Social Researcher (SEO)

Job description

Job summary

DWP are recruitingexperiencedSocial Researchers(SEO)to fill key posts across a range of policy and businessareas over the next six months.

The roles will be based in one of our analytical hubs in the following locations Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield and Treforest.

Due to ongoing headcount restrictions, London is only available as a location option for existing DWP candidates who are already based in London.

All locations are subject to demand management approvals so we cannot guarantee a particular location.

For individuals based in Treforest, the ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

For candidates requesting to work in Sheffield Kings Court, please note these roles will initially be based at Kings Court and then move to 1 West Bar by early 2028. Similarly for candidates requesting to work in Sheffield Hartshead Square, please note these roles will initially be based at Hartshead Square and then move to 1 West Bar by early 2028.

For candidates requesting to work in Newcastle Benton Park View, please note these roles will initially be based at Benton Park View and then move to Newcastle Pilgrim Place by early 2028.

For candidates requesting to work in London Caxton House, please note these roles will initially be based at Caxton House and then move Sanctuary House by early 2028.

Successful candidates will be posted in merit order based on your location preferences, the geographical requirements of the business and business demands.

Successful internal DWP candidates (working already as badged analysts) should note that these roles may be outside your current business area and therefore you should only apply if you are content to potentially be placed in another part of the business.

Candidatesmustmeet the eligibility requirements set out in theEssential Qualificationssections of the candidate pack;which is either tobe a member of the GovernmentSocial Research(GSR) or have the required qualifications to become a member of this profession.

If you meet the eligibility requirements you should then provide evidence against the Essential Criteria listed in thePerson Specificationsection of this job advert.

Please note that if you are successful at interview, you must be able to start within 3 months of being offered a role.

Job description

DWP has an excellent reputation for ensuring its work is underpinned by robust evidenceand award-winning analysis. Analysts work flexibly, in multi-disciplinary, multi-site teams across theorganisation, embedded within policy, operational and wider analytical teams, to developDWPs evidence base and provide analysis that supports key decisions underpinningDepartmental policies and projects. The wealth of data we have access to isunprecedented and allows us to work in real time, quickly being able to see the outcome ofthose decisions.

DWPs Analytical Community (AC) has over900analysts madeup of Economists, Operational Researchers, Social Researchers, Statisticians, Data Scientists and Data Analysts. Analysts are grouped into23Lead Analyst areas, embedded across the Department. Our services are in high demand from ministers, senior leaders and policy and operational stakeholders. The DWP AC is an excellent place to work and being one of the largest in Government we can offer a wide variety of development,trainingandprogressionopportunities, making usa greatplacetogrowas an analyst. Many DWP analytical rolesare professionneutral, offering analysts access to a wide range of analytical roles.

Through this campaign, if you are not already a badged member of GSR you will become one.This means that as well as joining the community of analysts in DWP you will join acommunity of analysts working across many Government departments,agenciesand public bodies, playing a pivotal role in Government decision-making.

SeniorAnalyst Roles at DWP

We are recruiting for posts across a range of policy and business areas, more information on the types of analytical roles available at DWP can be found in the candidate pack.

Person specification

If you meet the eligibility requirements, then you will be asked to provide a 750-word personal statement as part of the application process. This statement should highlight your experience in line with the criteria below.

We are looking for applicants whoare able todemonstrateexperience against the following criteria:

• Proven analytical experience of applying relevant professional tools and techniques to solve complex problems and ensuring appropriate quality assurance of analysis. (Lead Experience Criterion).
• Proven experience of using and communicating analytical findings, context, caveats and limitations clearly and effectively to maximise the value and impact of analysis in decision making.
• Proven experience of proactive ownership and leading complex analytical projects, proactively engaging and building relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and balancing competing priorities to deliver high-quality outcomes.

If there are a high number of applications, the lead Experience Criterionwillbe used to conductaninitialsift and applications that do not meet theminimumrequirement for this criterion will not progress to a full sift.

In the event ofa large number ofcandidates meeting the pass standard at sift, we may take theoptionof only the strongest candidatesproceedingto interview. The remaining candidates will be longlisted and their applications onlyproceededif rolesremainunfilled.

Qualifications
In order to be eligible to apply for these posts you must either be: A current, permanent, badged member of the Government Social Research (GSR). OR Hold the qualifications to become a badged member of the Government Social Research (GSR). Full details of the qualifications required for candidates who are not already badged members of GSR listed are provided in the candidate pack. If successful in the recruitment exercise you will be badged into GSR. You must provide sufficient detail on the qualifications required and already hold the required qualifications, otherwise your application will not be sifted. If you are applying as a current, permanent, badged member then you must say yes to having the qualifications required and state this in the additional questions section of the application form. You may be asked to provide proof of membership and we will verify this in the recruitment process with the relevant Government professional body. If membership is not verified then you will be withdrawn immediately from the recruitment round.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 50,487, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 14,626 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 and Experience.

We will be holding an MS Teams information session to talk through the application process onTuesday 22Septemberat 16:00.Please contact us at [email protected] if you would like to join this live session. Recordings will not be available.

If you are an existing civil servant and want to know more about transferring to another department you should refer initially to your current departments guidance on transfers within the Civil Service and seek advice from your HR business partner. If you have further specific questions about transferring to DWP, you should contact the vacancy holder.

If you are already a member ofGovernmentSocial Research(GSR),please follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section andanswer yeson the membershipquestionwhen you complete your application form.

Please check you are eligible and follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section of the candidate pack when completing your application form.

Selectionwill be by asiftof the written application, followed by an interview for candidates who pass the sift stage.

After sift, if you are not currently a badged member of GSR you may also be required to complete further testing prior to, or at, interview. Full details will be provided to candidates where applicable.

Written Sift

The written sift will be conducted in two parts one to check qualifications (on your employment history and qualifications as listed on your CV) and one to check Essential Criteria evidence (on your personal statement).

If you are not an existing member of GSR and do not meet the eligibility requirements (the first stage of the sift), then your personal statement will not be sifted, and your application will be withdrawn at pre-sift stage.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

CV

The CV is an on-line tool accessed through Civil Service Jobs and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV. It is made up of several boxes on the application form and should be short.Your CV will be used to check eligibility on qualifications and to outline your employment history.

Please make sure that you fully complete the qualifications and employment history section in the application form.We do not require qualifications below degree level to be listed.

For non-badged candidates, applicationssubmittedwithout key details like: degree studied, grades and credits or without sufficient detail of relevant modules will be discounted.Failure to provide this information clearly will result in your application being sifted out of the process.

The CV (qualifications and employment history sections) should be used to detail the information required on qualifications and relevant experience if applicable and the main content of your evidence against the Essential Criteria should be put in your personal statement.

Personal Statement

When completing your personal statement, please read and understand the three essential criteria listed in the person specification section thoroughly as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against.

Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You need to provide evidence against allthreeEssentialCriteriaas you will be scored against each one separately. You may choose to address eachcriterionseparately,however, one narrative example may cover and evidencethree EssentialCriteria. Youdonthave to explain thewhole process, just what you have done and the skills, experience you have used.

If you are interested in applying to these roles as a job share then please submit separate applications and, if there is an existing partnership, make it clear in the separate question about the route under which you are applying (i.e. as either a badged member or holding the required qualifications) that you would like to be considered as a job share (do not provide any names). Once sifting has beencompleted ifyou are invited tointerview,we will contact you directly about assessment arrangements.

Please do not use excessive forward slash (/), backslash (\) or dashes (-) in your personal statement. By excessive, we mean hyphenating words that are not normally hyphenated, using slashes between many words or formatting slashes in white font so theycantimmediatelybe seen. Any applications that do this will not be sifted or the form will be amended to remove the excess slashes and then anything after the750 wordcount will be ignored.

Badging Exercises

If you are not currently a badged member of GSR then you will be required to complete additional testing.

Full details of this testing will be provided to candidates who reach the relevant stage in the recruitment process.

Candidates who are required to sit badging exercises and do not meet the required standard will be withdrawn from the recruitment process.

Candidates will be asked if they require any reasonable adjustments for any additional testing.

Interview

Information on the interview process will be provided to candidates who reach that stage of the recruitment.

Further details

Near miss candidates

Candidates who achieve a high score but do not meet the required standard for appointment at Senior Executive Officer (SEO) level may be offered a position at Higher Executive Officer (HEO) level instead.

Offers will be made in line with business requirements and may be on a permanent or fixed-term basis.

Sift and interview dates:

Closing date for applications: 29 September 2026 at 23:55

Sift: Approximately 8 October 2026 - 23 October 2026

Interviews: Approximately 16 November 2026 - 18 December 2026

Results notified: Approximately week commencing 11 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 12 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 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]

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 : Laurence Wynne
• Email : [email protected]
• Telephone : 07935970201

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 Candidate Pack SEO SR FINAL Opens in new window (pdf, 409kB) DWP Candidate Pack SEO SR FINAL Opens in new window (docx, 261kB) 479293 CPW - Social Researcher Opens in new window (pdf, 480kB)