Senior Leader - Functional Lead Team

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) helps people lift themselves out of poverty and stay out of poverty through work, saving, and support. As part of the Counter Fraud and Compliance Directorate (CFCD), you will be at the heart of DWP's front-line operations, helping to change people's lives and supporting CFCD's purpose of fighting fraud in the welfare system.

As the Functional Lead Team, you will be personally accountable for the strategic direction, professional standards, governance, and assurance of decision-making. Acting as the recognised subject matter expert, you will provide visible leadership across organisational boundaries, ensure that significant risks and performance issues are escalated and addressed, and support the delivery of high-quality, evidence-based outcomes for customers.

Responsibilities:

• Set the strategic direction and improvement priorities for the decision-making function, translating departmental objectives into a clear and measurable delivery plan.
• Own functional standards and drive measurable improvements in decision-making accuracy, timeliness, productivity, consistency, rework, and customer outcomes.
• Be at the forefront of overseeing business change; leading others through the implementation and embedding of new policies and procedures.
• Establish and monitor a clear performance framework, using agreed baselines, milestones, and indicators to evidence impact and hold delivery areas to account.
• Use operational data, quality findings, and customer insight to identify systemic risks, target interventions, and track benefits through to delivery.
• Provide authoritative advice to senior leaders and key stakeholders, clearly setting out options, impacts, dependencies, and recommendations.
• Be accountable for governance, assurance, and the effective escalation and resolution of complex or high-risk decision-making issues.
• Lead through a nationally distributed network of operational leaders and subject matter experts, building capability, fostering innovation, and embedding best practice at scale.

Person Specification:

• Demonstrates strong leadership and influencing skills, with experience of delivering outcomes through senior leaders and geographically dispersed teams.
• Has experience of leading in a counter-fraud operational area or an alternative large and complex operational environment.
• Can demonstrate personal accountability for setting direction and delivering measurable improvements across multiple teams, sites, or business areas.
• Can interpret complex legislation, policy, and evidence and translate these into clear professional standards and operational expectations.
• Uses data and insight to establish baselines, set performance measures, prioritise activity, and demonstrate sustained impact.
• Builds effective relationships, manages organisational risk, and confidently challenges or holds stakeholders to account.
• Has extensive knowledge of leadership and developing people and teams to deliver through effective coaching and mentoring.
• Thrives in a fast-paced environment and can lead complex change from design through to implementation and benefits realisation.

Benefits:

• Salary of £58,961 - £69,399 per year
• Contribution of £17,081 towards being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme
• Working patterns to support work-life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time, and compressed hours
• Generous annual leave – at least 25 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 Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling
• 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