CMS Administrative Officer - Falkirk Falkirk, Scotland
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About the job
Job summary
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and implementation of child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service Department, it administers a range of working age, pension age, disability and ill health benefits to around 18 million claimants and customers.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is responsible for all aspects of child maintenance in Great Britain. Our role is to promote financial responsibility, and to encourage and support private maintenance arrangements, as well as provide a statutory maintenance service.
We are looking for people who are customer focussed, with the right skills, commitment and capability to deliver an exceptional public service. If you have a genuine dedication to a public service department that makes a real difference to the lives of others, you will find great satisfaction in working with us. The Child Maintenance case worker roles are more than simply call handlers or processing agents.
Job description
Key Responsibilities
You will provide excellent customer service in a fast-paced service centre and telephony environment, supporting separated families and securing children’s futures.
Your Main duties will include:
- Frequent direct contact with customers, and other organisations primarily by telephone
- Gathering information from a range of sources and making well-reasoned and accurate decisions on liability to pay child maintenance and enforcement actions
- Negotiating child maintenance arrangements with customers
- Securing payments and clearly advising consequences of non-payment
- Taking payment enforcement actions where appropriate
- To remain composed and professional in what can be a challenging environment
- To apply and comply with DWP policy and procedures
Person specification
Your evidence will be assessed against the following essential criteria. You must ensure you provide specific examples to demonstrate these criteria in your personal statement by answering the questions asked.
Essential Criteria
- Effective communication skills with a wide range of people, treating customers and colleagues with respect (Lead criteria)
- Successfully resolve queries in potentially difficult/sensitive situations, taking personal responsibility for delivering excellent customer service
- Managing a personal workload while working effectively and flexibly within a team
- The ability to gather and understand complex information and make decisions
- Operating computer systems, making accurate records and notes of your actions
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Managing a Quality Service
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
Working for DWP will include benefits such as learning and development tailored to your role, an environment with flexible working options, a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity and a Civil Service pension Civil Service pension.
CMS is committed to the Wellbeing of all colleagues, support includes Wellbeing conversations, dedicated Wellbeing Advocates in each Service Centre to develop and deliver health and wellbeing initiatives and ‘Hotel CMS’, our own Intranet site offering a wealth of information, guidance and support.
We Value Everybody is one of our five Core Values here in CMS. We have active National Network Groups for Race, LGBGT+, Disability, Carers, Wellbeing, Faith & Belief and Age. Our monthly People Group meeting draws these groups together to listen, act, and update CMS Directors with our plans.
CMS Colleagues 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.
Working hours - The contracted working hours for the Department are 07:45 hours to 20:00 hours, Monday to Friday, and 08:45 hours to 17:00 hours on Saturday. Employees are contracted to work a specific number of hours per week within the above times. Employees will be required to work the number of hours per week for which they are contracted. For example, for full time employees this will be 37 hours net (42 hours gross including meal breaks). For part-time employees it will be less.
Access to flexible working hours scheme will be available.
This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works part of the week in their DWP office and part of the week from home. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by needs of the business, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
On the commencement of your employment, you will be required to complete a period of full-time training and work-based learning which will take approximately 11 weeks.
Please refer to the candidate pack for further information contained in this section of the advert and more information in relation to the Benefits of working for DWP.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Stage 1: Application & Sift
All completed applications must include:
1. A completed Personal Details application form.
2. A CV (Curriculum Vitae) including education and full employment history, giving details of key achievements relevant to the skills and experience outlined in this job description.
3. A Personal Statement - use this space to answer the 3 questions below.
CV
When giving details of your employment history, you should include details of work you have completed and projects you have been involved in.
Personal Statement
Use your personal statement (750-word limit) to answer the following 3 questions.
1. Describe the different ways you communicate with customers and colleagues and provide an example of how you took personal responsibility to ensure queries were resolved and their needs met. (Lead Question)
2. Describe a time when you had to gather and record information in order to make a decision which resulted in you providing excellent customer service.
3. Provide an example whilst working as part of a team of how you have effectively managed your workload to deliver expected outcomes to agreed timescales.
These questions are aligned to the Essential Criteria and are designed to help you evidence how you meet these criteria. The layout is entirely your choice, you may choose narrative, bullets, etc.
Essential Criteria
- Effective communication skills with a wide range of people, treating customers and colleagues with respect (Lead criteria)
- Successfully resolve queries in potentially difficult/sensitive situations, taking personal responsibility for delivering excellent customer service
- Managing a personal workload while working effectively and flexibly within a team
- The ability to gather and understand complex information and make decisions
- Operating computer systems, making accurate records and notes of your actions
Written Sift
The sift panel will use the information in your Personal Statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the Essential Criteria.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead Criteria 'The ability to demonstrate effective communication skills with a wide range of people, treating customers and colleagues with respect'.
Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift where all applications will be assessed and sifted against all essential criteria outlined in the advert, using the information provided in your completed application form.
A NOTE ON ANONYMISATION
Due to the DWP’s use of anonymised recruitment practices it is not possible for applicants to upload/attach a CV; any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form. Please ensure you provide sufficient information to enable the sift panel to make an informed judgement about your suitability for this role.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Please include all other information that you would customarily provide when presenting a CV/Personal statement.
DWP operates an anonymised recruitment process. When entering information relating to your employment history you will be asked to remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This relates to name and contact details which might usually appear on your CV/Personal statement. Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.
Stage 2: Interview
Unless you are otherwise informed, the final stage of the process will be a blended interview via Microsoft Teams. The blended interview will consist of Behaviour and Strength questions.
The Behaviours being assessed at interview are:
- Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour)
- Managing a Quality Service
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
All elements of the interview will be via Teams video link, the whole process should take approximately 30-40 minutes.
Blended Interview
A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation, offering a more inclusive approach.
The Strength and Behaviour based questions explore what a candidate can and has done, and also their potential.
Please refer to the Candidate Pack for further information.
Approximate sift and interview dates:
Sift - Week Commencing 20th February 2023
Interviews - 9th to 17th March 2023
Sift and Interview dates are subject to change.
The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If evidence of plagiarism is found your application will be withdrawn.
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
DWP takes development seriously. Our aim is for our colleagues in all roles to be appropriately skilled and qualified – as determined by the business.
To support this, you will be required to undertake a work-based qualification in the form of an Apprenticeship, this will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role and your future career development.
This apprenticeship can be undertaken in work time. 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.
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 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 [email protected] 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 [email protected]
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.
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.
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
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team :
Further information
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission here to visit Civil Service Commission
