Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Universal Credit Work Coach - North Scotland
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Kirkwall, Lerwick
Job Summary
This campaign has 2 roles available, 1 in Kirkwall Jobcentre & 1 in Lerwick Jobcentre. Work Coaches are office-based roles where you will need to attend in person every working day so please consider this fully when applying. Candidates who are made an offer for any of the locations they have expressed a preference for and decline or are unable to take up post within a reasonable timeframe will be withdrawn from the campaign.
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 applicants seek specialist advice on their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship (if applicable) when considering whether to apply for any role.
About The Job
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. We are the UK's biggest public service department and administer the State Pension and a range of working age, disability and ill health benefits to around 20 million claimants and customers.
DWP is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and we aspire to being the most inclusive employer in the United Kingdom.
The Work Coach role is rewarding, varied and complex and no two days will be the same as you will be dealing with different customers face to face and their specific support needs each day.
If you’re looking for a career that makes a clear and positive difference to people’s lives, then a DWP Executive Officer role may be ideal for you!
Job Description
About us - Department for Work and Pensions GOV.UK
As a Work Coach you hold a vital role in the Department, helping individuals and their families towards financial independence through work and enabling them to claim the support they need as they progress.
Work Coaches are customer-focused, dedicated individuals and able to deliver exceptional service with empathy and compassion to people who need their support.
As a Work Coach, you will use sound judgement to help people through some difficult, challenging times in their lives, and your tailored coaching can make a huge difference to their ability to find, stay in, and progress in a job.
If you're looking for a job that makes a clear difference to people's lives, a Work Coach role in DWP could be just what you are looking for.
Key Accountabilities
The Work Coach Role Is Wide-ranging And Diverse. You Will Be Working With Customers, Employers And Colleagues Through a Combination Of Face To Face, Digital And Telephone Contact On a Daily Basis. Some Of The Main Activities Are Set Out Below:
- Providing support to customers claiming Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Jobseekers Allowance and Income Support.
- Offering quality advice to customers about job search actions, supporting them to job search effectively in a largely digital world, and matching to suitable vacancies.
- Meeting your legal duty to comply with the Equality Act 2010 and making sure your customers get the additional support and advice to help them access our services.
- Building positive relationships with customers that encourages, motivates, and builds trust.
- Developing an in-depth knowledge of local employment opportunities and the support our service partners offer.
- Making timely decisions, based on customer needs, and referring them to appropriate help and support.
- Be accountable for performance and management of your caseload.
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Person Specification
Key Criteria:
What we are looking for:
- Effective communication skills both verbally and in writing to a wide range of diverse customers.
- The ability to understand complex information and give clear explanations to the customer.
- You will be able to coach customers to improve their movement in to work.
- You must be able to navigate a range of computer systems to action tasks as well as coach customers to be confident using digital work search tools.
- You’ll also have the ability to manage difficult situations where required in a calm and professional manner.
Requirements That All Applicants Must Meet:
- You must be able to work on site, in person, in the Jobcentre location you are posted to.
- You must be able to work with customers face to face. Telephony and digital contact will also be an essential requirement.
- You must be able to work in a fast paced, busy environment as part of a team and independently.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Managing a Quality Service
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
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 (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
- Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
- Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
- Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
- Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
- An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.
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.
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Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Selection will be by an on-line assessment, written sift, followed by a virtual interview held on MS Teams.
Application
Initially you will be asked if you have the right to work in the UK and meet Civil Service nationality requirements and your personal details. (if you are successful after interview you will be asked to provide documentation to prove this. This will include proof of ID, including photo ID or equivalent biometric passport/share code and proof of address).
On-Line Assessment
After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service 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 07/10/2026 . 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.
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 16:00 and 12:00 on 27/09/2026. 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.
Written Sift
Written Sift – If You Pass The Civil Service Judgement Test You Will Be Invited To Complete Your Application By Submitting One Personal Statement Of 500 Words. Your Statement Will Be Assessed Against The Key Criteria In The Advert And Should Demonstrate Your Ability To Manage a Quality Service At Executive Officer (Level 2 - EO) Level by Answering The Following Question:
Tell me about a time when you have taken steps to improve a service whilst taking account of diverse customer needs?
You may provide evidence taken from a work situation or somewhere else, such as work experience, volunteering, in connection with a hobby. You should choose examples that enable you to describe specific things you did and clearly demonstrate the behaviour.
Interview
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a virtual interview held on MS Teams. The panel will be a minimum of two people. The interview will assess behaviours.
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
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
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