Job description
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 people in our society. Counter Fraud Compliance and Debt (CFCD) aims to reduce fraud, error and debt within the benefit system, to protect the public purse.
As part of 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 greater than ever.
If you want to join an organisation that recognises the importance of work-life balance, where you can develop new skills and progress your career, then CFCD is the place for you. Job description You will be required to:
- Build and maintain effective working relationships with stakeholders across NDAS, CFCD and wider DWP, using collaboration and influencing skills to support business objectives.
- Support the planning, coordination and delivery of a range of business activities, projects and initiatives, ensuring progress is monitored and actions are completed within agreed timescales.
- Produce and maintain high-quality management information, briefing products, reports, presentations and communications for a variety of audiences, including senior leaders.
- Coordinate meetings, workshops and governance activity, including preparing agendas, recording actions and monitoring progress against agreed outcomes.
- Analyse information from a variety of sources to identify issues, risks, trends and opportunities, providing recommendations to support effective decision-making.
- Monitor progress against business objectives, plans and performance measures, escalating risks and issues where appropriate and supporting the implementation of solutions.
- Contribute to continuous improvement activities by identifying opportunities to simplify processes, improve ways of working and enhance service delivery.
- Work flexibly across multiple workstreams, adapting to changing priorities and responding effectively to emerging business needs.
- Ensure information, records and products are maintained accurately and in line with departmental policies, standards and governance requirements.
- Promote a positive, inclusive and collaborative working environment, supporting colleagues and contributing to the achievement of team and organisational objectives.
Person specification We are looking for applicants who can demonstrate the following Key Criteria for the role:
- Experience of supporting the planning, coordination and delivery of projects, business initiatives or workstreams, ensuring objectives are achieved within agreed timescales.
- Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to build and maintain effective working relationships across teams, functions and organisational boundaries to achieve shared outcomes.
- Excellent communication skills, with experience of producing high-quality briefing materials, reports, presentations or other written products tailored to a range of audiences, including senior leaders.
- Ability to analyse information from a variety of sources, identify risks, issues and opportunities, and make evidence-based recommendations to support decision-making.
- Experience of managing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment, demonstrating sound judgement, resilience and the ability to adapt to changing business needs.
- Strong organisational skills, including the ability to coordinate activities, monitor progress, maintain accurate records and deliver high-quality outcomes with minimal supervision.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including the ability to use technology effectively to support planning, reporting, collaboration and business delivery.
Desirable Criteria: - Knowledge of CFCD, NDAS or wider DWP operations and governance processes
- Experience of supporting assurance, governance, planning, continuous improvement or change-related activities.
- Experience of working with performance data, management information or project delivery tools.
Webinar event We will be holding a webinar event to let you know more about these roles.This will take place on
24/09/2026 between
12 noon and 1pm . Please follow the link to register for the session. 479976 HEO Candidate Information session
** If the webinar page does not open, please check that pop-ups are enabled on your browser**.Those who attend may be contacted following the event for evaluation purposes to improve our service.
Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP)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 role.
Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
Alongside your salary of 38,772, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 11,232 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
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 (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
Artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process detailsThis vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.
**Ensure that you read the full information about the selection process thoroughly before starting your application**.Please note the closi ng date for your full application (Application Form, Test, CV and Written Statements) is 23:55 on 30th September 2026** Stage 1 Application Form Please complete the application form with your basic information, which includes your personal details, eligibility to apply and any reasonable adjustments required.
Stage 2 Online Test After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Management 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 29th September 2026. 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.
Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours and after 2pm on the closing date of 29th September 2026.
While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.
It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.
Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits; for further information visit the Reasonable adjustments for online tests - a candidate guide
You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.
Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 4pm and Midnight on Sunday 27th September 2026. You will be unable to access tests during this period.
If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.
IMPORTANT:After the test deadline, we will look at all candidate scores to decide what the jobs pass mark will be. We will consider the impact on protected groups and the number of invitations to the next stage. We may decide to raise the pass mark for the job - if so, you will be informed, and you will be told if you have passed or failed at the raised standard. Meeting the minimum test requirements for a job level is no guarantee of an invite to continue the selection process.
St age 3 - Curriculum Vitae (CV) You will be asked to complete a CV with details of your job history, full qualification details, previous skills and experience.You are not required to upload your personal CV.
In the previous skills/experience section you should detail your employment and/or education history relevant to this vacancy(we recommend a maximum of 500 words). The CV will also cover your work history (we recommend you include up to the last 3 roles of employment history, plus any others that you feel are relevant) and your qualifications.
Your CV will not be formally assessed, so please put the main evidence of your skills into your
behavioural examples
. Your CV will be used to add context to your behavioural examples.
Stage 4 Behavioural Statements and SiftAs part of the application process, you will be asked to complete examples of the Civil Servic e behaviours below using no more than 250 words for each behaviour. These should contain things you have done in the past and how your skills and experience demonstrate those Civil Service behaviours.
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process at Higher Executive Officer Level 3.
- Communicating and Influencing ( Lead Behaviour )
- Leadership ( Second Lead Behaviour )
- Making Effective Decisions
It may help touse one or more examples of a piece of workyou havecompleted, or a situationyou havebeen 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 Results of your actions?
Youdonthave to explain the whole process, just whatyouhavedone and the skills and experienceyou haveused.
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead behaviour or lead and second lead behaviours, if so, we will sift on:
- Communicating and Influencing ( Lead behaviour )
- Leadership ( Second lead behaviour )
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to an interview.
In the event we dont receive a high number of applications we may not undertake a sift and progress all candida tes to interview.For these reasons, the timeline is subject to change depending on the approach we take.
**The closing date for all stages of your application is23:55 on 30/09/2026. If you fail to complete all stages before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn** The sift is scheduled to be held from
05/10/2026 to 16/10/2026 .These dates may be subject to change.
Following completion of the sifting period above, results will be collated, and candidates will receive confirmation of the outcome. Those candidates who have met the agreed pass mark will be invited to interview. No feedback will be provided at this stage.
Stage5 - InterviewIf you pass t he 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.If high application volumes are received, the benchmark / score for candidates to proceed to the interview stage may be raised.
The interviews will be conducted face to face. Where possible the interviews will take place in London, Newcastle and Birmingham,
however candidates may be expected to travel to an alternative location as required.
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 are scheduled to take place from
09/11/2026 to 13/11/2026 , 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 SMS/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. If you wish to opt out of SMS messages, please email this address, including the vacancy reference and your candidate ID
[email protected] . As part of our commitment to improving the candidate experience, you may be contacted during the recruitment process to provide feedback.
Preparing for th e Interview The interview will take approximately 40 to 45 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 questions explore what you, the candidate, can and have done, but also your potential.
Behaviours You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed atHigher Executive Officer Level 3.
An example of a behavioural question would be How did you lead by example to inspire and motivate your teams?.
It may help to use one or more examples of a piece o f work you have completed, or a situation you have been in, and use the
WHO or
STAR model above to explain:
StrengthsIt 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 progress further. Stage 6 Offer Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Our current plan is that this will be week commencing
30/11/2026 , but this may be subject to change. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first
The successful candidates will be notified of a start date following successful pre-employment checks, which is likely to be during January 2027.
Further Information At the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.
Find out more about working for DWP on the DWP Careers Hub .
Reserve List A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 month s from which further appointments can be made.
If you are placed on a reserve list but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:
- If you are later 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 the post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. a contractual part-time working pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered or in the case of serious ill health).
- If we make 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.
Visa Sponsorship Please note that for these vacancies we recommend that applicants seek specialist advice on their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship (if applicable) when considering whether to apply for any role.
We can never guarantee sponsorship; requests will be considered in line with the relevant DWP guidance and Home Office policy in place at the time.
LocationPlease visit the Candidate Pack attached in the advert for the full list of possible locations.
The candidates who reach the interview stage will be asked their preferred locations via an offline email process. You will be asked for up to three preferences, please note you do not have to select 3 preferences.
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. Make sure the locations work for you before applying!
Hybrid workingThis 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. If a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for the role and for you, you will normally be required to spend a minimum of 60% of your contracted working hours from your DWP office. If you have a disability, caring responsibilities, or other circumstances that may affect your ability to meet the minimum office attendance requirement, please discuss this with us using the contact details in this advert.
Hybrid working will not commence until any training and consolidation period has been successfully completed.Working patternWorking patternAlternative working patterns 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 candidates with agreed alternative working patterns may be required to work full timefor specific periods to complete all training and consolidation. Hours of workThe 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 candidates within these business hours and review these asappropriate. You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.
Learning and DevelopmentDWP 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 candidates 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.
Disability Confident SchemeIf high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.
Reasonable AdjustmentsWe 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 the Government Recruitment Service via
[email protected] 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 candidates section.
Integrity, Plagiarism and Civil Service PrinciplesThe 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.
Examples of plagiarism can include:
- Presenting the work, ideas and experiences of others as your own.
- Copying content or answers from an online or published source that is not your own.
Disclosure and Barring Service and Internal Fraud Database Checks 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
[email protected] 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
[email protected] If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check will be carried out.
Candidates 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 candidates 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.
Political ImpartialityDue to the nature of our role, DWP is required to ensure that the political impartiality of its employees cannot be brought into question. The role you are applying for is classed by DWP as a sensitive role because it involves contact with the public, so permission cannot be given to anyone in such a role to engage or remain politically active in any kind of local councillor role. There may also be restrictions applied to other political activities which are set out in the Departments Standards of Behaviour Policy which is underpinned by the Civil Service Management Code . You may therefore wish to decide at application stage whether, if your job application was successful, there would be a conflict of interest with any political activity role you have and whether, knowing the restrictions we necessarily apply as an employer, you wish to pursue your application with DWP. If you have any questions about this or need further information about the restrictions, please contact
[email protected] .
SalaryNew 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. If you are a current employee and are successful you must be able to be released from your current post within four weeks.
Those on protected TUPE/ COSoP terms and conditions applying on promotion or voluntary permanent level move will adopt DWPs Terms and Conditions and this may have a different impact on pay and allowances. Please review this prior to acceptance of a role.
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. Accepting a post will be taken to mean acceptance of revised terms & conditions.
Civil Servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or within 10% of existing salary.
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 the Childcare Choices Website.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
SecuritySuccessful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirementsThis 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 Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window) .
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants Job contact :
Recruitment team
Further informationAppointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DWP by email:
[email protected]. 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.
Attachments _DWP Terms and Conditions January 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 17kB) Success-Profiles-Candidate-Overview Opens in new window (pdf, 635kB) 479976 - DWP Candidate Pack CYM Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB) 479976 - DWP Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 210kB)