Leeds (Quarry House), Glasgow (Atlantic Quay), Sheffield (Kings Court), Newcastle (Benton Park View), Blackpool (Peel Park), Cardiff (Ty Taff)

Job Summary

In this role, you will join colleagues in the Employee Experience Senior Leadership Team with overarching responsibility to develop and sustain a supportive and respectful work environment that promotes employee wellbeing and a positive employee experience.

As a key member of the Employee Experience senior leadership team, you will work collaboratively with colleagues within your own team, senior leaders across DWP, the HR function and wider Civil Service, including Government People Group to ensure alignment to the wider Civil Service strategic aims and people agenda.

This is an exciting time to join the team as we develop our Employee Experience strategic ambitions and deliverables for the next 5 years and design our team and operating structure to underpin that. This role demands a balance of strategic oversight and operational delivery. You will act as an advocate for HR. You will challenge where needed and influence others to adopt best practice as part of their work.

Job Description

Through collaboration with internal teams, external partners and stakeholders, you will provide leadership impetus to developing the strategy and creating a forward-thinking work environment that:

Proactively addresses the wellbeing needs of the diversity of our workforce to reduce avoidable absence and enable all colleagues to work well.
Eliminates the conditions in which poor behaviours at work occur and the costs associated with that – with all our colleagues taking ownership and actively contributing to a professional, respectful and welcoming environment for all.

You Will Also:

Manage service providers (Occupational Health and Eyecare) to ensure contractual and performance targets are met whilst maintaining a focus on delivering a high-quality service.
Provide leadership and strategic direction to your team, identifying and managing key projects and activities which need to be delivered, including deployment of resources to ensure successful delivery.
Co-ordinate and implement a programmatic approach that includes robust assurance and evaluation of interventions to enhance the Employee Experience and drive DWP business priorities, using evidence, data and insight to drive continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.
Share, and learn from best practice, including building on and strengthening contacts with Other Government Departments and experts.

You Will Also:

Manage service providers (Occupational Health and Eyecare) to ensure contractual and performance targets are met whilst maintaining a focus on delivering a high-quality service.
Provide leadership and strategic direction to your team, identifying and managing key projects and activities which need to be delivered, including deployment of resources to ensure successful delivery.
Co-ordinate and implement a programmatic approach that includes robust assurance and evaluation of interventions to enhance the Employee Experience and drive DWP business priorities, using evidence, data and insight to drive continuous improvement and measurable outcomes.
Share, and learn from best practice, including building on and strengthening contacts with Other Government Departments and experts.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Demonstrable leadership experience in developing wellbeing and/or employee experience strategies through to delivery with measurable results.
Proven experience of leading projects or activities that drive behaviour change, helping leaders understand how to achieve the desired results.
Ability to build strong, influential and mutually beneficial partnerships (both internal and external) to influence and promote the importance of wellbeing and/or employee experience to deliver business priorities.
Commercial acumen with strong analytical skills and the ability to apply evidence- based practice to draw conclusions from data and create a compelling narrative to drive change.
Chartered Member of the CIPD and/or CIPD Level 7 qualification or willing to work towards it.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

Leadership

Alongside your salary of £72,664, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £21,050 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

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

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

Written Sift

Due to business needs and timeframes, we will conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below and applicants should be aware of the interview dates as these dates are fixed.

Written Application by 24th June 2025
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a 1250 word personal statement. The Personal Statement should demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience, set out in the essential criteria, by answering the following questions.
How you have used evidence-based practice to inform your approach to strategy development and translating that to successful delivery.
How you have led the delivery of innovative initiatives in partnership with an extensive range of stakeholders to create sustainable outcomes.
How you have approached a behaviour change initiative to achieve a desired outcome.
Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to interview.

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

We recognise that AI may be helpful when applying for this role, but it is important to use it in the right way. Read the DWP AI Candidate Guide to understand how you can make the best use of GenAI while ensuring your application remains authentic and effective.

Interview:

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview lasting up to 80 minutes. This will take place 'Face to Face' in Blackpool or Manchester. The interview panel will be a minimum of two people and will assess the following behaviours:-

Leadership
Communicating and Influencing
Seeing the Big Picture.

The interview aims to be more of a conversation exploring the candidate’s capability for the role.

To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the questions 5 days prior to your interview. These questions should be treated as confidential. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up probing questions.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sift week commencing 30th June.

Interviews will be held on 22nd to 24th July 2025

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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

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/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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job Contact :

Name : Sally Shields
Email : sally.shields2@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

Email : dwprecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DWP by email: HR.BUSINESSASSURANCE@DWP.GOV.UK.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission.

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

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