Department for work and pensions (dwp)
Recruitment Manager
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Location
About the job
Job summary
We welcome applications from candidates who demonstrate inspirational and resourceful leadership as well as the key criteria listed below. We are proud to be part of DWP, which is the Government’s largest public service department serving 18 million customers.
This is a key role and we are looking for someone who will help us deliver this key leadership role across Disability Services.
We are committed to the Civil Service ambition to become the UK’s most inclusive employer and we absolutely welcome and encourage applications from every part of our community, particularly from groups currently underrepresented in our workforce and those with protected characteristics.
As a Disability Confident employer, we also put in place reasonable adjustments to support disabled job applicants and employee.
As part of Disability Services (DS) you will be at the heart of helping to transform people’s lives and supporting DS purpose of delivering timely and accurate outcomes to our customers.
Job description
As a Recruitment Leader in Disability Service, you will be responsible for leading, engaging and inspiring a geographically dispersed team to deliver effective and efficient recruitment and estates processes.
You will develop a culture of continuous improvement through coaching; empowering your team to achieve their potential.
The team provides and oversees recruitment services for the whole of Disability Services. You will need to be a highly organised and effective leader, as well as an excellent relationship builder and be able to deal with colleagues at all levels. Making sure resources are placed in the right areas of the business at the right time to support delivery of our departmental objectives.
You will be engaging with various stakeholders, bringing them on board, maintaining their engagement; dealing with issues at a national level and supporting site leads with local issues where needed, enabling people to deliver effectively in the right places.
Key Tasks
- Work collaboratively and inclusively across DS, DWP and externally. Demonstrating strong leadership and effective working relationships with colleagues and stakeholders.
- Lead a geographically dispersed team, providing recruitment services for all DS.
- Work at pace to progress DS recruitment plan, working with stakeholders of all grades.
- Deploy a variety of different recruitment strategies to recruit the required number of staff within the challenging timescales.
- Have a creative and innovative approach to problem solving to negotiate and mediate solutions with internal and external partners to ensure barriers are eliminated at pace.
- Provide appropriate assurance of compliance with mandatory HR and Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
- Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise and manage multiple tasks.
- Support the end-to-end recruitment cycle, which includes developing the job advert, selection methods, offer management and on-boarding.
- Collaborate with HR colleagues/senior managers on recruitment priorities.
- Ensure recruitment campaigns are delivered in line with recruitment policies, and to make sure campaigns are on time.
- Ensure the recruitment tracker is maintained and up to date.
- Build and maintain a network of key stakeholders, driving collaboration to improve service delivery.
- Manage communications for recruitment campaigns, keeping candidates, hiring managers, and other stakeholders informed throughout.
- Provide recruitment guidance and support to hiring managers and share best practice.
- Review the success of recruitment campaigns, identify areas for improvement and share best practice.
Person specification
Essential criteria
Strong working knowledge and management of large-scale recruitment and selection policy and processes, with experience of planning and delivering recruitment at pace ensuring that the business get the right recruits at the right time where they are needed. (Lead Criteria).
The ability to organise your work and your team’s work effectively to ensure successful delivery and provide a quality service, re-prioritising at pace where necessary.
Ability to collate, organise, analyse, and use information to project plan and deliver service improvements.
Ability to forge strong and influential relationships with a broad network of stakeholders, including those at a senior level.
Ability to communicate with candidates to ensure individual needs which may be complex are met throughout the recruitment process. Reasonable adjustments are considered and put in place and any complaints are dealt with appropriately.
Ability to confidently report on a regular basis with Senior leaders to update on progress and also recognise and escalate risk to delivery.
Behaviours
We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
Benefits
DWP 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 (pro–rata 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 year’s 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 Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a 1250 word Personal Statement.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Stage 1 – Personal Statement
When completing your Personal Statement, please read and understand the Essential 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.
Please complete the Personal Statement and write up to no more than 1250 words, detailing the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role. This will be assessed against the Essential Criteria within the advert.
You may choose to address each criteria separately, however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several essential criteria. Please ensure you evidence the key personal requirements and what have you done that relates to the requirements. You don’t 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 and the skills you have that are transferable to the key requirements, and the life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.
The written evidence you provide must relate to your own experiences.
Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead Essential Criteria:
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift and/or progressed straight to interview.
Important Information
- Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
- If your Personal Statement contains any personal details your application will be withdrawn.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
STAGE 2
Preparing for the interview:
You will need to provide photo ID prior to the interview.
At interview you will be assessed against any of the four Civil Service Behaviours listed below – Level 3. You will also be asked strength questions.
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
- Making Effective Decisions
If you are invited to interview you will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs site.
Once you receive the invite to interview you will need to access the system and book yourself an interview slot 7 days in advance.
The interviews will be conducted by MS Teams and you will need to use your personal device to access the platform. We will provide instructions at the time as to how you do this.
PLEASE NOTE: Full details of the behavioural questions will be given to shortlisted candidates 7 days in advance of the Interview.
The interview
The interview will follow a blended approach and will last approximately 45 minutes.
During the interview, candidates will be assessed against behaviours and strengths. To do this, candidates will be asked to do a presentation followed by a mixture of Behaviour and Strength questions.
The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential.
A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach.
Behavioural questions will explore what you have done in previous jobs or experiences as well as what you have achieved and/or learned.
After the interview
Once all the interviews have been conducted, candidates will be notified of the outcome by email. If you are successful at the interview stage, we will be in touch to offer you a role. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidates first.
Further Information
Find out more about Working for DWP
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 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 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.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
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.
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 applicant’s 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.
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, which may be in the form of 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; a candidate’s failure to participate fully in the professional programme, once appointed, may be a breach of their employment contract.
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.
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 you’re 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
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
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
Recruitment team
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.