Guidance

LA Welfare Direct 9/20

Updated 11 December 2020

Contact

If you have queries about the:

• technical content of this bulletin then contact details are given at the end of each article

• general content and distribution of this bulletin, contact housing.correspondenceandpqs@dwp.gov.uk

Who should read

All Housing Benefit staff

Action

For information

Editorial

In previous editorials we have outlined some of the impacts of COVID-19 on the Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery (LA-PED) division with staff being redeployed from their normal duties to support Universal Credit claim processing and the new initiative Kickstart to support people back into work. COVID-19 has impacted us all in some way shape or form and continues to do so.

We’ve already outlined our plans in LAWD8lite/2020 to provide a series of virtual Department for Work and Pensions led engagement events for local authorities (LAs) on a number of topics. These events replace the regional based events we have delivered in the past. In this edition, you’ll see we also plan to follow a virtual approach for further subsidy workshops we plan to hold later in the year. Also included in this edition is an update on the Housing Benefit (HB) Award Accuracy Initiative relaunch and our plans to hold two further all-LA calls to help support authorities with their decision whether to participate or not. You will see that the majority of LAs that have responded so far are opting into the scheme and in the first all-LA call there were more than 600 lines dialled into.

Since the call we have shared the HB Award Accuracy Indicator management information (MI) with LAs for quarter 3 and quarter 4 2019 to 2020. This enables LAs to compare the accuracy of their HB caseload with other LAs nationally and regionally. We have received a small number of LA enquiries on the Indicator and, in some cases, the LA has queried their performance. We are in the process of providing lower level information in the form of a virtual discussion and performance summary report. These discussions should help LAs understand why their performance is what it is, identify potential weaknesses/gaps in their current activities and identified opportunities for improvement. Irrespective of whether you opt in or out of the HB Award Accuracy Initiative, discussing your Indicator MI with the Performance Development Team will help identify ways in which you can improve the accuracy of your HB awards.

I hope by the time my turn comes round again to provide this editorial you will have opted-in to the Initiative and be well under way participating in the activities since your flexible start date chosen.

Adrian Shooter
Head of LA-PED LA / Valuation Office Agency (VOA) Funding and Management Team

NHS Test and Trace self-isolation payment

1. The government has announced that they are trialling a new NHS Test and Trace Self-isolation Payment scheme, which starts on 1 September 2020. The scheme is for people on low incomes in areas with high incidence of COVID-19 who need to self-isolate and are unable to work from home.

Eligibility

2. Eligibility is restricted to people who are resident in Blackburn with Darwen, Oldham or Pendle and meet the following criteria:

• have received a notification from NHS Test and Trace asking them to stay at home and self-isolate

• have agreed to comply with the notification from NHS Test and Trace and provided contact details to the LA

• are employed or self-employed

• are unable to work from home and will lose income while self-isolating

• are currently receiving at least one of the following benefits:

  • Universal Credit
  • Working Tax Credits (WTC)
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Income Support
  • Pension Credit
  • Housing Benefit

3. People who are eligible will receive:

• £130 if they have tested positive for coronavirus and have to stay at home and self-isolate for 10 days (from the point they first developed symptoms or, if they did not have symptoms, from the point they took their test)

• £182 if a member of their household has tested positive for coronavirus and they are asked to stay at home and self-isolate for 14 days (from the point the other household member first developed symptoms or, if they did not have symptoms, from the point the person who tested positive took their test)

• £13 per day up to a maximum of £182 if they are identified as a non-household contact of someone who has tested positive for coronavirus and asked to stay at home and self-isolate. This will be for up to 14 days, and the NHS Test and Trace notification will set out how long this is for

4. Payments will be made in full, as a single payment, once pre-payment checks have been carried out.

Treatment of payments for HB purposes

5. These payments meet the definition for ‘Local Welfare Provision’ in HB regulations for Working Age claimants, so can be disregarded. As the payments are not listed as income to be taken into account, they can also be disregarded for Pension Age HB customers.

Additional earnings disregard treatment for HB claimants

6. Circular HB A7/2020 confirmed that claimants who have been furloughed or whose hours have been reduced temporarily will continue to be entitled to Working Tax Credit (WTC) for an initial 8 weeks, at which point their entitlement would be reviewed. This meant that they would also continue to be entitled to the additional earnings disregard (AED) for the same period.

7. The Tax Credits (Coronavirus, Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/534) have now come into force, which enables people who are furloughed, self-isolating or shielding to be treated as still being engaged in remunerative work for WTC purposes.

What this means for HB

8. HB claimants who have been furloughed, are self-isolating or shielding can be treated as being “in remunerative work” for the purposes of the AED. This ensures that all claimants affected by COVID-19 restrictions are treated equally.

9. If a claimant is in receipt of SSP due to an illness, including COVID-19 related illness, the AED will cease to apply unless they are receiving the 30-hour element of WTC.

10. If a claimant is on SSP or furloughed and holiday pay is received, this should be taken into account as earnings in any assessment, alongside any Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) or furlough payment received.

11. If a claimant returns to work on reduced hours, LAs will need to confirm if this is a permanent change, and assess if the claimant’s new circumstances affect their AED eligibility.

HB Award Accuracy Initiative relaunch: Update and further all-LA telephone conferences

12. As communicated in a letter to local authority (LA) Revenues and Benefits managers and Chief Finance Officers and circular HB A9/2020, the HB Award Accuracy Initiative was re-launched on Tuesday 4 August 2020.

13. The final deadline for LAs to confirm participation is 18 September 2020 at the latest. Of the LAs who have responded so far the majority have decided to participate, with over 90% of these choosing to start on 5 October.

14. As we move towards the primary start date of Monday 5 October 2020, we are keen to ensure LAs remain supported through the process of deciding whether to participate or not. To that end we have we have arranged two further all-LA telephone conferences.

15. The first of these will be held on Wednesday 16 September from 1pm to 2pm. The dial in details are as follows:

dial in number: 020 3481 3256
conference PIN: 5304171#

16. A replay facility will be available for 31 days following the call. The dial-in-details and conference PIN for the replay are as follows:

replay dial in number: 020 8196 1998
conference PIN: 5304171#

17. Details for the next call will be provided in due course.

Reminder

18. All LAs are reminded to send their confirmation emails and, if participating, to include their chosen start date of 5 October, 2 November or 30 November 2020 to lawelfare.frauderrordebt@dwp.gov.uk

Frequently asked questions

19. As well as the frequently asked questions included in circular A9/2020, we’ve received some further questions which we believe all LAs would benefit from seeing the answers. These are included in Annex A.

20. If you have any further questions about the HB Award Accuracy Initiative, you can contact lawelfare.frauderrordebt@dwp.gov.uk

Expressions of interest: LA subsidy workshops in 2021

21. In the first quarter of 2020, the Local Authority Partnership, Engagement and Delivery (LA-PED) division held a number of HB subsidy workshops. LA feedback from the workshops was extremely positive and as a result LA-PED is proposing to hold a further series of subsidy workshops scheduled for January to February 2021. Subject to expressions of interest, LA-PED plan to deliver these workshops via a remote platform.

22. As in previous years, LA-PED intends to hold separate workshops for LA staff both new to subsidy and for those more experienced in subsidy.

Workshops for LA staff new to subsidy

23. These workshops will provide an introduction to subsidy, focusing on the arrangements for claiming and payment of subsidy:

• applicable deadlines

• the mechanics of the final subsidy claim form

• the responsibilities of LAs (including the completion and oversight of subsidy forms), the department and auditors

• and an overview of assurance arrangements

24. Anyone wishing to attend one of these workshops should email an expression of interest to lawelfare.lapaymentsandsubsidy@dwp.gov.uk quoting LA staff new to subsidy workshop. Additionally, it would be helpful if interested attendees include any subsidy issues or areas of learning that they would like to discuss in the workshops.

Workshops for LA staff more experienced in subsidy

25. It is intended that these workshops will focus primarily on any applicable COVID-19 assurance easements and a review of the HB Subsidy claims – LA Best Practice Guide. Pre-submitted topics and subsidy issues will be built into the workshop presentation and discussed in an open forum session.

26. Anyone wishing to attend the experienced workshops should email an expression of interest to lawelfare.lapaymentsandsubsidy@dwp.gov.uk quoting LA staff experienced in subsidy workshops. Additionally, it would be helpful if interested attendees could include any subsidy issues or areas of learning that they would like to discuss in the workshops.

27. We would be grateful if all expressions of interest are emailed by 30 October 2020, with the subject header ‘HB Subsidy workshops 2021’.

Invite to LAs: Data Sharing and IT issues consultation and engagement forum

28. The Data Sharing and IT issues consultation and engagement forum is open to representatives from all LAs.

29. The next quarterly forum will be held on Tuesday 15 September from 11am to 12 noon. The dial-in details are as follows:

• aim to dial in two or three minutes before the start time, as we aim to start the call promptly

• dial 020 3481 3256

• enter the participant code 0813551#

• you will then be kept in a holding area (with background music) until the call starts at 11:00 am

• your line will be on mute by default but instructions will be given during the call if you want to ask a question

30. The agenda will be as follows:

• a 15-minute introduction from LA-PED, covering projects recently delivered, projects currently in delivery, insight into future planned projects, as well as the most recent common issues that have been reported to us

• 15 to 20 minutes of questions from LAs on the call about the projects and matters covered in the introduction

• 15 minutes of questions from LAs about any other data sharing issues or IT issues they face

• 10 to 15 minutes focused on suggestions from LAs about future data sharing, data matching or automation projects that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could consider funding and delivering

31. High level minutes will be produced, specifically focusing on the questions asked and the answers given. These will be published on Glasscubes.

32. We would really every LA to have at least one representative dial into the forum. We ask that those dialling in:

• seek input and feedback from as many of their colleagues as possible prior to dialling in, for example, questions they might want answering

• have knowledge, at least at a high level, about data sharing, data matching and current IT topic areas

• feedback to their colleagues about how the conference call went, including the answers to the questions we asked

33. We look forward to your participation on the call. However, if you have any questions in the meantime, you can contact the LA Data Sharing (LADS) Delivery team at LADS.deliveryteam@dwp.gov.uk

Student uprating 2020 to 2021

Disregards for travel, books and equipment

34. The rates for the travel grant disregard and the books and equipment disregard have been frozen since 2010, and are again this year. For the academic year 2020-21, the disregard rates will remain at £303 in respect of travel and £390 in respect of books and equipment.

Loans, grants and tuition fees

35. Details about the financial support available to new and existing students can be found at student finance loans and grants and student finance for existing students on GOV.UK.

36. If you need further information on student uprating please contact housing.benefitenquiries@dwp.gov.uk

Publication of HB debt recoveries statistics

37. The HB debt recoveries statistics were published on Wednesday 2 September 2020. These reflect the reported performance for quarters 1 to 4 of 2019-20 (April to March). The headline statistics are:

• the total HB debt outstanding at January 2020 stood at £2.03 billion, a decrease of £74 million (4%) at the same point in 2018-19

• the total value of HB overpayments identified during 2019-20 was £599 million, a decrease of £141 million (19%) compared to 2018-19

• the total value of HB overpayments recovered during 2019-20 was £573 million, a decrease of £76 million (12%) compared to 2018-19

• the total value of HB overpayments written off during 2019-20 was £80 million, a decrease of £10 million (11%) compared to 2018-19

• there has been a 13.6% drop in the HB caseload in the 12 months ending May 2020. Inevitably this will impact on all HB debt measures

DWP secondment opportunities

38. DWP is seeking applications from LA employees who may be interested in a number of secondment opportunities in middle management grades.

39. The roles available are shown in the attached job adverts/descriptions (see Annex B), as are the relevant contact details of the vacancy holders.

40. If you are interested, please forward a 500-word CV to the relevant vacancy holder.

41. Do note, DWP will keep your CV on file for 6 months from the date of submission in the event of any future vacancies becoming available.

HB decisions by the Upper Tribunal

42. Decision Making and Appeals (DMA) Leeds is aware of the following HB cases that have been decided by the Upper Tribunal (UT):

• CH/293/18: Decision without reasons

• CH/2122/19, CH/2123/19 and CH/2124/19: are linked Overpayment cases. Tribunal Judge’s reasoning insufficiently clear

• CH/1839/17: Claimant’s tenancy continued to be on a commercial basis despite some changes in the circumstances

43. A selection of decisions of the UT are published on their website. Do be aware that there is an undefined time lapse between decisions being issued and their appearance on the website.

44\3 If you have any queries about cases before the UT Judges or courts, please contact us by email at quarryhouse.dmaleedscustomersupportservices@dwp.gov.uk

New legislation

45. The following Statutory Instrument (SI) has been laid:

• 2020 No 892 The Statutory Sick Pay (General) (Coronavirus Amendment) (No. 6) Regulations 2020 came into force 26 August 2020.

46. Copies of SIs can now be downloaded from legislation.gov.uk

What’s new on our HB pages on GOV.UK

47. The following items can be found on the website link shown:

Document Type	Subject	Link
LAWD8lite/2020	New Severe Disability Premium confirmation template Further DWP led engagement events for Las SDP confirmation of payment in HB template attached as a separate Appendix A	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/la-welfare-direct-bulletins-2020

Annex A: Further HB Award Accuracy Initiative frequently asked questions

Q1: What is the average change in weekly HB and average overpayment expected from each Full Case Review (FCR)?

A1: The pilot ran in the middle of 2019 found an average change in the weekly HB amount of £34.04, and an average overpayment raised of £1,362.

Q2: Overpayment recovery rates are not good enough to compensate for the subsidy penalty of finding the overpayments. What are DWP going to do to reduce the subsidy penalty?

A2: DWP are not planning to change the subsidy penalty. The majority of LAs have recovery rates over 60%, the average being 88%. Therefore, based on current evidence there is no need to change subsidy legislation. It is worth remembering that LAs always have the option of calling in our free PDT consultancy service to support you in identifying further ways to increase your overpayment recovery rates.

Q3: Is DWP working with software suppliers and LAs to ensure the MI is correctly recorded?

A3: Yes.

Q4: Will LAs who have opted out still receive cases, as we want to experiment with a few test cases before the Initiative becomes mandatory from April 2021?

A4: Yes.

Q5: Can the funding we receive be used to fund Robots to action the cases?

A5: We are keen to support this sort of innovation. However, we would need to see an LA’s specific proposal in order to ensure we give the correct answer.

Annex B: DWP Finance Group temporary vacancies

Contracted Employment Programmes – Design HEO

Location

Due to COVID-19 all successful candidates will work from home until further notice. Note – you will need to visit a hub to collect IT.

Finance Group (FG) hubs (London, Leeds, Sheffield, Blackpool, Newcastle and Manchester). However the successful candidate(s) must be flexible and may be expected to work from a hub location in the future.

Business area (Directorate of Finance Group and team name)

Finance Group

Contract Management and Partner Delivery (CMPD)

Design, Change and Business Support (DCBS)

Payscale

National: minimum: £31,989 to maximum: £34,285

London: minimum: £36,648 to maximum: £38,997

Working pattern

This is a full-time post but applications are also welcome from those with alternative working patterns. Working patterns will be discussed on an individual basis, however, successful applicants may need to be flexible and/or be prepared to consider alternative working patterns where required to meet with Finance Group’s operating hours from 8am to 6pm.

Eligibility

This vacancy is for an initial period of 12-month secondment. Option to extend if there is a business need.

Will excess fares be considered?

No

Background to the role

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department, we operate on a scale that is almost unmatched anywhere in Europe and most people in Britain come into contact with us at some point in their lives.

CMPD is a corporate team within DWP. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in CMPD and this is a fantastic opportunity to join a department that touches the lives of citizens the length and breadth of the UK. What we do matters.

The role of CMPD is to ensure that our contracted Employment and Health providers deliver the outcomes that the customer needs and the service quality that DWP can be proud of. We play a vital part in shaping the future of contracted Employment, Health and European Social Fund (ESF) payments and provisions.

The purpose of CMPD is to performance manage all aspects of current and future DWP contracted services associated with health and disability services and employment provisions. The directorate sits within Finance Group and works closely with a wide range of colleagues including DWP operations, commercial, finance, strategy and contracted providers.

CMPD looks to support some of DWP’s most vulnerable customers through its management of contracted services. Contractors’ performance is subject to on-going scrutiny from Ministers, Senior Officials, the National Audit Office (NAO), Members of Parliament (MPs), disability rights groups and the media.

This is a good opportunity to join a fast-paced team in a high-profile area with opportunities to develop your career path.

Key tasks

Responsible for Employment or Health Provision policy and be a proactive member of the Work Programme and Disability Employment Provision team as well as the wider DCBS command.

Responsible for part of the department’s response to COVID-19 by working on the design of new contracted employment provision/amendments to existing provision to support people back into work.

Work proactively with key strategic stakeholders in DWP Strategy / Commercial Directorate/Jobcentre Plus and other key partners to support effective design and implementation of future disability employment provision.

Work proactively with other CMPD stakeholders to ensure effective live running delivery of current provision and timely input steering of contract extension activity, ad-hoc pilot activity (provision-facing) and live running change proposals.

Develop strong working relationships with disability employment providers and ensure that provider guidance and supporting products are effectively maintained and regularly reviewed.

Provide effective advice to Ministers and Senior Officials as required on disability or Employment operational policy issues.

Supporting drafting internal communications.

Supporting the management and update of the Job Families plans, milestones and timelines.

Reporting relationships

Some roles will include the responsibility for Line Management of teams – located across Finance Group hub locations.

Key relationships

These roles require regular partnership working with:

• Commercial Directorate; DWP Strategy teams

• programmes set up to support future design

• CMPD supply and performance managers

• analytical and payment controls teams

• finance business partners and internal audit teams

• DWP operations

• external stakeholders

• Health Transformation Programme

Requirements of the role

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

• capability in designing and driving through change and improvement activity, ideally in a policy environment

• ability to work in a dynamic and high pressured environment with pace, delivering high quality work to challenging deadlines

• strong analytical, problem solving skills

• strong communication skills and confidence in communicating and explaining complex areas of work

• strong interpersonal skills and collaborative approach to working in partnership with third parties and internal/external stakeholders

• proven ability to operate effectively in large scale complex organisations and influence diverse stakeholder groups

• good analytical skills and the ability to interpret and act on management and performance information

• ability to become a subject expert in the area which you lead

Key behaviours

• Changing and improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Making effective decisions
• Working together

Further information

For more details on this post please contact:

Richard Burgin
Email: richard.burgin@dwp.gov.uk
Phone: 07827 879 629

Applications

People interested in applying for this post should check with their line manager, before applying, to ensure they will be released if successful.

You should send your 500-word CV only to apply. This should be sent to:

Email: richard.burgin@dwp.gov.uk

Closing date

15 September 2020 (CVs will be kept on file for 6 months for any other available DWP opportunity).

Provider Referral and Payment (PRaP) System Administrator

Location

Due to COVID-19 all successful candidates will work from home until further notice. Note: you will need to visit a hub to collect IT.

The team is based in Sheffield and travel and overnight stay in that location may be needed in the future should a successful candidate be based away from that locality.

Business area

Finance Group (FG), Contract Management and Partner Delivery (CMPD).

Payscale

National: minimum: £31,989 to maximum: £34,285

London: minimum: £36,648 to maximum: £38,997

Working pattern

This is a full time post but applications are also welcome from those working part time. Working patterns will be discussed on an individual basis, however, successful applicants may need to be flexible and/or be prepared consider to alternative working patterns.

Eligibility

This vacancy is for an initial period of 12-month secondment. Option to extend if there is a business need.

Terms of transfer

Temporary

Will excess fares be considered?

No

Background to the role

This post involves working as part of a team providing guidance and support to those users of the Provider Referral and Payment system (PRaP). The System Administrator is responsible for controlling and maintaining relevant access rights for authorised PRaP users. Other areas of responsibility include applying incident management techniques to highlight and inform users and stakeholders of key system issues. An advisory role will be needed to support development of new programmes and changes to existing programmes, providing advice on PRaP functions and offering solutions.

Key tasks

Capture and management of system change requests.

Expert domain providing advice to projects and stakeholders.

Building new Programmes on PRaP, ensuring validation and MI requirements are delivered.

Oversee and support helpdesk functions and ensure agreed service levels are met.

Support users and provider organisations in using PRaP, including development and delivery of awareness/learning and development products/guidance.

Monitor and reporting on system performance and operations.

Support Performance and management information teams with incident tracking and production of bespoke reports.

Staff management including monitoring team targets and Service Level Agreements.

Regularly reviewing and implementing changes as part of continuous improvement.

Collaboration with Digital colleagues and IT suppliers for system releases/upgrades.

Preparation and execution of IT testing.

Incident management.

Managing contingency procedures.

Develop and issue communications (internal and external).

Reporting relationships

Reporting to Band E/SEO Deputy Team Leader.

Key relationships:

• all employment colleagues within CMPD

• DWP colleagues including Finance, Commercials, Strategy and Change

• DWP Digital and partner BPDTS and SSCL

• contracted employment programme providers

• local authorities

• IT suppliers (for example IBM)

Requirements of the role

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the followng skills.

Essential:

• strong stakeholder engagement skills

• ability to work under pressure and to challenging deadlines

• experience of working in a project/change environment

• awareness of financial controls

• ability to gather, evaluate and present information

• ability to communicate effectively with representatives from external organisations

• strong commitment to continuous improvement

• excellent drafting and communication skills

• ability to lead, support and participate in change

Desirable skills:

• knowledge of Oracle systems

• knowledge of DWP Contracted Employment Provision/Programmes

• experience of Digital delivery / working with IT suppliers

• experience of managing staff

• experience of financial controls

Key competencies

• Leadership
• Communicating and influencing
• Delivering at pace
• Changing and improving

Further information

For more details on this post please contact Lucy Mallison at:

Email: lucy.mallison@dwp.gov.uk

Applications

People interested in applying for this post should check with their line manager, before applying, to ensure they will be released if successful.

You should send your 500-word CV only to apply. This should be sent to:

Email: lucy.Mallison@dwp.gov.uk

Closing date

15 September 2020 (CVs will be kept on file for 6 months for any other available DWP opportunity).

Contracted Employment Programmes – Design SEO

Location

Due to COVID-19 all successful candidates will work from home until further notice. Note – you will need to visit a hub to collect IT.

Finance Group (FG) hubs (London, Leeds, Sheffield, Blackpool, Newcastle and Manchester) and to reflect current working arrangements. However the successful candidate(s) must be flexible and may be expected to work from a hub location in the future.

Business area (directorate of finance group and team name)

Finance Group

Contract Management and Partner Delivery (CMPD)

Design, Change and Business Support (DCBS)

Payscale

National: minimum: £35,310 to maximum: £40,666

London: minimum: £39,957 to maximum: £45,018

Working pattern

This is a full-time post, but applications are also welcome from those with alternative working patterns. Working patterns will be discussed on an individual basis, however, successful applicants may need to be flexible and/or be prepared to consider alternative working patterns where required to meet with Finance Group’s operating hours from 8am to 6pm.

Eligibility

This vacancy is for an initial period of 12-month secondment. Option to extend if there is a business need.

Terms of Transfer

Temporary

Will excess fares be considered?

No

Background to the role

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department, we operate on a scale that is almost unmatched anywhere in Europe and most people in Britain come into contact with us at some point in their lives.

CMPD is a Corporate Team within DWP.  It’s an incredibly exciting time to be working in CMPD and this is a fantastic opportunity to join a department that touches the lives of citizens the length and breadth of the UK. What we do matters.

The role of CMPD is to ensure that our contracted Employment and Health providers deliver the outcomes that the customer needs, the service quality that DWP can be proud of. We play a vital part in shaping the future of contracted Employment, Health and European Social Fund (ESF) payments and provisions.

The purpose of CMPD is to performance manage all aspects of current and future DWP contracted services associated with health and disability services and employment provisions. The Directorate sits within FG and works closely with a wide range of colleagues including DWP Operations, Commercial, Finance, Strategy and contracted providers.

CMPD looks to support some of DWP’s most vulnerable customers through its management of contracted services. Contractors’ performance is subject to on-going scrutiny from Ministers, Senior Officials, the National Audit Office (NAO), Members of Parliament (MPs), disability rights groups and the media.

This is a good opportunity to join a fast-paced team in a high-profile area with opportunities to develop your career path.

Key tasks

Lead a team responsible for Employment or Health Provision policy and be a proactive member of the Work Programme & Disability Employment Provision Team as well as the wider DCBS command.

Lead a team responsible for part of the department’s response to COVID-19 by working on the design of new contracted employment provision / amendments to existing provision to support people back into work.

Work proactively with key strategic stakeholders in DWP Strategy/ Commercial Directorate/Jobcentre Plus and other key partners to support effective design and implementation of future disability employment provision.

Work proactively with other CMPD stakeholders to ensure effective live running delivery of current provision and timely input steering of contract extension activity, ad-hoc pilot activity (provision-facing) and live running change proposals.

Develop strong working relationships with disability employment providers and ensure that provider guidance and supporting products are effectively maintained and regularly reviewed.

Provide effective advice to Ministers and Senior Officials as required on disability or Employment operational policy issues.

Reporting relationships

Some roles will include the responsibility for line management of teams – located across Finance Group hub locations – although current working practices mean most staff are working from home temporarily.

Key relationships

These roles require regular partnership working with: Commercial Directorate; DWP Strategy teams; Programmes set up to support future design; CMPD supply and performance managers; analytical and payment controls teams; finance business partners and internal audit teams; DWP operations; external stakeholders and Health Transformation Programme.

Requirements of the role

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following strengths:

Leading
Taking ownership and accountability for ensuring delivery of outcomes and decisions, inspiring your team, peers and/or senior colleagues with energy and enthusiasm. Providing vision and direction, guiding your team, peers and/or senior colleagues and securing commitment by effectively explaining complex issues with a range of colleagues across Government and external stakeholders. Visibility and regular travel across the FG hubs will be required.

Team Working
Proven ability to build strong working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, demonstrating an open, supportive and diverse and inclusive attitude. Demonstrate your effectiveness as a negotiator in addressing issues, including capacity and performance, to reach desired outcomes.

Prioritising
Evidence of your ability to multi-task, work under pressure and manage competing priorities to deliver quality outcomes. Demonstrating resilience and the ability to respond positively to pressures and set-backs.

Grasping Complexity
Ability to understand complex issues quickly to think strategically and develop solutions to complex policy and delivery issues. Delivering results, building knowledge and understanding to quickly become the subject expert and gaining the confidence of colleagues and senior leaders.

Key behaviours

• Communicating and influencing
• Leadership
• Making effective decisions
• Working together

Further information

For more details on this post please contact:

Richard Burgin
Email: richard.burgin@dwp.gov.uk
Phone: 07827 879 629

Applications

People interested in applying for this post should check with their line manager, before applying, to ensure they will be released if successful.

You should send your 500-word CV only to apply.

Closing date

15 September 2020 (CVs will be kept on file for a period of 6 months for any future opportunity).