The SEO Senior Design Leads main responsibilities are to lead and manage process improvements to both CMS business and system (I.T.) processes. Senior Design Leads will be required to deliver at pace, analysing as-is processes and complex data sets to identify opportunities to optimise business processes and performance. They will be accountable/responsible for: Producing actionable recommendations using their strong analysis skills, presenting their findings to stakeholders with confidence. Visible and effective leadership, mentoring and providing guidance to junior business analysts, fostering their professional growth and development. Engaging effectively and leading the collaboration between multi-disciplinary teams to drive innovation and service improvements. Collaborate closely with digital colleagues to support sprint planning activities, including development and testing of changes. Planning, development and management of all business requirement gathering activities including the creation of user stories. Communicating progress, issues and recommended resolutions to various forums and governance boards. Accountable for the management of performance within their team, identifying potential risks to achievement and driving forward continuous improvement. Act as a liaison between operational teams and technical teams to ensure alignment and successful delivery of changes. Identifying gaps in training/learning products, and working with the L&D community to improve/develop. Ensure all security matters are dealt with promptly and sensitively, in line with DWP policies and procedures. Line management of 1 or 2 HEOs may be required. Person specification Essential Criteria Your evidence will be assessed against the following essential criteria. You must ensure you provide specific examples to demonstrate these criteria in your personal statement: Excellent Analytical Skills Proven experience of critically analysing products, processes and management information, using proven application of best practices and methodologies, to draw conclusions and identify opportunities for improvements aligned to strategic objectives. (Lead Criteria) Leadership Proven ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams to deliver far reaching, transformative and impactful improvements. Capable of working through complex challenges, motivating and co-ordinating across teams to ensure timely delivery. Strong Communicator Adept at delivering complex analysis and recommendations with clarity and confidence to a variety of audiences including senior stakeholders and governance forums. Skilled in influencing decision making through persuasive arguments and well-supported recommendations. Adaptable and Agile Can respond to shifting priorities and balancing multiple change initiatives simultaneously, meeting challenging deadlines whilst maintaining quality. User and Customer Centric Mindset Strong commitment to enhancing service delivery for our Customers, focusing on process and improvements that achieves getting more money to children whilst maximising taxpayer value. Stakeholder Engagement Experience in building and maintaining strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, promoting a collaborative working environment that drives successful outcomes. Planning and Organisation Proficient in managing significant change initiatives with complex requirements, ensuring structured planning, prioritisation and resource allocation to meet objectives within tight timescales. Business Analysis Certification BCS Diploma in Business Analysis (or actively working towards it). Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Changing and Improving Making Effective Decisions Leadership Delivering at Pace Benefits Alongside your salary of 42,614, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 12,345 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. CMS is committed to the Wellbeing of all colleagues, support includes Wellbeing conversations, dedicated Wellbeing Advocates in each Service Centre to develop and deliver health and wellbeing initiatives and Hotel CMS, our own Intranet site offering a wealth of information, guidance and support. We Value Everybody is one of our five Core Values here in CMS. We have active National Network Groups for Race, Disability, Carers, Wellbeing, Faith & Belief and Age. Our monthly People Group meeting draws these groups together to listen, act, and update CMS Directors with our plans. CMS Colleagues have the opportunity to join HASSRA, a vibrant and successful organisation that provides a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly). It also has an important part to play in helping us achieve a healthy work-life balance and wellbeing in the workplace. Working hours - The contracted working hours for the Department are 07:45 hours to 20:00 hours, Monday to Friday, and 08:45 hours to 17:00 hours on Saturday. Employees are contracted to work a specific number of hours per week within the above times. Employees will be required to work the number of hours per week for which they are contracted. For example, for full time employees this will be 37 hours net (42 hours gross including meal breaks). For part-time employees it will be less. Access to flexible working hours scheme will be available. Please refer to the candidate pack for further information contained in this section of the advert and more information in relation to the Benefits of working for DWP. Location Applicants should apply for suitable posts where they can travel to and from their home office location daily within a reasonable time. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Relocation costs will not be reimbursed. Hybrid Working This job 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. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working, including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you, will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post. Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. Stage 1: Application & Sift As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and personal statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. The CV is an on-line tool, there is no requirement to upload your personal CV. When giving details of your employment history, you should include details of work you have completed and projects you have been involved in. However the CV is not scored so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your Personal Statement. Due to the DWPs use of anonymised recruitment practices it is not possible for applicants to upload/attach a CV; any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form. When entering information relating to your employment history you will be asked to remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This relates to name and contact details which might usually appear on your CV/Personal statement. Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn. Use your 1250 word Personal Statement to describe how you meet the Essential Criteria as detailed in the person specification section of the job advert. Your Personal Statement should contain no more than 1250 words. The layout is entirely your choice, you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criterion separately; however, one narrative example may cover and evidence several of the criteria. Please share with us what makes you suited to this role. We would like to find out what you can do, the skills you hold and the life experience or passion that you have that could be aligned to the criteria listed within the Person Specification. Sift The sift panel will use the information in your Personal Statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge against the essential Criteria outlined in the advert. Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Lead Criteria: 'Excellent Analytical Skills Proven experience of critically analysing products, processes and management information, using proven application of best practices and methodologies, to draw conclusions and identify opportunities for improvements aligned to strategic objectives' Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.For this reason, the timeline for the interview window is subject to change depending on the approach we choose to take. Stage 2: Interview Unless you are otherwise informed, the final stage of the process will be a blended interview via Microsoft Teams. The Behaviours you will be assessed against at interview are: Changing and Improving Making Effective Decisions Leadership Delivering at Pace All elements of the interview will be via video link, and the whole process should take approximately 30 - 40 minutes. To help you prepare and settle into the interview you will be sent the behaviour questions in advance of the interview. These questions should be treated as confidential and should not be shared. The interview panel may ask you other questions which will not be shared in advance, including follow-up questions, and those about your experience, abilities and strengths. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation at interview, offering a more inclusive approach. The Strength and Behaviour based questioning explores what the candidate can and has done, but also their potential. Please refer to the Candidate Pack for further information. Approximate sift and interview dates: Sift Period: 12 - 18 December 2024. Interviews: 6 - 10 January 2025. Sift and Interview dates are subject to change. Further Information Find out more about Working for DWP A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made. Any move to DWPfrom 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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk 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 Pre-EmploymentChecks.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk 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 Infodisclosurescotland.co.uk New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band. 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. 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. 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. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action. 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 DWPRecruitment.grscabinetoffice.gov.uk 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. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a 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) .