DWP Careers – Product Lead

About the job

Location

Birkenhead, Birmingham, Blackpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sheffield, York

Job Summary

About the job

Do you want to be part of an energetic, innovative team and bring your skills to one of the biggest changes to the administration of the Civil Service in decades? We’re looking for people who are flexible, intuitive and are comfortable taking high levels of volume, speed and complexity in their stride. A number of exciting new roles have come up in the newly formed Synergy Programme, a cross-departmental group formed in response to Government Business Service’s request for individual departments to group together in ‘clusters’ to drive efficiencies, increase buying power and improve the quality of shared service to our end users – our people.

The Synergy Programme is the largest of five departmental clusters, comprising the Ministry of Justice, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Home Office. The Department of Work and Pensions hosts the Synergy Programme. Your work will impact the procurement arrangements for the next 15 years, impacting over 50% of all Civil Servants – that’s 230,000 people across the four departments and arm’s length bodies.

Success of the Programme is crucial as Civil Servants rely on shared services to provide business critical tools in human resources, finance, payroll and procurement. It affects everything we do, from joining a department as a new starter, the way we claim for expenses, how we buy goods and services such as our laptops and canteen provisions, how we make a claim for our expenses, to the way we receive our pensions when we retire.

If you’re someone who can use your experience to streamline procurement to drive out error, waste and duplication we want to hear from you. But most importantly, we’re looking for applications from people who can also demonstrate a passion for our core ambition – delivering a once in a generation, transformed service that Civil Servants will use as a result of the Synergy Programme.

Job Description

The scope of the role covers the processes and systems that manage the key Source to Contract procurement and contract management services through to Purchase to Pay (P2P). You will work closely with the Finance Product Manager, who is responsible for P2P, to develop a seamless Source to Pay design which aligns with aims of Government Commercial Function (GCF) and Government Finance Function (GFF).

Key Tasks Include

• Develop and own the Synergy strategy for Software as a Service (SaaS) commercial product management from set-up through to go live and beyond. You will develop a common Synergy solution for ERP and BPS related aspects of commercial delivery.
• Develop and own a roadmap for the Synergy commercial product, ensuring Synergy maximises utility of the end-to-end commercial services and that they can be deployed safely into the four departments of Synergy. Working collaboratively and closely with teams within DWP, Home Office, MoJ, and Defra.
• Lead the Synergy Product team, acting as a Subject Matter Expert for the commercial function and working with HR and Finance product teams within Synergy and across government to align to ongoing continuous improvement programmes within departments.
• Ensuring plans and benefits are clear and new ways of working are embedded across the Synergy Programme in the commercial product space.

Person specification

Candidates Should Be Able To Demonstrate The Following

• Strong track record of successful leadership and delivery of large commercial projects, especially around source to contract and purchase to pay processes. (Lead Criteria)
• Expert knowledge of commercial systems such as procurement, P2P, and contract management.
• Strong ability to influence and negotiate with a wide network of senior stakeholders, including across government or with external providers.
• A good knowledge of product management and change management processes and procedures in a transformational environment.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a personal statement of no more than 1000 words. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a Large Number Of Applications Be Received, An Initial Sift May Be Conducted Using The Personal Statement, Paying Particular Attention To The Lead Criteria

• Strong track record of successful leadership and delivery of large commercial projects, especially around source to contract and purchase to pay processes.

Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

The interview will be conducted via MS teams.

At interview, we will select based on Behaviours. You may also be expected to deliver a short presentation, with further information being provided prior to interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

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

Security Information

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

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /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 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

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 applicant’s 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 you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

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. 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.

Reasonable Adjustment

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

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 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 you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete

Nationality Requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Working for the Civil Service

The

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s

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.

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction.

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 : Synergy Resourcing
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team :

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s 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