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Business Management and Improvement
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Project Delivery
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Job summary
If so, this may be the perfect opportunity for you!
We are looking for 6 Project Support Officers who will play a critical role in providing efficient and proactive support to some of our high profile, demanding and exciting programmes across Change and Resilience Group in the Department for Work and Pensions.We welcome applications from candidates with a diverse range of skills and experience who are looking to start or further develop their career in project delivery.
Job description
The Project Support Officer assists with the smooth and effective organisation of a range of project administrative activities. This is a great opportunity for someone who is detail-oriented, organised and committed to making a positive impact. In this role, a typical day for you may include acting as a point of contact for responses to information requests, managing project risks and plans, organising key project meetings and tracking actions.
Project Support Officer roles are vital and the opportunities we have available are fast paced, challenging and varied. They require strong stakeholder management skills because you will be working with a wide range of colleagues at different levels across the organisation. In return, you will join a flourishing, supportive community delivering some of the largest transformation programmes in the UK.
We are at the heart of delivering the Governments priorities and our success depends on our people. We are looking for people to join our team who are as motivated by our unique purpose as we are!
Our Mission
The Department for Work and Pensions is one of the biggest government departments, delivering vital services to some of the most vulnerable people in society. As part of the UKs biggest public service department, we make sure that millions of people receive their State Pension and working age, disability and ill health benefits each year.
Change and Resilience Group (CRG) lead on the Departments portfolio of Change programmes and projects. We work in multi-disciplinary teams to continually improve how we do things and deliver our services with minimal disruption to DWP customers. We have major programmes such as Universal Credit but also some smaller change programmes too. More information can be found in the Candidate Information Pack attached and you can also find out more about Working for DWP here.
The size and scale of DWP means that there are plenty of opportunities to develop, learn and progress throughout your career. As you build on your experience, we offer plenty of development opportunities to help build the skills and confidence to fulfil your potential. As part of these roles, you will have the opportunity to undertake a work-based qualification, such as an apprenticeship in Project Delivery or another appropriate Project Delivery based qualification, which will support you in developing your knowledge and skills in both this role and your future career.
What are the role responsibilities?
Exact responsibilities may vary from role to role but include:
- Developing and maintaining project plans to ensure successful delivery of key milestones.
- Recording and maintaining project risks.
- Organising key project meetings to ensure the relevant stakeholders are represented, offering note taking and maintaining action logs.
- Supporting reviews of products, collating comments and monitoring progress.
- Developing and maintaining project controls to provide effective planning, scheduling and inform reports.
- Responsibility for project file management ensuring the team use the latest version.
- Maintaining the stakeholder log and acting as a point of contact for project queries.
- Supporting the monitoring of project spend, contributing to the compilation of budgets and maintaining an accurate asset register.
Person specification
The Essential Criteria for this role are:
- Able to build and maintain a wide network of stakeholder relationships to effectively support collaborative working with a range of audiences at all levels.
- Excellent Microsoft Office skills including Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
- Motivated and able to plan and organise a varied workload, working flexibly to overcome challenges and meet competing deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Able to quickly grasp and understand complex information to inform reporting and determine next steps.
- Take a proactive approach towards your own personal learning and development.
Additional Information:
- Due to the nature of these posts, it requires the post holders to work out of one of the DWP Change hubs. These are located in: Birmingham Arena Central, Blackpool Peel Park, Glasgow Atlantic Quay, Leeds Quarry House, London Caxton House, Manchester St Peters Square, Newcastle Benton Park, Sheffield Kings Court, Pontypridd Treforest Ty Taf.
- For vacancies in Wales, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.
- You will be asked to complete a location preference as part of your application. Successful candidates will be posted in merit order based on your location preferences (within reasonable daily travelling distance) and the geographical requirements of the business. Dependent on your position on the merit list, if none of your location preferences remain at the point we make a job offer, DWP may offer you a role at an alternative advertised location. If we are unable to offer you a role in any of your preferred locations, and you are unable to accept a role at an alternative advertised location, we will add you to the reserve list if one is being held.
- Relocation costs for anyone voluntarily moving will not be reimbursed.
- 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.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
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%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
As part of the application process, you will be asked to provide a personal statement of 1250 words and a CV showing your job history, qualifications and experiences. Your CV will not be used in the sifting process. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Work Strengths Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.
Civil Service Jobs will check if you have an applicable banked test score.
- If you do, you wont be invited to the test.
- If you dont, you will be invited to the test, and must take it.
Please complete the online test and written application as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is Wednesday 11th October at 23:55. If you fail to complete the online test and written application before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.
The written sift will be conducted using evidence from your personal statement of 1250 words. This will be assessed against the essential criteria within the advert.
When completing your personal statement, please read and understand the essential 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 criterion separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several essential criteria. Please ensure you provide as much evidence as you can to allow us to assess your skills, knowledge and experience.
Share with us what makes you suited to this role. We would like to find out what you can do, the skills you hold and the life experience or passion you have that could be aligned to the essential criteria.
Please note that when you make your application online, you will be asked to complete Diversity Monitoring information.
Information Session
There will be an information session available for prospective candidates on Wednesday 27 September from 12:30 to 13:30. Please contact changegroup.businessmanagementteam@dwp.gov.uk and we will send you the details via email. If you have accessibility requirements, please let us know.
The Interview
This will be a pre-recorded video interview which will last approximately 45 minutes. You must complete your pre-recorded interview within 7 days of receiving the invite. The 7 days begin at the point you receive the invitation.
All applicants who progress to interview will be assessed against a mixture of behavioural and strength elements of Success Profiles. The panel is not looking for how much time you have served in a particular field but rather how you performed.
For more advice around how to answer behaviour and strength questions and an indicative timeline for the sift and interview dates, please see the attached Candidate Information Pack. Please note that any dates given are subject to change.
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 and reserve list candidates will be appointed in merit order.
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 or 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 applicants 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.
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.
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.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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 youre 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.
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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).
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : change.resourcingteam@dwp.gov.uk
- Email : change.resourcingteam@dwp.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : dwprecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
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.
