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Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
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Human Resources
Investigation
Operational Delivery
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About the job
Job summary
The Government People Group exists to work with departments, professions, and functions to build a modern, effective Civil Service.
We support the government workforce with the right skills and capability. We are working with leaders to get the right people in the right jobs, with the right skills and continuous learning to excel in their roles.
We provide leadership, and in turn, create leaders with exceptional line management capability across departments, influencing partners in the wider public sector and beyond. This involves getting our retention and reward strategy right, to nurture specific skills, and create pride and resilience in our workforce.
Our role is also to provide system leadership across central government in pulling together back office services. Collectively, we help support the Cabinet Offices priority to drive efficiencies, and reforms that will make government work better, to ultimately provide a better service to the public.
We are seeking a highly adaptable Higher Executive Officer (HEO) Senior Casework Officer to be part of the Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions Casework Team. The Casework Team deals with official correspondence, Internal Dispute Resolution Investigations, Freedom of Information Requests (FOI) and Subject Access Requests (SAR).
The successful candidate will have excellent investigation and case handling skills, and be comfortable working to targets and deadlines. Pensions and/or complaints knowledge is essential. This is an excellent opportunity for a candidate looking to get experience of working on statutory processes and handling casework and drafting responses on behalf of ministers and senior officials. The role also includes managing processes and supervising/mentoring staff.
The team is based at Basingstoke and Glasgow.
Job description
Manage a caseload and completing thorough investigations in a timely manner, including:
- Ensuring all the case details are recorded accurately on the system, and the case file is kept up to date
- Reviewing the correspondence and evidence available to determine the key issues that require investigating and the information required to do this
- Contacting members, employers, the pensions administrator and other third parties to request the evidence required to reach a conclusion
- Reviewing the evidence and circumstances of the case, to determine if the member has been treated correctly
- Identifying good practice and determining if something has gone wrong that needs to be put right
- Reaching sound decisions based on the facts of the case. There are a number of resources available to assist with this including, the guidance and policies set out for the Casework Team, and the Civil Service and Royal Mail Schemes rules
- Identifying where technical advice is required to apply scheme rules and regulations, and seeking this through the appropriate channels
- Meeting service levels and following processes at each stage of an investigation, to ensure it is progressed efficiently
Communicating clearly and effectively with members and other stakeholders, including:
- Drafting clear and concise responses, that explain clearly and persuasively the outcome of an investigation
- Using templates and standard wording to ensure consistent messages are delivered to stakeholders, but identifying where these need to adapted to suit the circumstances of the case
- Using a variety of communication methods to provide succinct explanations and answer additional questions that will aid the understanding of the relevant parties
Working with the Casework Team and to provide a high quality and effective casework system:
- Being adaptable and willing to vary your caseload depending on the incoming workloads, and priorities set for the team
- Sharing knowledge gained through casework with the rest of the Civil Service Pensions and Royal Mail team on how to improve the service to members
- Contributing regularly to reports on the investigations completed and providing feedback based on investigations
Supervisory Responsibilities:
- When required, to supervise and review EO casework officers work to ensure quality and added value is provided to customers.
- To act as a mentor to EOs within the team.
- Deputise for SEO Casework Manager, triaging cases coming into the team.
- Line management of 2 EO Casework Officers
The types of Casework that are dealt with in the Casework Team are:
- Responding to official correspondence received by the Civil Service and Royal Mail Pensions team, including from MPs and senior officials
- Completing investigations in the second stage of the formal complaints process
- Managing appeals made to the Pensions Ombudsman
- Responding to Freedom Of Information (FOI) and Systems Access Request (SAR), including any appeals to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO)
Person specification
Essential SKILLS REQUIRED
- Experience of working in a pensions and/or complaints environment.
- Experience of Line managing staff
- Experience of mentoring staff/peer reviewing work
- Excellent written/drafting skills
- Ability to prioritise and multi task in a rapidly changing environment
- Willingness to undertake Pensions qualifications.
Desirable skills
- Investigations or complaints handling experience
- Experience of drafting responses to correspondence or complaints
- Knowledge of Civil Service pension and compensation arrangements, and their development
- Knowledge of wider pensions provision, trends and regulatory landscape
- Pensions qualifications obtained
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Benefits
£9,558 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.
Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
- Learning and development tailored to your role.
- An environment with flexible working options.
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Application process
Applicants should provide a CV and information on their skills and experience. Please provide a statement on how your skills and experience meet the essential and desirable criteria and the job description (750 words)
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the CV.
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Selection process
The interview process will consist of an online/virtual panel who will ask behaviour and strength based questions. The behaviours will be; Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together & Delivering at Pace.
There will also be a separate, online assessment Details of this will be provided when you are invited for interview. The invite you receive will therefore cover both the assessment and interview.
The panel interview and assessment are each worth 50% of your total score for this vacancy.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date w/c 16th October
Expected interview date/s w/c 30th October
Interview location – Online
Reasonable adjustments
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the Assistance required 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
Further information
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘contact point for applicants’ section.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to Cabinet Office 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.
A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.
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 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
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 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.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
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
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Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : James ODwyer
- Email : james.odwyer@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
Further information
If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service at: cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: info@csc.gov.uk.
For further information on the Recruitment Principles, and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.
