be made in merit order and business continuity.

Candidates should 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.

You may be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:

• If you accept an offer of a post, you will be expected to withdraw from any other live campaigns you have applied for, with DWP, at this grade.
• 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 time 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.

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

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.  

We encourage applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We pride ourselves on being an employer of choice. We champion diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and a sense of belonging. To find out more about how we do this search: Equality and diversity - Department for Work and Pensions - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Location                             

Successful candidates will be appointed to a particular DWP office but may be required to travel regularly and on a potentially daily basis to other DWP premises or locations in the community that are within a reasonable daily commute from the home office. Successful candidates may also be required to work from home on occasion.

Job offers will be made in merit order. If you are successful and your selected location(s) have been filled at the time of offer, DWP may offer you a role from other locations listed within this advert within a reasonable travelling distance of your home.

Please note, additional locations may be available at the posting stage.

Training

Please note that successful part time and job share candidates may be required to work full time for several weeks to complete and consolidate training.

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.

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.

DWP takes development seriously. Our aim is for our colleagues in these roles to be appropriately skilled and qualified – as determined by the business. To support this aim you may be required to undertake a work based qualification, which may be in the form of an apprenticeship, which will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role and your future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time, you agree to take this job on the basis that you may be required to undertake a work based qualification; a candidate’s failure to participate fully in the professional programme, once appointed, may be a breach of their employment contract. 

Important 

If you hold a level 3 qualification (2 A levels or equivalent) then please bring your certificates with you to the interview if you have them.

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.