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About the job
Job summary
Are you solution focussed with excellent organisational skills?
If that sounds interesting, this may be the perfect opportunity for you!
We are looking for three Business Managers who can hit the ground running and ensure priorities are met within some of our high profile, demanding and exciting programmes across Change and Resilience Group in The Department for Work and Pensions.
Job description
The Business Manager will support the smooth and effective running of the Directors and Deputy Directors office which requires excellent organisational skills. They will lead on a number of business support functions for a director and project/programme. A typical day for you may include diary and inbox management, making decisions on prioritisation, briefing senior leaders, tracking deadlines and collating information for meetings.
The Business Manager role is vital and the roles 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 may have the opportunity to undertake a work-based qualification, in the form of an apprenticeship such as Business Administration which will support you in developing your knowledge and skills in both this role and your future career. Our apprenticeships are broken down into learning modules and you would be fully supported on your journey throughout.
What are the role responsibilities?
Exact responsibilities may vary from role to role but include:
- Providing efficient, effective and proactive support to senior leaders.
- Preparing and briefing directors in advance of meetings and events.
- Acting as the first point of contact – identifying important communications that require immediate action, proactively gathering input from team members.
- Managing and co-ordinating busy diaries to ensure meetings are covered appropriately and ensure deadlines are met.
- Prioritising tasks as they occur and multitasking where necessary with emphasis on attention to detail.
- Planning, co-ordinating and preparing products, high profile briefings and correspondence to support internal and external communications ensuring all opportunities, issues and risks are fully understood.
- Supporting senior leaders with engagement activities to deliver key messages.
Person specification
The Essential Criteria for this role are:
- Effective IT skills (Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and SharePoint)
- Good stakeholder management skills and confident working with senior leaders to influence them and secure successful outcomes.
- Ability to manage confidential information and show discretion in dealing with sensitive issues.
- Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage your own workload, prioritise and meet tight deadlines.
- Able to work flexibly and overcome challenges at pace or under time pressure.
- Ability to offer effective challenge and to exercise judgement in making decisions.
- Experience of communicating and drafting complex messages in any sector at pace.
- Having a proactive approach to learning and development of yourself and others.
Additional Information:
- Due to the nature of this post, it requires the post holder 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, Pontypridd Treforest Ty Taf, Sheffield Kings Court.
- 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.
- For vacancies in Wales, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.
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.
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 Monday 25 September 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 CS 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 Thursday 7 September 2023 from 15:00 to 16:00. 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
Interviews will take place remotely by an MS Teams video call. Further details and instructions will be provided closer to the scheduled interview. The interview will take approximately 45 minutes.
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.
An indicative timeline for the sift and interview dates is available in the attached Candidate Information Pack. Please note that these dates are subject to change.
Further Information
Find out more about Working for DWP
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 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 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.
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 : 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.
