Contents
- Location
- About the job
- Benefits
- Things you need to know
- Apply and further information
Location
Acton, City Tower, Tooting, Walthamstow
About The Job
Job summary
Do you have an inquisitive mind? Do you enjoy engaging with customers? If so, we need you!
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy and is responsible for helping people move into employment, supporting pensioners and protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society. Counter Fraud Compliance and Debt (CFCD) aim is to drive down the level of fraud, error and debt within the benefit system, to protect the public purse.
As part of Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD) you will be at the heart of DWPs efforts to reduce fraud and error in the benefit system. This is a hugely important public service, and our challenge is bigger than ever.
If you want to join somewhere that recognises the importance of work-life balance, where you can learn new skills and progress your career, then CFCD is the place for you.
Job Description
Your work as a Fraud Officer will involve different aspects subject to changing business priorities, therefore we need people who are very adaptable and flexible.
The job may include a range of duties, with the following provided as examples (what duties you do will depend on which area of work you are posted to):
- Review claims through a variety of means e.g. telephony interviews; ensuring declarations and changes have been reported at the right time and taking appropriate corrective action if errors are found.
- Ensure quality standards are maintained through adherence to all DWP policy and procedures & CFCD operational instructions.
- Work collaboratively, effectively and flexibly within a team and contribute towards team expectations.
- Promote fraud awareness within DWP and to wider external business partners.
- Conduct robust and challenging interviews with customers by telephone or in person, pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry.
- Gather, verify, and assess all available information to submit to the appropriate Decision Maker to enable accurate benefit reassessment and overpayment calculation.
- Maintain accurate records and retain relevant evidence, redacting and annotating sensitive material when appropriate.
Person specification
What We Are Looking For
- Demonstrate effective leadership and communication skills.
- Have excellent organisational and planning capabilities.
- Demonstrate strong judgement and decision-making skills.
- Present information to internal and external audiences in a professional and credible manner.
- Be able to work effectively as an individual and as part of a team.
- Deal appropriately with challenging and vulnerable individuals.
- Inspire others through positivity, drive and energy in order to achieve outcomes and deliver change.
- Have a flexible and adaptable leadership style with an ability to reach a diverse audience and be prepared to engage effectively with our partners.
- Have a desire to showcase public service at its best.
- Be willing to travel between sites if required depending on business needs.
- Have the ability to work in a demanding and complex environment with changing priorities.
Learning Requirements
The DWP is committed to investing in people and ensuring their teams are a professional workforce. It is a requirement of counter fraud post holders within DWP to attain, and retain, membership of the Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP) at Practitioner level. This means if you are successful in applying for this role you will need to undertake an annual self-assessment to evidence your knowledge, skills, and experience within your role to attain and retain practitioner level membership. We provide post holders with a learning routeway to support them in achieving as well as any workplace adjustments they may require. Failure to attain membership of the GCFP at practitioner level may result in DWP seeking an alternative role for you.
In applying you will have indicated that you have read and fully understood the professional requirements for this Counter Fraud Officer role.
MS Teams Events
About
We will be holding two MS Teams events to let you know more about these roles. These will take place on the following dates:
- 06/12/24 1pm to 2pm - Join the meeting now
- 12/12/24 4pm to 5pm - Join the meeting now
Please follow the relevant link to attend one of the sessions. The information will be the same on both sessions. Those who attend an event may be contacted following the event for evaluation purposes to improve our service.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Leadership
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £34,327, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £9,944 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:
- Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
- Generous annual leave at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (prorata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
- Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
- Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
- Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 years continuous service.
- Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
- An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Womens Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.
Things you need to know
Selection process detailsThis 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 Casework Skills Test
After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Casework Skills 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
23:55pm on
17th December 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 Written Application and Sift
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a Personal Statement in no more than 750 words detailing the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role, based on the following questions.
- Explain how you have conducted a robust and challenging interview or conversation either via telephone or face to face and achieved an outcome?
- Can you demonstrate when you have had to work with a wide range of stakeholders to achieve a shared outcome?
- Can you detail when you have had to prioritise your workload in line with conflicting and changing priorities?
Your Personal Statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why. What you can do, the skills you have that are transferable and the life experience or passion you 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.
- Please note the closing date for your full application is 23:55 on 17/12/2024**
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Stage 4 - Interview
If you pass the test and written application sift with the required score you 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 or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend a face-to-face interview, please ensure you state those on your application form when asked to do so.
Interviews will be scheduled Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:00.
Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is 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 40 minutes and will consist of behaviour and strength-based questions. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation offering a more inclusive approach. The behaviour and strength-based questioning explores what you, the candidate, can and have done, but also your potential.
Behaviours
You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed above at level 2.
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 on behaviours, and those about your strengths.
An example of a behavioural question would be Tell me about a time when you have 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 - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or
- STAR - What was the Situation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results 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, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first based on your location preferences and the geographical requirements of the business. Dependent on your position on the merit list, if none of your location preferences remain at the point we make a job offer, we may offer you a role at an alternative advertised location. If we are unable to offer you a role in any of your preferred locations, and you are unable to accept a role at an alternative advertised location, we will add you to the reserve list if one is being held.
The successful candidates will be notified of a start date following successful security checks, which is likely to be during April / May 2025.
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 we 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.
You 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
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.
Location
London for (
Acton, City Tower, and Tooting), and Walthamstow.
The specific locations under the London tag are
Acton, City Tower, and Tooting. Candidates who choose London as one of their location preferences at application stage will be asked for further preferences at the interview stage from these three locations.
You should only apply for suitable posts where you can travel to and from your 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.
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.
Working pattern
Part-time, part-year, term-time compressed hours and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. We will do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line with current business needs. Please note that successful candidates with agreed alternative working patterns will be required to work full time for specific periods to complete all training and consolidation.
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 as appropriate. You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.
Learning and development
DWP takes development seriously. Our aim is for our colleagues in these roles to be appropriately skilled and qualified as determined by the business. To support this aim you may be required to undertake a work-based qualification, such as an apprenticeship, which will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role and your future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time. You agree to take this job on the basis that you may be required to undertake a work-based qualification; your failure to participate fully in the professional programme, once appointed, may be a breach of your employment contract.
If DWP decides that it is no longer a requirement for you to undertake and attain a work-based qualification, it will release you from this obligation. Any decision to release you from this obligation will not be a breach of contract by DWP.
Important
If you hold a level 3 qualification (2 A levels or equivalent) then please bring your certificates with you to the interview if you have them.
Further information
Find out more about Working for DWP
A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 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. To find out if you are eligible visit https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms and conditions of employment, for example mobility, pay and allowances. Civil Servants who transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms and 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.
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.
Pre-employment checks
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 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.
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.
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.SecuritySuccessful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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 ServiceThe 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 InclusionThe 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).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Ci