Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Child Maintenance Service - Head of Service for Enforcement
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Job Locations
Parklands, Callendar Business Park, Falkirk, FK1 1XT
Pedmore House, Waterfront East, Level Street, Dudley, DY5 1XA
Crown Building, 60 Wellington Street, Leicester, LE1 6DS
Benton Park View, Benton Park Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE7 7NE
Lacuna Place, Havelock Road, Hastings, TN34 1BG
Great Western House, Woodside Ferry Approach, Birkenhead, CH41 6DA
Clearbrook House, Bickleigh Down Business Park, Plymouth, PL6 7TN
Please note that for candidates requesting to work in Newcastle, this role is based at Benton Park View and will relocate to 1 Pilgrim Place in Newcastle city centre by the end of 2027.
Job Summary
As the UK government’s largest public service provider, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policies.
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) supports parents who are unable to reach a private financial agreement by ensuring - and when necessary, enforcing - their legal responsibility to contribute to their child’s living costs. Our mission is simple: to get money to children, because it makes a real difference in their lives.
While we’ve made significant progress in transforming our service, we remain ambitious about what more we can achieve for the families who rely on us. CMS is a dynamic and rewarding place to work. Step into any of our service centres and you’ll find passionate, dedicated professionals committed to supporting our customers.
We are proud to foster an inclusive and diverse workforce where everyone can thrive. If you're looking to make a difference, this could be the career for you.
This is a fantastic opportunity to start or grow a fulfilling career in the Civil Service. We offer a flexible work-life balance, along with opportunities for growth, challenge, and personal development.
Job Description
This is an exciting time to be joining CMS as we continue with our ambitious programme of service modernisation. As Head of Service for Enforcement, you will have a critical role in providing strategic leadership with accountability for all aspects of service delivery, people plans and embedding significant change including digitalisation and demand deduction.
The successful candidate will be responsible for the following key tasks:
- Lead and inspire a team of up to 1,000 colleagues across several locations through the direct management of Senior Operational Leaders (Grade 7).
- In a complex and fast paced environment, lead workforce planning, resource deployment, capability development and performance management to ensure high-quality services and achieve operational targets.
- Lead your teams through a period of significant change.
- Be influential in shaping the strategic direction of the Child Maintenance Service, communicating our vision and priorities clearly to colleagues through the CMS Story.
- Support digital transformation, improve efficiency and customer outcomes, and help design and implement a new operating model that supports the DWP 2030 Strategy.
- Through visible leadership you will build an engaged, inclusive and high-performing culture.
- Support and develop colleagues, encourage continuous improvement and lead teams effectively across multiple locations and remote working environments.
- This role supports teams across the UK. You will be expected to travel frequently and stay overnight.
- You will be accountable for the Enforcement service and will develop your expertise in this area.
- Over time, you will use your knowledge to respond to enquiries from ministers, Members of Parliament, customer representation groups and Freedom of Information requests.
- The role includes management of outsourced partnerships with external suppliers.
- You will also have responsibility for the Financial Investigations Unit, CMS’s first line of defence against mis-representation of income and fraud.
- You will set expectations and role model best practice cutting across the Operational Delivery, Debt and Counter-Fraud professions.
- You will report to the Deputy Director and be a member of the Senior Leadership Team.
- You will work closely with other senior leaders across CMS and DWP, including colleagues in Policy, Digital, Service Delivery Optimisation and Human Resources.
- You may also take on responsibility for supporting one of our Service Centres.
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Person Specification
Your personal statement will be assessed against the following essential criteria. Please ensure you provide specific, evidence-based examples that clearly demonstrate how you meet each one.
Candidates Should Be Able To Demonstrate
- A strong track record of leading and inspiring large teams, typically 150 or more colleagues, across multiple locations in a service centre (multi-channel) environment. You will deliver strong performance outcomes and create excellent customer experiences timeously and accurately, while demonstrating resilience. (Lead Criterion)
- Ability to use Management Information (MI) and other data to identify trends, risks and areas for improvement, and take action to improve performance.
- Excellent communication skills with proven experience and ability to influence and motivate people at all levels. You can communicate clearly and confidently to a high standard with ministers, senior leaders and colleagues.
- Experience of building effective relationships with a wide range of stakeholders, including with ministers, senior leaders, colleagues, trade union, policy, digital, human resources and external customer representation groups to enable successful outcomes.
- Experience of leading major change programmes, including improving digital services and achieving better outcomes for customers. You can inspire colleagues, encourage innovation and build commitment to organisational priorities and the DWP 2030 Strategy.
- A passion for building high performing teams and creating an inclusive workplace. You actively promote equality, diversity, and inclusion and create a learning culture that provides opportunities for all.
Desirable Criteria
- Experience of leading legal enforcement operations, including engagement with courts, debt enforcement agents, financial and fraud related investigations.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Managing a Quality Service
- Changing and Improving
- Making Effective Decisions
Salary and Benefits
- Alongside your salary of £75,026, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £21,735 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).
- New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
- Working for DWP will include benefits such as learning and development tailored to your role, an environment with flexible working options, a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
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Working Conditions
- Annual Leave: 23 days annual leave rising with service to 30 days, plus public holidays.
- Flexi Time: Access to flexible working hours scheme will be available.
- 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.
Working Hours
The Department’s Contracted Working Hours Are
- Monday to Friday: 07:45 to 20:00
- Saturday: 08:45 to 17:00
Employees are contracted to work a set number of hours per week within these timeframes.
- For full-time employees, this is 37 net hours per week (equivalent to 42 gross hours, including meal breaks).
- For part-time employees, the number of hours will be proportionally less, based on their contract.
Employees are expected to work the full number of hours for which they are contracted.
Application Process
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Eligibility
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.
Location
Applicants should only apply for roles where they can reasonably commute to and from their selected home office location daily.
Selection process details
As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a CV and 1250-word Personal Statement.
Important Information Regarding Anonymisation
When completing your application form, CV and personal statement you must remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This includes name and contact details which might usually appear on a CV or personal statement.
Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.
Personal Statement
Write an evidence-based statement demonstrating your suitability for the role, reflecting on the essential criteria outlined in the Job Description.
Your evidence-based statement should be no longer than 1250 words. Avoid generalised claims – focus instead on specific examples that highlight your achievements. For each example, explain the context, the challenges you faced, the actions you took, and the outcomes you achieved.
Sift
The sift panel will assess your evidence-based statement to evaluate your experience, skills, and knowledge against the essential criteria outlined in the job advert. To progress to the next stage of the application process, you must provide clear and sufficient evidence demonstrating how you meet these criteria.
If we receive a high volume of applications, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criterion:
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