Activity Based Management Modelling and Reporting Lead

DWP is one of the largest Departments in Central Government, managing the delivery of benefit payments to citizens totalling over £200bn annually. This role sits within Resource Modelling and Analysis Division, within Financial Management and Partnering Directorate in DWP.

Financial Management and Partnering Directorate provide expert financial advice and analysis to inform decision making and ensure budget holders make the best use of resources and deliver value for money for the taxpayer.

Resource Modelling and Analysis Division is responsible for delivering robust evidence to support resourcing, financial and service improvement decisions which directly influence DWP’s ability to deliver its services to citizens in an effective way, by:

• Providing robust and credible estimates of activity timings across the business to feed into departmental demand models and provide valuable insight to drive service improvements.
• Providing robust and trusted forecasts of DWP demand: as the single version of the truth, they are used extensively across DWP to inform effective decisions on Service Delivery planning and improvement.
• Supporting the DWP financial planning process and the value for money challenge with a suite of Activity Based Management (ABM) models to produce Management Information and insight on staff deployment, productivity and efficiency.
• Ensuring high quality input parameters for the ABM and demand models building trust in the outputs.
• Providing evidence and insight that informs decision making across DWP.
• Implementing Analytical Review of Resource (ARR) recommendations on demand modelling, ABM and Work Study, transforming our ability to support departmental planning and decision making, drawing on best practice and resources such as the HMT Aqua Book.
• Being a high performing and collaborative team working across boundaries with a strong culture of continuous improvement, including supporting staff to get the right skills and capabilities to flourish and make RMAD a great place to work.

The Division includes three multi-disciplined teams made up of Generalists, Accountants, Analysts and Institute of Management Services Practitioners. The division works cross-site with staff in all the DWP hub locations.

The role exists within the following Directorate:

Financial Management & Partnering Directorate (FM&P), Resource Modelling and Analysis Division.

Places for Growth and Social Mobility

As part of the Places for Growth Programme, we are committed to delivering a more geographically diverse Civil and Public Service that will better serve the public and ministers. As part of this initiative, we are continuously reviewing how we recruit into each location.

Postings

Posting will be made in merit order. A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. Reserve list candidates will be posted in merit order by location. Standard promotion rules will apply, and successful candidates will be placed on the pay scale and terms and conditions of DWP. The roles available will be based in:

• Leeds – Quarry House, Quarry Hill, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 7UA.
• Manchester – 2 St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 3AA.
• Newcastle – Benton Park View, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE98 1BA.
• Sheffield – Hartshead Square, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S1 2FD.
• Blackpool – Peel Park, Brunel Way, Blackpool, FY4 5ES.
• Birmingham 3 Arena Central, Bridge Street, Birmingham B1 2AX

Some travel may be required.

The post holder will be responsible for leading a multi-site and multi-disciplined team to deliver a high-quality professional service with the needs of DWP customers and stakeholders at its heart, making a significant impact to the lives of millions of people across the UK.

The team is a mixture of generalists and data analysts, working closely with members of the Government Analytical Function across the wider Division.

The team is responsible for managing the Department’s Activity Based Management models and delivering high quality outputs from these models to inform decisions on Departmental productivity and efficiency. This involves working with every part of DWP to capture staff activity data and ensuring that data best reflects the reporting and analysis needs at both local and strategic levels. 

The post holder will be managing the change control processes and maintaining confidence and trust in the quality of the data. Using the model’s data to deliver timely, relevant and reliable Management Information reports, data and analysis to support decisions on deployment of the circa 60,000 front-line staff within DWP.

You will be responsible for delivering the following priorities:

• Providing excellent leadership of a team of 5 staff.
• Managing the team’s work programme and ensuring the team are motivated and delivering high quality outputs
• Delivering the month-end, in year change control and year-end model processes and development of the new model for the forthcoming financial year.
• Ensuring both the quality of the input data and the quality and value of the outputs of the models by building strong relationships with data suppliers, service delivery performance insight team, finance business partners and other key stakeholders to understand and meet customer needs.
• Supporting the transition from SAP-based models and reporting tools to a SAS and Power BI system.
• Support the further development of cost to serve reporting and the new Department-wide efficiency reporting approach.

The core requirements for the post are set out below.

• You will be instrumental in leading a diverse team of experienced staff to achieve the team’s vision.
• You will need to build constructive relationships with senior stakeholders across the Department, communicating the team’s purpose and ensuring effective collaboration with our broad network of partners.
• Gain a thorough understanding of customer need, and shaping plans and priorities to meet these, with the culture and processes in place to ensure a high quality and cost-effective service.
• Have exceptional analytical and reasoning skills and the ability to convert large amounts of diverse data into coherent, insightful reports and briefings that can inform decision making at the highest level of government.
• You will need to develop and maintain an understanding of the Department’s strategic direction, including technological developments, to ensure the team’s work programme reflects the overall direction of travel.

The candidate will meet the following Essential Criteria:

• Lead Criterion: Experience of inspiring and motivating a diverse team across multiple locations to deliver a challenging agenda, effectively managing both yourself and your team through uncertainty and change with a focus on well-being.
• Experience of building strong trust-based relationships with a range of stakeholders across organisational boundaries and communicating powerfully to influence and collaborate on objectives. 
• Experience of delivering excellent customer service at pace in a large diverse organisation; maintaining your own and team’s performance in challenging circumstances through effective prioritisation and risk management.
• Demonstrate how you have used your effective analytical and problem-solving skills to quality assure and interpret complex information and identify and communicate solutions to a broad range of stakeholders.

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

• 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%

Job contact :

• Name : RMAD Planning & Governance Team
• Email : rmad.planningandgovernanceteam@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dwprecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk