Child Maintenance Service - Apprentice Telephony Caseworker

Job summary

The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). We help parents who are unable to make private financial agreements in support of their child(ren)’s living costs. Our mission is to ‘get money to children’ because it makes a real difference to children’s lives.

CMS are committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workforce where everybody can thrive. If you want to make a difference to the lives of others and be part of the UK’s largest public services Department, then this could be the career for you.

In the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) you will have the opportunity to continually learn and work with a great team.

We are here to support you with your learning and self-development throughout the apprenticeship and beyond. You will grow your skills and experience through working with more experienced colleagues and through the support of other people in the Operational Delivery Profession (ODP).

This is an exciting opportunity to earn as you learn and gain practical experience while you study towards achieving a Level 3 Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship. You’ll receive formal learning to develop crucial skills, knowledge and behaviours for your career and be part of a great team.

Take a look at the DWP you tube channel to find out more https://youtu.be/DwG6S1XQy2Y

Job description

This is a telephony focused Customer Service Specialist Apprenticeship role at the heart of our busy Service Centre. As a valued member of a supportive and welcoming team, you will play a key part in delivering excellent customer service primarily through inbound and outbound telephone contact. The role is fast paced, rewarding, and central to supporting parents and families across the UK.

While you will occasionally support customers digitally, the core and essential requirement of this role is telephony work. This involves spending the majority of your working day handling telephone calls while using a headset, managing conversations professionally, and resolving customer queries in real time. There are no alternative non-telephony deployment options within this role.

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace and will consider workplace adjustments to support colleagues to deliver all aspects of the telephony role.

Key Responsibilities:

• Make and receive a high volume of telephone calls in a contact centre environment while wearing a headset, providing clear, accurate and compassionate support to customers.
• Address a wide range of telephony queries, completing any follow‑up actions and escalating cases appropriately, often managing multiple tasks at once.
• Handle sensitive or challenging conversations with professionalism, resilience and empathy.
• Support online customers digitally when required (these are secondary to telephony responsibilities).
• Manage your own caseload, balancing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Provide high-quality customer service, ensuring information given is accurate, timely and easy to understand.
• Gather information from various sources to make accurate calculations and decisions regarding liability to pay child maintenance, inputting information precisely into internal IT systems.
• Negotiate child maintenance arrangements and payment plans in line with legislation and guidance.
• Secure payments and clearly explain the consequences of non-payment.
• Take appropriate enforcement actions where required.

Supporting Candidates Live Events

We’ll be hosting a series of webinar sessions led by CMS leaders, Caseworkers and an Apprentice Specialist, who will share insights into the Caseworker role, their personal experiences with training and support, and the benefits of working as a civil servant.

While attendance is optional, these sessions are a great opportunity to learn more about the vacancy and what it’s like to work at CMS. Each session will last approximately 60 minutes, take place via Microsoft Teams, and include a short segment where you can ask questions.

If you would like to join the event, please click on the link below and complete your details to register interest. You will then be automatically enrolled onto the webinar and can access the event on the day via the link sent to your email address.

Friday 16 October 2026 at 12 pm

Wednesday 21 October 2026 at 4 pm

Person specification

What are we looking for?

• People with strong verbal and written skills, who can communicate well with customers via telephone (wearing a headset). Providing detailed information succinctly so it is clear to understand.

• People who are resilient and can remain calm in challenging situations. Sometimes difficult conversations on the telephone with our customers are needed, and we need you to be able to successfully resolve queries in what can be difficult and sensitive situations.
• People who are committed to delivering a high-standard customer experience, ensuring every customer received accurate information and respectful, professional support.
• People who are self-motivated, well organised, and able to use their own initiative to balance and prioritise a variety of tasks.
• People who can gather and understand sometimes complex information, using guidance and legislation to make decisions
• Digitally competent people who can navigate multiple IT systems

Important:

During the initial 11 weeks of your employment, you will be required to undertake fulltime, 100% office-based training. This training is mandatory and non-negotiable.

This training is essential to ensure you gain the knowledge, confidence, and capability needed to support the CMS in delivering high-quality customer experience and service for the families who rely on us.

After completing the 11-week training period, there will be a further 3 month office-based consolidation phase to embed your learning and ensure service quality standards are met.

Attendance throughout both phases is compulsory, and individuals must be fully committed to completing the training and attending the office as required.

Hybrid working options will only be considered once both phases have been successfully completed.

Essential Criteria

• Excellent communication skills
  (The ability to effectively communicate in English, both verbally and in writing)
• Exceptional customer service skills
  (The ability to resolve customer queries in what can sometimes be a sensitive or challenging environment)
• Effective decision-making skills
  (The ability to gather and understand complex information to make informed decisions based on evidence)

Your personal statement will be assessed against these criteria. Please ensure you provide specific, evidence-based examples that clearly demonstrate how you meet each one. If you don't have work-related experience, you can use examples from school, college, clubs, volunteering or other activities.

Level 3 Customer Service Apprenticeship

It is a condition of your appointment that you undertake and complete a work-based apprenticeship whilst carrying out your role. Your apprenticeship will commence following your appointment and will end when you successfully achieve your apprenticeship standard. Details of the apprenticeship standard that you are working towards can be found in your apprenticeship agreement which sets out further information about the apprenticeship programme and its requirements.

This is an apprenticeship under the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. Therefore, it is a contract of service and not a contract of apprenticeship and you will be treated at all times and for all purposes as an employee of the Crown.

Your apprenticeship is tied to the post stated in Job Title section above, and you will normally be expected to stay in that post for the duration of the apprenticeship. If, you move to a different post during the apprenticeship, and you are unable to transfer the apprenticeship scheme to the new role, you will have to leave the apprenticeship scheme and will not be able to work towards the relevant qualification.

Accepting an apprenticeship requires you to maintain adequate attendance, to conduct yourself in a suitable manner and to apply yourself to all work and study required to maintain satisfactory progress.

The practical apprenticeship learning period will be as specified in your apprenticeship agreement - there is a minimum duration expected as per the apprenticeship standard you are completing. You must spend a proportion of your time on "off-the-job training" which is formal training and study to support you to develop the necessary skills and knowledge for the apprenticeship. This will take place during normal working hours. Your remaining working time will be spent learning on the job in your day-to-day role.

It is a condition of your employment that you will attend as required and work hard to succeed in all aspects of your apprenticeship. Your aim will be to successfully meet the requirements of your syllabus and maintain a body of evidence to support any claims for completion.

Your employment will continue beyond the completion of the apprenticeship, until brought to an end by notice or otherwise. Failure to undertake, complete or pass the necessary assessments within the scheduled completion time for the apprenticeship or for any phase may lead to the termination of your contract of employment.

Before applying for this role please refer to the Candidate Pack attached to this advert for more important information regarding Learning Requirements and Eligibility Criteria. Failure to meet any of the eligibility criteria listed in the Candidate Pack or not listing your qualifications may result in you being withdrawn.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service
• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,866, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £8,072 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.

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

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.

Hybrid working will only be considered after you have successfully completed both the full training period and the 3-month consolidation phase. Office attendance during these phases is mandatory and non-negotiable.

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.

See the Candidate Pack for more of the benefits available to as a Civil Servant.

Things you need to know

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.

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 these vacancies are not currently eligible for Visa Sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, 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.

Location

Applicants should only apply for roles where they can reasonably commute to and from their home office location daily.

How To Apply

As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a 500-word Personal Statement.

Important Information Regarding Anonymisation​

When completing your application form 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 personal statement.

Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.

Civil Service Numerical Test and Civil Service Customer Service Test

As part of the application process you will be required to complete two tests; The Civil Service Numerical Test measures general mental ability i.e. ability to perform calculations, and evaluate and interpret numerical information to solve problems. The second test is the Civil Service Customer Service Test and assesses your skills and abilities in relation to customer service roles, and provides a realistic preview of what is typically involved in such roles in the Civil Service.

You do not need any knowledge or experience specific to DWP to be able to complete the tests, nor do you need any specific knowledge or experience.

Tests are not timed, however most people take between 15 and 45 minutes to complete each one. Your final score will not be affected by how long you take.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for applications and completed tests is 23:55 on 26 October 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.

Online Test Maintence

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 on Sunday 25th October 2026 between Midday and 1pm. 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.

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 500 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.

Interview

The interview will assess your behaviours and strengths.

For the purposes of the selection process, the Lead Behaviour will be Communicating and Influencing.

Your interview will be conducted by video (MS Teams).

See the Personal Statement Guidance and Candidate Pack attachments for full details of the application and selection process.

Approximate campaign timeline:

Sift Period: 27 - 28 October 2026

Interviews: 25 November - 4 December 2026

Results/Offers: 9 December 2026

Security & ID Checks: December 2026 - February 2027

Start Dates: March 2027

Sometimes we might decide to invite all candidates straight to interview without assessing the written application evidence, therefore sift and interview dates are subject to change.

Provisional Offer of Employment

If you are issued a provisional offer of employment, please be aware that the pre‑employment checking process may take up to 8 weeks for external candidates. To help this stage progress as smoothly and quickly as possible, you may find it useful to prepare the required documents in advance. Further details on the documents needed can be found in the pre‑employment checks section of the Candidate Pack.

In some cases, a conditional offer may be made. This means you could begin your role before all checks are completed. However, if any of the outstanding checks are unsuccessful, your employment may be terminated.

Who can start an apprenticeship

To start an apprenticeship, you’ll need to be:

• 16 or over
• living in England
• not in full-time education

You can apply for an apprenticeship while you’re still at school but you’ll need to be 16 or over by the end of the summer holidays to start the apprenticeship. Please note if successful you must be 16 or over to undergo the relevant security checks.

DWP takes development seriously. Our aim is for our colleagues in these roles to be appropriately skilled and qualified – as determined by the business. To support this aim you may be required to undertake a work based qualification, which may be in the form of an apprenticeship, which will support you in further developing your professional knowledge and skills for this role and your future career development. The qualification can be undertaken in work time, you agree to take this job on the basis that you may be required to undertake a work based qualification; a candidate’s failure to participate fully in the professional programme, once appointed, may be a breach of their employment contract.

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

A reserve list may be held for a period of 3 months from which further appointments can be made.

If you are placed on a reserve list but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:

• If you are later offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. a contractual Part Time Working Pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered or in cases of serious ill health).
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.

Disability Confident Scheme

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

Reasonable Adjustments

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 the Government Recruitment Service via DWPRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.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 you’re 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.

Integrity, plagiarism and Civil Service Principles

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.

Examples of plagiarism can include:

- Presenting the work, ideas and experience of others as your own

- Copying content or answers from an online or published source that is not your own

Disclosure and Barring Service and Internal Fraud Database Checks

To process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or 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.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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 successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check will be carried out.

Important

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

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. If you are a current employee and are successful you must be able to be released from your current post within four weeks.

Those on protected TUPE/ COSoP terms and conditions applying on promotion or voluntary permanent level move will adopt DWP’s Terms and Conditions and this may have a different impact on pay and allowances. Please review this prior to acceptance of a role.

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. Accepting a post will be taken to mean acceptance of revised terms & conditions.

Civil Servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or within 10% of existing salary.

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 the Childcare Choices Website.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Birkenhead Recruitment Team
• Email :