Assurance and Prioritisation Lead

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Newcastle upon Tyne; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

The Assurance and Prioritisation Lead will oversee the DWP People Pack, ensuring alignment with DWP People Strategy 2030. This role involves leading a team, managing stakeholder relationships, and providing governance services to support departmental priorities.

Benefits

Generous annual leave

Health and wellbeing support

Funded learning and development

Family friendly policies

Qualifications

• Experience in leading and developing performance dashboards.
• Strong leadership to a small team, nurturing talent.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team ensuring delivery to time and quality standards.
• Develop reports and dashboards for senior leaders.

Skills

Organisational Skills

Stakeholder Engagement

Communication

Tools

Project Management

Job description

Blackpool, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield

Job Summary

The Business Assurance Team supports the People and Capability (P&C) groups, providing visibility of the work programme, ensuring all areas are successfully delivering in support of Departmental, Strategic and Group priorities, all underpinned by a control framework that assures the Groups are compliant with DWP requirements.

The team is responsible for the provision of a reporting, briefing and governance service for P&C. Meeting demand for high quality and timely responses to departmental and cross-government commissioning.

The Assurance and Prioritisation Lead will develop the DWP People Pack, ensuring alignment with DWP People Strategy 2030, accurate commissioning of data to provide annual planning/prioritisation/risk assurance reporting to senior leaders in P&C.

Job Description

• The jobholder will lead a team with a busy and ever-changing workload; ensuring delivery to time and quality standards to a range of stakeholders (internal and external).
• You will be working collaboratively while communicating and influencing with a range of stakeholders, including Senior Leaders, across the P&C groups.
• Building strong relationships and forming alliances with both internal and external specialists and communities to scan for emerging trends, innovation and current best practice.
• Providing management support to the wider senior leadership team, developing, and preparing reports and dashboards providing a joined-up picture of the P&C People Pack, that includes both priorities and risk. This pack informing decision-making by senior managers within P&C.
• Providing specific Project Management tasks such as undertaking Planning activities, conducting/chairing planning update meetings with stakeholders ensuring updates are made to local plans. Additionally co-ordinating/chairing governance activities (e.g. Planning) to ensure key milestones, that support the delivery of the DWP strategic outcomes are current and accurate.
• The jobholder will lead a team with a busy and ever-changing workload; ensuring delivery to time and quality standards to a range of stakeholders (internal and external).
• You will be working collaboratively while communicating and influencing with a range of stakeholders, including Senior Leaders, across the P&C groups.
• Building strong relationships and forming alliances with both internal and external specialists and communities to scan for emerging trends, innovation and current best practice.
• Providing management support to the wider senior leadership team, developing, and preparing reports and dashboards providing a joined-up picture of the P&C People Pack, that includes both priorities and risk. This pack informing decision-making by senior managers within P&C.
• Providing specific Project Management tasks such as undertaking Planning activities, conducting/chairing planning update meetings with stakeholders ensuring updates are made to local plans. Additionally co-ordinating/chairing governance activities (e.g. Planning) to ensure key milestones, that support the delivery of the DWP strategic outcomes are current and accurate.
  
  

Person specification

Essential Criteria For The Role

• Exceptional organisational skills with the ability, resilience, and flexibility to work at pace, demonstrating personal leadership and working with others to deliver against multiple competing priorities (LEAD CRITERIA).
• Experience in being responsible for the provision of a reporting, briefing and governance service. Meeting demand for high quality and timely responses for performance reporting.
• Experience in leading and developing performance dashboards, ensuring alignment with wider strategy along with accurate commissioning of data to provide annual planning/prioritisation/risk assurance reporting to senior leaders.
• Strong Stakeholder Engagement at senior leader level, ability to work with internal and external colleagues building mutual respect and trust, challenging where needed and ensuring a joined-up picture.
• Excellent communication skills, highly competent at engaging professionally with stakeholders at all levels. Providing a discrete and respectful service when handling sensitive information as well as an ability to disseminate salient points, persuade and influence others including senior leaders.
• Experience in providing strong leadership to a small team, nurturing talent and creating a culture in which colleagues can do their best work.
  
  

It would be incredibly desirable to have experience in; Project Management, Planning, Governance, Reporting, experience of liaising/influencing at senior leader level.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
  
  

Alongside your salary of £42,614, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £12,345 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, Strengths and Experience.

Written Sift

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below:

A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. The CV is an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV. Our CV element is short, and allows an initial check of eligibility but is not scored so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your Personal Statement.

A personal statement (maximum 1,250 words), explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role against the key criteria in the person specification, with particular reference to the essential criteria.

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

If we receive a large number of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criteria:

Exceptional organisational skills with the ability, resilience, and flexibility to work at pace, demonstrating personal leadership and working with others to deliver against multiple competing priorities (LEAD CRITERIA).

If you pass the initial sift, you may be progressed to a full sift or directly 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 60 minutes. This will take place via MS Teams. The interview panel will be a minimum of two people. The interview will assess Behaviours and Strengths. 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 behaviour 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 to be confirmed.

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.

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 [e-mail].

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 [e-mail] 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 [e-mail] 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, Strengths 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 : Chris Smith
• Email : [e-mail]
  
  

Recruitment team

• Email : [e-mail]
  
  

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: [e-mail].

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.