Executive Officer - DWP Work and Health Services, Decision Making Glasgow, Scotland
Job description
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About the job
Benefits
Things you need to know
Apply and further information
Location
About the job
Job summary
DWP are looking to fill Executive Officer roles in DWP, Work and Health Decision Making Directorate. These are key roles for people who have a positive attitude, a desire for public service and want to make a difference to people’s lives.
We welcome applications from candidates who demonstrate they have the right influencing and communicating skills to be responsive to the needs of a diverse group of customers, an ability to understand complex information and can make the right decision at the right time.
Successful candidates will be posted to a specific Executive Officer role. Standard promotion rules will apply and successful candidates will be placed on the pay scale and terms and conditions of DWP.
In this role, you may also be required to undertake a work based qualification e.g. Apprenticeship, that will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role/future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time.
Job description
Successful candidates can expect to be involved in a range of the following:
- Make decisions on complex cases relating to labour market, benefit entitlements, Work Capability Assessments (WCAs), Habitual Residency Tests (HRTs) reconsiderations and appeals.
- Update claimant accounts with the outcome of decisions, gather evidence, examine the facts and consider the relevant legislation in order to make a decision on each case
- Participate in continuous service improvement by providing relevant feedback.
- Make critical and robust decisions across all parts of the Universal Credit claimant journey
- Critically analyse and interpret data to make effective decisions
- Maintain knowledge of DWP legislation, labour market policy and Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) processes.
- Consider each claimant case, using all available information and requesting more detail or evidence if required
- Be mindful of the claimant experience when discussing and explaining decisions.
- Provide excellent customer service, considering a claimant’s individual circumstances including complex needs, when communicating with them.
- Demonstrate strong telephony and digital communication skills with a diverse range of claimants, some with very complex needs.
- Have the ability and resilience to handle sensitive and challenging situations with all claimants.
- Use the service to deliver strong case management by checking outstanding work to identify, prioritise and complete work as effectively as possible.
- Inform Case Managers and Work Coaches about decisions made following their referrals by issuing appropriate notifications and by taking a once and done approach to assist claimants where able.
- Do the best thing for each claimant and ensure each claimant receives the correct amount of UC, at the right time.
- Stay informed about changes within the service and have an impact on future service developments
- Take ownership of personal development and continuous service improvement activity by self-service digital learning, communications tools and in-context prompts in the service.
- Follow the Universal Learning principle of accessing self-service guidance and in-context prompts at the point of need.
- Take appropriate action to encourage and support the reporting and logging all incidents of Unacceptable Claimant Behaviour
Person specification
Key Criteria
- Understanding and interpreting complex information to make reasoned decisions. Provide clear, simplified and tailored explanations to customers. (Lead Criteria)
- Communicate well with a wide range of diverse people with different needs and deliver an excellent customer service.
- Ability to work flexibly to meet changing priorities, managing a diverse workload.
- Handle sensitive and challenging situations, including potential emotional situations via telephone and/or using digital methods.
- Use sound judgement and take a considered approach to situations and tasks when making decisions.
Transferable Skills
You gain these from school/university, previous jobs, projects, voluntary work, hobbies and interests.
Could you adapt these skills? Some examples below:
Do you have previous self-employment experience?
Are you self-motivated and can motivate others?
Can you develop relationships with a diverse range of people?
Do you have good negotiation and influencing skills?
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
Benefits
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
- You may also be required to undertake a work based qualification e.g. an apprenticeship that will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role/future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application Process
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a 1000-word Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Written Sift
Your Personal Statement should detail the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role, based on the Job Description and Key Criteria.
When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Key Criteria thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will assessed against. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several key criteria.
You may not be able to meet all the key criteria, but please ensure you:
- Evidence the key personal requirements; what have you done that’s relatable to the requirements? You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills, experience you have used.
- Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why? What you can do and the skills you have that are transferable to the key requirements, and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria depending on numbers of applications before moving to a full sift. In that case, we will sift on:
Understanding and interpreting complex information to make reasoned decisions. Provide clear, simplified and tailored explanations to customers. (Lead Criteria).
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences. If evidence of plagiarism is found your application will be withdrawn.
The Blended Interview
PLEASE NOTE: Full details of the behavioural questions will be given to shortlisted candidates 7 days in advance of the Interview.
If you are invited to interview you will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs site.
Once you receive the invite to interview you will need to access the system and book an interview slot.
The interviews will be conducted by MS Teams, and you will need to use your personal device to access the platform. We will provide instructions at the time as to how you do this.
The interview will follow a blended approach and will last approximately 45 minutes.
You will be asked a mixture of Behaviour and Strength questions.
A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach.
Behavioural questions will explore what you have done in previous jobs or experiences as well as what you have achieved and/or learned.
The interview will include a blend of Behaviours and Strengths. The questions we ask will test your experiences of 4 Behaviours.
- Making Effective Decisions (Lead behaviour) Level 2
- Communicating and Influencing Level 2
- Leadership Level 2
- Managing a Quality Service Level 2.
After the Interview
Once all the interviews have been conducted, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. If you are successful at the interview stage, we will be in touch to offer you a role. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidates first.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Further Information
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/ 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.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
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.
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.
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.
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)
- 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.
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. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission.
