Fraud Investigator

Job description

Job summary

Within the Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt Directorate (CFCD), we work to reduce fraud, error, and debt, to protect the public purse.

As a Fraud Investigator, youll be at the forefront of tackling fraud within the benefits system. You will manage cases throughout the investigation process, completing interviews under caution, gathering, reviewing and exhibiting evidence, preparing prosecution cases, and attending court to give evidence when required.

We offer a role where you can learn, progress, and maintain a healthy work-life balance while making a real impact.

Job description

Flexibility and adaptability are essential, as the scope of fraud investigations may vary depending on current business challenges.

Key Responsibilities:

As an Investigator you will,

• Request necessary evidence from designated sources using Authorised Officer powers.
• Collaborate with other departments and organisations such as Local Authorities, Police and HMRC within the framework of any existing partnership agreements.
• Research and gather information for investigations, ensuring it meets legal standards.
• Complete Requests for Information (RFIs) as needed.
• Record, retain, and review collected materials for criminal investigations for Disclosure purposes.
• Recommend next steps for action to Team Leaders for consideration.
• Conduct Interviews under Caution as per legal guidelines under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (England and Wales) and Common Law (Scotland).
• Prepare prosecution cases following Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and National File Standard guidance (England & Wales) and in line with Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service guidance in (Scotland)
• Attend court and give evidence in criminal cases and appeal tribunals.
• Communicate confidently and professionally with internal staff and external agencies promoting fraud awareness.

Person specification

We are looking for individuals who:

• Show effective leadership and communication skills to engage with diverse audiences and partners.
• Have excellent organisation and planning skills.
• Use strong judgement and decision-making abilities.
• Present information professionally to both internal and external audiences.
• Pay attention to small and subtle detail and are able to identify discrepancies or inconsistencies across very detailed types of evidence e.g. identify documents that are potentially not original or official
• Work well both alone and in a team.
• Handle challenging and vulnerable individuals appropriately.
• Inspire others with positivity, drive, and energy to achieve goals and implement change.
• Be willing to travel between sites as needed.
• Adapt to a demanding and changing environment.
• Exhibit honesty, integrity, and probity.
• Possess excellent writing and drafting skills.

Travel Requirements

This role involves travel and may require attendance at:

• Briefings and operational planning meetings with external stakeholders, including Police, Lawyers, and Barristers
• Interviews conducted under Caution
• Court appearances as required
• Business and private addresses to obtain witness statements
• Successful candidates must be able to travel at short notice, retrieve evidence, and be available during unsociable hours including nights, weekends, and across various locations nationally. A departmental vehicle or hire car may be provided, subject to holding a full UK driving licence.

Essential Learning Requirements

Successful candidates (Scotland) must be willing to attain the mandatory ACFIP qualification (Accredited Counter Fraud Investigators Programme) and be required to undertake the technical functions of the role.

All candidates are advised of the requirement to undertake any future mandatory learning and on-going continuous professional development appropriate to their job role.

Please Note - Appointments to this role will be subject to successful completion of the ACFIP Qualification. Failure to achieve the required level to pass the course may result in redeployment into another DWP role (or DWP formal procedures being used which could result in termination of contract).

Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP)

At DWP, we are committed to developing a skilled and professional workforce. Fraud Officers are required to attain and maintain Practitioner-level membership of the Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP) through an annual self-assessment, demonstrating their expertise in the role. We support all post holders with structured learning pathways and workplace adjustments to help them succeed. Failure to achieve Practitioner-level membership may result in DWP seeking an alternative role for you. By applying, you confirm that you have read and understood the professional requirements of the role.

Candidate Integrity Declaration

Before an offer of employment is made, successful candidates will be asked to declare the following, to the best of their knowledge:

• Any previous disciplinary findings related to conduct in employment.
• Any ongoing disciplinary proceedings or unresolved notifications of potential misconduct.
• Any criminal convictions, police cautions, or legal findingswhether spent or unspent.

Please note: Disclosure of this information will not automatically exclude candidates from consideration. However, it is important for the Department to be aware of any matters that could affect a candidates credibility, particularly if they may be required to give evidence in court.

Civil Service Careers

The attached link will take you to the Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt website, which gives you further information about these roles. CFCD , Civil Service Careers

Webinar event

We will be holding a webinar event to let you know more about these roles. This will take place on Tuesday 15/09/2026 between 12 noon and 1pm. Please follow the link to register for the session.

478004 - Fraud Investigator Webinar

** 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.

Civil Service Careers

The attached link will take you to the Counter Fraud, Compliance and Debt website which gives you further information about these roles CFCD , Civil Service Careers.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 32,137, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 9,310 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 intelligence
Artificial 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 details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Ability and Experience.

**Please ensure you read the full information about the selection process thoroughly, before starting your application**.

The closing date for your full application (Application Form, Caseworker Skills Test, CV and Behavioural Statements) is 23:55 on Tuesday 22nd 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 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 23:55 on 22/09/2026 . 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.

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 12:00and 13:00 on 13/09/2026. 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.

Stage 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 statements. Your CV will be used to add context to your behavioural statements.

Stage 4 Behavioural Statements and Sift

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete examples of the Civil Service 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 will assess you against these behaviours during the selection process at Executive Officer Level 2.

• Making Effective decisions (Lead Behaviour)
• Working Together(Second lead Behaviour)
• Communicating & Influencing.

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 - Whatit was,How you approached the work/situation and what the Outcomeswere, what did youachieve? or
• STAR - What was theSituation? What were theTasks? WhatActiondid you take? What were the Results of your actions?

Youdonthave to explain the whole process, just whatyouhavedone and the skills and experienceyou haveused.

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.

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:

• Making Effective Decisions (Lead behaviour)
• Working Together (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 candidates to interview.For these reasons, the timeline is subject to change depending on the approach we take.

**If you fail to complete all stages before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn**

The sift is scheduled to be held from 28/09/2026 to 09/10/2026.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.

Stage 5 - Interview

If you pass the 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 at Aberdeen, Galashiels and Dunfermline, 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 16/11/2026 to 27/11/2026, 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 the Interview

The interview will take approximately 30 to 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 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 at Executive Officer Level 2. 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.

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 withdraw your application at any stage, it will not progress any 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 21/12/2026, however this may be subject to change. 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 pre-employment and security checks, which is likely to be during February/March 2027.

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that these vacancies are not currently eligible for new applications for Visa Sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, for any candidates who do not currently have permission to be in the UK as a Skilled Worker where they were sponsored before 4 April 2024, even if relying on tradeable points (including the new entrant tradeable points option) as they are not included in the published Immigration Salary List. This information is offered as guidance only, and we recommend that candidates 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.

Locations

The roles available will be based in the following locations subject to space availability at the time of posting:

• Ebury House, 12-14 Dee Street, Aberdeen, AB11 6DR.
• New Reiver House, High Street, Galashiels, TD1 1TD.
• Merchiston House, Foundry Street, Dunfermline, KY12 9DF.

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 working

This 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 pattern

Part-time, part-year, compressed-hours and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. Wewill do our best to let people with existing part-time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line withcurrent business needs. Please note that successful candidates with agreed alternative working patterns may be required to work full timefor 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 candidates within these business hours and review these asappropriate. 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, 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.

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 months 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 cases of serious ill health).
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.

Disability Confident Scheme

If 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 Adjustments

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 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 applicants' section.

Integrity, plagiarism and Civil Service Principles

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.

Examples of plagiarism can include:

- Presenting the work, ideas and experience 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 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]

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.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check will be carried out.

Important

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. 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

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful 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 requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

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 :

• Name : CFCD Recruitment Team
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

Appointment 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)