About the job

Short summary
The DWP has two stretching and interesting posts to fill in Policy
Group in the Disability and Health Support Directorate.

The Directorate is responsible for designing and delivering

disability and health benefits that provide support for disabled
people and people with long term health conditions through
income replacement due to being unable to work and/or
contributing to extra costs that arise from the condition. To ensure
continual improvement, DWP considers ways of improving the
service and customer experience.

One post is responsible for policy on Personal Independence

Payment (PIP) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and
will have responsibility for work ranging from policy development
and policy maintenance for PIP, DLA, and Motability to managing
corrective exercises arising from administrative error or a court
judgement.

The second post focuses on system design to ensure health and

disability benefits work effectively together and the Government’s
manifesto commitment to reform or replace the Work Capability
Assessment.

These are exciting, fast paced roles driving forward policy

improvements to stabilise health and disability benefits.
What will the successful candidate be doing?
These roles involve leading teams of several G7s responsible for
different aspects of policy. As a senior leader you will be
responsible for planning and prioritising work in your team so we
deliver a professional and efficient service and respond effectively
to changing demands. As part of a senior team you will work to
create a collaborative, supportive team culture that builds
inclusiveness and resilience and empowers team members to
excel and to drive forward work at pace.

You will develop capability and expertise in your teams by

supporting individuals to clarify policy problems, evaluate
uncertain or conflicting evidence, and draft submissions to
Ministers to inform decision making. You will engage with private
office to ensure open avenues of communication. There are
opportunities to present to senior officials and to Ministers.

You will develop relationships with internal and external

stakeholders to solve problems, develop consensus about
solutions and test potential solutions. You will be able to explain
complex systems to people who may be unfamiliar with them, be
able to listen and seek ways forward where there are differing
views.

These are rewarding and exciting roles. Familiarity with health

and disability benefit systems would be advantageous and will
help you hit the ground running.
Who are you looking for?
Experience Key Criteria
 Excellent leadership, and management skills providing direction and
ensuring delivery for complex work while promoting a collaborative,
inclusive and high-performing culture in your teams (Lead Criteria).
 Strong evidence of excellent policy and analysis skills, including being
able to use data and research to inform decisions.
 Excellent stakeholder engagement skills enabling working across
internal functions or with other government departments, identifying
opportunities for improvements and driving the pace of improvement.
 Excellent communication skills for engagement with Ministers,
operational, commercial, legal and analytical functions and/or with other
government departments.
 Delivering outcomes at pace while managing competing demands in a
complex environment where the landscape often changes at short
notice, and information is uncertain.

Benefits we offer
 Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-
time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
 Generous annual leave – at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30
days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public
and privilege leave.
 Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket
loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount
scheme.
 Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance
Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to
join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and
benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
  Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared
parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
 Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and
career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and
accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development
programmes.
 An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join
professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network,
National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many
more.

Selection process details

1. Application & Sift

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a

CV and Personal Statement. The CV is for reference only and will
not be scored.

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

Your Personal Statement needs to set out evidence of how your

experience meets all the Experience Key Criteria set out above
and not the published behaviours listed in this advert.

We are not looking at how much time you have spent in a job, but
rather how you have performed. Your Personal Statement must
show demonstrable evidence of what you did, how you did it, and
what outcome was achieved. This should include the impact of
your approach and evidence of your ability to take forward
different approaches in different circumstances.

The standards detailed in the Experience Key Criteria are the

minimum expectations for the role and only candidates with the
strongest evidence will be invited to interview. In the event of a
large number of applications, meeting the pass standard for the
lead criteria “Excellent leadership, and management skills
providing direction and ensuring delivery for complex work while
promoting a collaborative, inclusive and high-performing culture in
your teams” will determine if the other criteria are scored.
Candidates will have to meet the standard for all criteria to
progress to interview.

Your statement must not exceed 1250 words and you are advised
to take advantage of the full word count.
A sift will be carried out using your 1250 word Personal
Statement.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

2. Interview Stage

If you are successful at the sift you will be invited to a MS Teams

interview. The interview will comprise of Behaviour-Based
questions. The guidance on Success Profiles explains these
selection tools. The Behaviours being assessed are detailed in
the job advert.

Behaviours:
 Leadership.
 Delivering At Pace.
 Making Effective Decisions.
 Communicating and Influencing.

Note that the Behaviours will be assessed at interview stage only.

Candidates invited to interview will receive

the Behaviours questions in advance of their interview.

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, Sheffield, Leeds, and London. Please be
aware these roles can only be carried out in the UK, not overseas,
and your office base must be one of the three Policy Group Hubs.
Appointments may be made to candidates in merit order based on
location preferences and geographical requirements

By indicating your preferred Policy Group hub location(s) in your

application you are stating that you are willing to accept a post in
any of your chosen hub location(s).
 Quarry House, Leeds, LS2 7UA.
 Caxton House, Tothill St, London, SW1H 9NA.
 King’s Court, Hanover Way, Sheffield, S3 7UF.

The Department is committed to promoting flexible ways of

working, whilst enabling the business to operate at maximum
efficiency and will expect colleagues to work from a blend of
locations, including some time working at home, as required.
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-
[email protected] 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.
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 [email protected] as soon as
possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

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.

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.
Leadership
Delivering at Pace
Making Effective Decisions
Communicating and Influencing