Strategic Intelligence Senior Leader

As SEO Strategic Intelligence Leader, you will:

• Work at pace with colleagues from Intelligence, Operations, Analytical, Policy and Digital teams to further develop and lead a Strategic Threat assessment and Alert process.
• Identify emerging patterns, trends, risks and threats to DWP and other Government Departments (OGDs), researching and assessing the scale and impact of those threats and work with key stakeholders to suggest responses and controls.
• Lead on producing regular briefings to keep Senior Leaders informed on fraud and error threats and responses.
• Monitor and assess where threats and risks are escalating or reducing, and the relative demand for action, reviewing and remodelling controls as required.
• Work collaboratively across IRIS to lead on ad-hoc priorities and projects that contribute to the continuing development and implementation of the Fraud, Error and Debt strategy.
• Collaborate with IRIS Strategic Intelligence Analysts and Senior Leaders to develop the existing risk identification data work associated with organised fraud, e.g., Modern Slavery, Hi-jacked Identities etc.
• Act as a subject matter expert and ambassador to wide ranging internal/external stakeholders and customer groups, including colleagues throughout DWP, OGDs and private sector companies.
• Undertake line management responsibilities of the HEO Strategic Analysts.
• Undertake counter-signing management responsibilities of the EO Analyst.
• Support the line management function for the Data Inputter and Administration Team.
• Manage the workflow into the AO/EO/HEO teams, ensuring you are visible to provide assistance and guidance as required.
• Undertake the appropriate line management security and quality checks as outlined in the guidance.
• Role model exceptional leadership, working flexibly across boundaries, building capability, and undertaking regular activity to build and sustain engagement.
• Review business processes, develop or amend current business process to achieve greater efficiency or better outcomes.
• Ensure the delivery of high-quality Intelligence packages to investigations and disrupt to directly contribute to the Departmental strategic objectives, e.g., the use of data to detect fraud and error, Annual Managed Expenditure (AME) savings and protect the citizen.
• Review and quality assure Intelligence Reports from the analysts and agree to dissemination or return for corrective action.
• To support staff testing, analysing and informing key stakeholders on new work streams, including those from third party external providers such as financial institutions, Other Government Departments (OGDs), Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) etc.
• Support on the production of analytical products as required by key stakeholders, such as Intelligence Reports, Threat Assessments , supporting Intelligence development and providing DWP with insight into systematic and directed attacks against the benefit or NINO systems in line with data sharing governance.
• Support senior managers by attending meetings and preparing briefings on their behalf as required.
• Support the promotion of best practice for the production and dissemination of analytical products.
• Must be able to attain Security Clearance (SC) level and maintain it.
• The post holder will, as part of their normal duties, be required to liaise directly with all grades, to build and maintain effective working relationships.

Person specification
What we are looking for:

• A self-starter and energetic leader who can proactively drive change to develop a suite of products to identify and mitigate fraud and error threats.
• Experience of managing effective stakeholder relationships at a senior level with proven leadership skills.
• Can interpret and effectively communicate often complex and nuanced information and analysis in a meaningful way, tailored to a range of stakeholders, e.g., providing information for Senior Leaders or customer groups, and ministerial briefings.
• An ability to understand and maximise their sphere and level of influence with colleagues across CFCD, wider DWP and other government departments.
• Capacity to work independently and collaboratively as part of a team.
• An aptitude to influence and drive delivery through others.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, setting their own work priorities.
• Are honest, with integrity and probity, and have a personal demeanour that inspires confidence and loyalty.
• Ability to understand the political context in which DWP operates.
• Ability to maintain a strategic overview of our business to inform threat response strategies.
• An agile outlook with enthusiasm for identifying innovative solutions to problems.

Key Criteria
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate the following:

• Strong leadership skills and experience with a proven ability to take ownership of initiatives, make links across business areas and work with stakeholders to deliver(1st Lead Criteria).
• A current working knowledge of Intelligence Management in relation to Serious and Organised Crime. (2nd Lead Criteria).
• A self-starter who can provide visible leadership and representation for IRIS Intelligence.
• An ability to communicate clearly and succinctly, both written and oral, continually adapting their style to differing audiences.
• Can interpret and effectively communicate often complex and nuanced information and analysis in a meaningful way, tailored to a range of stakeholders, e.g., providing information for Senior Leaders or customer groups, and ministerial briefings.
• An ability to understand and maximise their sphere and level of influence with colleagues across CFCD, wider DWP and other government departments.
• An understanding of the opportunities to counter fraud/financial crime.
• A positive drive for change and continuous improvement.
• Strategic thinking.

Desirable Skills

• If based in Wales, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Leadership

Benefits
With great benefits including:

• Generous annual leave 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (prorata for part time employees), plus bank holidays and one day of leave for the Kings Birthday. The exact number of days of annual leave will be determined by any current years of service.
• Competitive maternity, paternity and parental leave we also recognise the importance of a good work-life balance and offer flexible working and a family friendly approach to work.
• Training and apprenticeships and up to 5 days personal development & learning allowance.
• Flexible/hybrid working.
• Employee discount schemes.
• Free wellbeing support.
• Opportunities to make a real difference through joining forums, initiatives & charities.
• Interest free travel loans.
• Vodafone advantage discount scheme.
• HASSRA - DWP colleagues will have the opportunity to join HASSRA, a vibrant and successful organisation that provides a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly). It also has an important part to play in helping us achieve a healthy work-life balance and wellbeing in the workplace.
• Highly sought-after civil service pension - your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package where:
  • The employer makes a significant contribution to the cost of your pension.
  • Your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken. This means, if you pay tax, your take-home pay will not be reduced by the full amount of your contribution.
  • Your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire.
  • For more information, visit civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk

Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.
Stage 1 - Application form
Please complete the First Stage Short Application Form.
Stage 2 - Test
After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Judgement Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.
Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 9th July 2024. If you fail to complete the online test 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.
Stage 3 - Sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement in no more than 1250 words detailing the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role, based on the Key Criteria listed. Please pay particular attention to the lead criteria and second lead criteria as if you do not demonstrate this on your application, you will not progress to interview stage.
When completing your Personal Statement,please read and understand the Key Criteria thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several key criteria. You may not be able to meet all the key criteria, but please ensure you evidence the key personal requirements, what have you done thats relatable to the requirements. Youdonthave to explain the whole process, just whatyouhavedone and the skills and experienceyou haveused.Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why.What you can do, the skills you have that are transferableto the key requirements, and the life experience or passionyou have that are linked to this role.
If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.Youdonthave to explain the whole process, just whatyouhavedone and the skills and experienceyou haveused.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria below, or lead and second lead criteria. If so, we will sift on:

• Strong leadership skills and experience with a proven ability to take ownership of initiatives, make links across business areas and work with stakeholders to deliver(1st Lead Criteria).
• A current working knowledge of Intelligence Management in relation to Serious and Organised Crime. (2nd Lead Criteria).

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to an interview.
**Please note the closing date for your full application is 23:55 on 09/07/2024**
Sift to be held 10/07/2024 to 26/07/2024. These dates made be subject to change.
Candidate Pack
It is important that you take time to read the Candidate Pack which can be found at the bottom of this job advert.This provides further information about the role and working in DWP.
Stage 4 - Interview
Those who pass the Test and Written Application Sift with the required score will be invited to a blended interview and will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face with the location to be confirmed. You will be notified of this if you are selected for interview.
Interviews are scheduled to take place from 12/08/2024, please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. Interviews will be scheduled Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:00.
Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your interview can be confirmed.
Preparing for the interview
The interview will take approximately 45 minutes and will consist of Behaviour and Strength based questions . A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview offering a more inclusive approach.The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.
Behaviours
You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed above at Level 3.
To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behavioural questions in advance of the interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your strengths.
An example of a Behavioural question would be Tell me about a time when youve had to deal with a difficult customer.
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:

• WHO - W hatit was, H owyou approached the work/situation and what the O utcomeswere, what did youachieve? or
• STAR - What was the S ituation? What were the T asks? What A ctiondid you take? What were the R esults of your actions?

Strengths
It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role.
While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.
If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.
If you withdraw your application at any stage, it will not be progressed any further.
Stage 5 Offer
Once all interviews have been completed, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first.
The successful candidate(s) will be notified of a start date following successful security checks, which is likely to be during November / December 2024.
Please note:

• If you are offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances*.
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.

*Note -Exceptional circumstances could be when a candidate has requested a contractual Part Time Working Pattern and this pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered, or in cases of serious ill health.
Candidates should also note that if successful in this campaign, you will be expected to remain in post for a minimum of 18 months before applying for any other lateral moves within DWP.
Important Information
Location
Please see slide 2 in the candidate pack for list of possible locations. The applicant who is successful after interview will be asked their three preferred locations via an offline email process.Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time.Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed.
Working Pattern
Part-time and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. Wewill do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line withcurrent business needs. Please note that successful part time and job share candidates will be required to work full timefor specific periods to complete all training and consolidation. Currently training can last for up to 4 weeks. Hybrid Working will not commence until the training / consolidation period has been successfully completed.
Hours of Work
The full-time working week in DWP is 37 hours. You may be required to work at any time between the hours of:

• 7:45am and 8:00pm on any day between Monday to Friday, and
• 8:45am to 5:00pm on Saturday.

Managers will agree working patterns with successful applicants within these business hours and review these asappropriate.
You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.
Hybrid Working
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. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.
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.
Successful applicants for this role will need to undergo National Security Vetting to Security Clearance Level (SC) due to the nature of the role. For meaningful checks to be carried out, you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years. Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting .
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.
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.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
Reasonable Adjustments
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 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 you are deaf, a Language Service Professional.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advertplease contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window) .
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window) .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
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) .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .