Head of Safe Interactions

This is a demanding role working in an environment where you will need be able to show your excellent communication and influencing skills as you collaborate fully with both internal and external stakeholders across all areas of DWP.

You will support the Deputy Director for People Safety to lead a team of over 60 talented colleagues within the centralised ‘Safe interactions team’. You will by setting the right environment for your team to thrive, you will bring energy and drive to your teams, translating DWP ambitions and objectives into meaningful actions that your team can drive forwards. Always looking ahead to ensure your teams have the capability and tools they need to deliver, inspiring your teams, leading through change, and developing strategies and plans.

You will proactively drive forward change and demonstrate inspiring Leadership, taking the initiative to deal with strategic issues whilst encouraging senior leaders to initiate solutions.

As a leader within the DWP People Safety team you will support the Departmental “Competent Person” framework to ensure the business remains compliant with legislative changes and that its policies and processes remain centred around the keeping our staff and customers safe. The roles support the continued expansion of the area of accountability to ensure that DWP continues to be exemplar in its safety management and maturing safety culture.

For jobs based in Wales the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

• You will inspire and motivate your team to deliver to often challenging demands, encouraging a solution focused approach and encouraging a continuously learning mindset supporting transformation.
• Identifying talent and leadership potential, you will support the development of your leaders, promoting the uptake of professional accreditation and creating high performing teams.
• Seeing the big picture and translating DWP objectives into meaningful actions and outcomes to ensure your teams understand what is expected of them to deliver our departmental objectives.
• Building networks across DWP and beyond to optimise the service we offer and ensuring the voice of the customer is embedded in all we do.
• Provide and evaluate drafts at short notice for briefings, Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests in a clear, concise manner.
• Influence Health and Safety development across the team, function and DWP, identifying opportunities for delivering efficiencies through greater collaborative working and harmonization of common policies and procedures.
• Frequent travel and occasional overnight stays will be required.
• Strong leadership skills, having the ability to handle difficult situations and rise to multiple challenges, leading through ambiguity and bringing flexibility, curiosity and diverse perspectives whilst respecting differences and equality and being able to inspire and motivate people ensuring your team deliver positive outcomes in support of wider People Safety/DWP aims.
• An ability to build strong interpersonal relationships with a wide range of diverse stakeholders, customers, and other leaders working across boundaries to ensure effective prioritisation and collaboration, ensuring inclusivity and an attention to the needs of those who are impacted by you personally and by the team you lead.
• The ability to balance multiple priorities ensuring all options are used in securing an outcome within agreed deadlines, using the resources available and maintaining a level of performance both personally and with your team that ensures your outcomes meet the demands expected of you.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, with the ability to get to the heart of issues/challenges and communicate succinctly to a range of audiences and monitor the effectiveness of your communications.
• Identifying key recommendations that can be shared with other senior leaders; being able to identify several options that can be considered as solutions to any business problem that results in the delivery of an excellent and continuously improving service to customers.
• Support negotiations with senior stakeholders, service partners and Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) on key health and safety issues, where appropriate resolving issues directly with Union safety representatives.
• Ongoing development of a new Safe Interactions platform by working by working with key stakeholders, Senior operational leaders and developing the plans and structure to support ongoing iterations.
• You will be a strategic team leader who can understand all aspects of Health and Safety, make connections across these areas and be able to draw on expertise as required to provide solutions. In doing so you will promote a safe and inclusive working environment where all opinions and challenges are listened to, and all individual needs are considered. You will be able to lead a large and geographically dispersed team to deliver solutions.