Covert Surveillance Officers – London

Job summary

As part of the Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) response to tackling fraud within the welfare system, the Department utilise covert surveillance to gather evidence to prove/disprove offences.

This is an opportunity to join our team of highly trained, dedicated Covert Surveillance Officers in this challenging but highly rewarding role. This is not a normal office hours role. It will require you to work unsociable hours (early start and late finishes) including some weekend work alongside a good level of fitness.

Job description

As a CFCD Covert Surveillance Officer you will:

• Lead in taking forward tasking requests. Ensuring all surveillance activity provides value for money, is compliant with legal requirements, such as Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, The Police Act 1997 & Criminal Procedures and Investigations Act 1996, and in accordance Investigatory Powers Commissioner’s Office recommendations as well as Departmental requirements.
• On occasions lead the activities of the Surveillance Team, as an OIC (Officer in Charge), providing direction to the team as the dynamic and evolving circumstances demand and to achieve the operational objectives.
• Undertake Risk assessments.
• Produce evidential packages to a high standard that are professional and accurate. Including, writing/obtaining witness statements to evidence witnessed activities, exhibit evidence obtained, including editing and compiling video/audio evidence and to account for the continuity of exhibits including preparing disclosure schedules in accordance with legislation.
• Ensure you adhere strictly to the DWP’s surveillance standards, and general instructions set out in the Fraud Procedures / Instructions Manual, and other user manuals and follow the processes to ensure people comply with the legal and policy requirements.
• Undertake and successfully complete a demanding suite of learning events to support you in undertaking this role. Included are several critical events in required to undertake these duties. These events are assessed and successful completion is required for this role. Please also note some of these events may be residential.
• Promote professional standards at all times.
• As required, appear as a witness in court.
• Actively participate in surveillance operations, often requiring regular attendance in unsocial hours and travel. Some overnight stays may also be required.

Person specification

Key criteria

What we are looking for in our Covert Surveillance Officers?

• A confident, inspirational, driven leader. Able to take charge of situations and provide direction to the team to achieve results.
• Able to work effectively as part of a team. Fostering an environment of inclusivity and respect. Be proactive in developing and maintaining positive and professional working relationships with a variety of people and organisations.
• Must be flexible as you may be required to deploy at short notice. This may involve working unsocial hours and may on occasion require you to stay away from home.
• The role requires a good level of fitness. Officers need to be able to walk significant distances at varying paces and for prolonged periods.
• The role requires good vision/observational skills. Officers are required to observe activities and describe these as they happen whilst also remembering details in environments where it may be difficult to make notes.
• The role requires a good level of hearing. Officers are required to wear covert audio equipment as well as take verbal information/instruction from multiple sources.
• Able to interpret and work within set rules and processes in an ever-changing environment.
• Able to make effective decisions in a pressurised environment with a focus on value for money.
• A focus on customer service. Ability to place the customer at the heart of all we do.

Licences

• Candidates must hold a current full driving licence for manual vehicles. Officers are expected to drive the full range of vehicles covered by a full driving license.

Learning Requirements

Successful candidates must also be willing to attain the mandatory learning as follows:

• RoSPA (Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents) Defensive driving L2.
• Foot surveillance tactics.
• Mobile surveillance tactics.
• ACFIP (Accredited Fraud Investigation Programme).

These qualifications are essential to undertake the technical functions of the role.

Please Note - Successful appointments to this role will be subject to completion of the above learning. Failure to comply or failure to achieve the required level to pass the courses may be dealt with under disciplinary or poor performance procedures and may lead to termination of the employment contract or exceptionally, redeployment into another DWP role.

Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP)

The DWP is committed to investing in people and ensuring their teams are a professional workforce. It is a requirement of counter fraud post holders within DWP to attain, and retain, membership of the Government Counter Fraud Profession (GCFP) at Practitioner level. This means if you are successful in applying for this role you will need to undertake an annual self-assessment to evidence your knowledge, skills, and experience within your role to attain and retain practitioner level membership. We provide post holders with a learning routeway to support them in achieving as well as any workplace adjustments they may require. Failure to attain membership of the GCFP at practitioner level may result in DWP seeking an alternative role for you.

In applying you will have indicated that you have read and fully understood the professional requirements for this Counter Fraud Investigator role.

Candidate Integrity Declaration

Candidates who are successful will be asked to complete an integrity declaration before we offer them a position. Candidates must declare to the best of their knowledge:

• Any disciplinary finding of guilt / failure to meet the appropriate standard of conduct relating to their employment they have ever had.
• Any charge of a disciplinary offence / notification of a failure to meet the appropriate standards they have ever had where the case has not yet been concluded.
• Any past convictions, criminal findings, or police cautions, regardless of whether they are ‘spent’, they have ever had.

The disclosure of this information will not automatically disbar the candidate from this role, but we need to be aware of any event or issue which could impinge on the candidate’s credibility if questioned in court.

Licences

Candidates must hold a current full driving licence for manual vehicles. Officers are expected to drive the full range of vehicles covered by a full driving license.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,016, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £10,723 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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.

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, Ability and Experience.

**Please note the closing date for your full application (test and written application) is 23:55 on 31st March 2026**

Stage 1 – Short Stage Application Form

Please complete the first stage short application form, which includes your personal details, eligibility to apply and any reasonable adjustments required.

Stage 2 – Test

After submission of the first stage of your application, you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Work Strengths Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the next stage of the application. Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24 - 48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the test and written application is 23:55 on 31st March 2026. If you fail to complete the test and written application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn. Guidance will be available when you are invited to take the test. The tests are administered online and accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

Online tests - Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance on Sunday 29 March 2026, 12-1pm and 4pm to midnight. There will be a period during this time where candidates will not be able to access online tests. All online tests will be affected.

Impact for candidates - Candidates who are taking a test when the downtime starts will have their test paused. They will be able to pick up where they left off after the downtime. They can do this by accessing the test again from their application centre. Candidates will not be able to launch new tests during the downtime. Candidates reporting issues should be advised to return to take the test after midnight on 29/03/2026.

**IMPORTANT: After the test deadline, we will look at all applicant scores to decide what the job’s pass mark will be. We will consider the impact on protected groups and the number of invitations to the next stage. We may decide to raise the pass mark for the job - if so, you will be informed, and you will be told if you have passed or failed at the raised standard. Meeting the minimum test requirements for a job level is no guarantee of an invite to continue the selection process.

Stage 3 – Written Application and Sift

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a personal statement detailing the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role. In no more than 750 words, please carefully consider the questions below. You should address these when constructing your personal statement. You do not need to answer each individually as one example of evidence may cover all of the questions. You should also consider both the job description and person specification details above when providing your evidence.

• Detail a time when you have had a successful outcome by complying with key operating instructions or a complex policy (Lead question).
• Give an example of when you gathered and presented information. How did you ensure the accuracy of the information?
• Tell us about a time when you had to make a quick decision in a dynamic or high-pressure situation. What factors did you consider, and what was the result?

Your personal statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You don’t have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead question. If so, we will sift on:

• Detail a time when you have had a successful outcome by complying with key operating instructions or a complex policy (Lead question).

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

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

You will also be asked to complete a CV with details of your job history, full qualification details, previous skills and experience.

In the previous skills/experience section you should detail your employment and/or education history relevant to this vacancy (we recommend a maximum of 500 words).

The CV will also cover your work history (we recommend you include up to the last 3 roles of employment history, plus any others that you feel are relevant) and your qualifications.

Your CV will not be formally assessed so please put the main evidence of your skills into your personal statement. Your CV will be used to add context to your personal statement.

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.

However, in the event we don’t receive a high number of applications we may not undertake a sift and progress all candidate to the Assessment Centre who successfully completed the test.

**Please note the closing date for your full application (test and written application) is 23:55 on 31/03/2026**

The sift is scheduled to be held from 01/04/2026 to 08/05/2026. These dates may be subject to change.

Stage 4 – Assessment Centre

If you pass the written application sift with the required score you will be invited to an Assessment Centre and will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account. The Assessment Centres will be conducted in groups face to face at our office in London, however candidates may be expected to travel to an alternative location as required. These may not necessarily be at the locations on this advert.

You will be required to undertake three aptitude assessments at the Assessment Centre. These assessments are undertaken in a group environment.

• Observation skills
• Listening skills
• Map reading skills

The observation and listening skills assessments will utilise both video and audio media that will be played and you will then be required to answer questions on each aspect. The map reading assessment will be paper-based and again you will be required to answer questions as part of the assessment. Further information will be provided on the day of your assessment.

The Assessment Centres are scheduled to take place from 30/05/2026 to 13/06/2026, please note these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. The assessment centres will be scheduled Monday to Friday or on a Saturday, at a time between 09:00 to 17:00. They are expected to last approximately 60 to 90 minutes.

Communications will be electronic and/or by telephone therefore it is vitally important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your assessment can be confirmed.

Stage 5 - Interview

If you pass the test, written application sift and assessment centre with the required score you will be invited to a blended interview and will receive an electronic notification to your Civil Service Jobs account. The interviews will be conducted face to face. Where possible the interviews will take place at the locations listed in the Candidate Pack (slide 2), however candidates may be expected to travel to an alternative location as required.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend a face-to-face interview or Assessment Centre, please ensure you state those on your application form when asked to do so.

Interviews are scheduled to take place from 20/07/2026, please note that these dates are only indicative at this stage and could be subject to change. Interviews will be scheduled Monday to Friday, between 09:00 to 17:00.

Communications will be electronic and/or by SMS/telephone therefore it is important that you check your Civil Service Jobs account regularly, as well as your spam/junk email folder. Telephone calls may show as a withheld number, it is important that you answer so that your interview can be confirmed. If you wish to opt out of SMS messages, please email this address, including the vacancy reference and your candidate ID CFCD.RECRUITMENTINBOX@DWP.GOV.UK. As part of our commitment to improving the candidate experience, you may be contacted during the recruitment process to provide feedback.

Preparing for the Interview

The interview will take between 30 and 40 minutes and will consist of behaviour and strength-based questions. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation offering a more inclusive approach. The behaviour and strength-based questioning explores what you, the candidate, can and have done, but also your potential.

Behaviours

You will be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours listed at level 2. An example of a behavioural question would be “Tell me about a time when you have had to deal with a difficult customer.”

It may help to use one or more examples of a piece of work you have completed or a situation you have been in and use the WHO or STAR model to explain:

• WHO - What it was? How you approached the work/situation? What the Outcomes were, what did you achieve? or
• STAR - What was the ituation? What were the Tasks? What Action did you take? What were the Results of your actions?

Strengths

It is difficult to prepare for strength type questions. However, you can think through your answers, focus on your achievements and aspects you enjoy and decide how these can be applied in the organisation and role. While strengths questions are shorter and we do not expect a full STAR response, the panel is interested in your first reaction to the question and information or reasoning to support this.

If you do not have work-based examples then please give examples from school/college, clubs, volunteering or other activities you have been involved in.

If you withdraw your application at any stage, it will not be progressed further.

Stage 6 – Offer

Once all interviews have been completed, you will be notified of the outcome by email. Offers will be made in strict merit order to the highest scoring candidate first based on your location preferences and the geographical requirements of the business. Dependent on your position on the merit list, if none of your location preferences remain at the point we make a job offer, we may offer you a role at an alternative advertised location. If we are unable to offer you a role in any of your preferred locations, and you are unable to accept a role at an alternative advertised location, we will add you to the reserve list if one is being held.

The successful candidates will be notified of a start date following successful pre-employment checks, which is likely to be during September/October 2026.

Important information

Visa Sponsorship

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.

Candidate pack

It is important that you take time to read the candidate pack which can be found at the bottom of this job advert. This provides further information about the role and working in DWP.

Location

Please see slide 2 in the candidate pack for list of possible locations. The specific location under the London tag is Acton. Candidates who choose London as one of their location preferences it will be taken as a preference forActon when posting successful candidates.

You should only apply for suitable posts where you can travel to and from your 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. Make sure the location works for you before applying!

Hybrid working​

This 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. 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. 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.

Hybrid working will not commence until any training and consolidation period has been successfully completed.

Working pattern​

Part-time, part-year, term-time compressed hours and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. We will do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line with current business needs. Please note that successful candidates with agreed alternative working patterns may be required to work full time for specific periods to complete all training and consolidation.

Hours of work ​

The full-time working week in DWP is 37 hours. You may be required to work at any time between the hours of: ​

• 7:45am and 8:00pm on any day between Monday to Friday, and​
• 8:45am to 5:00pm on Saturday.​

Managers will agree working patterns with successful applicants within these business hours and review these as appropriate. However,surveillance duties will require you to regularly work outside of normal hours. The hours worked can be unsociable and prolonged. Whilst we are proactive in planning our surveillance the nature of the role requires us on regular occasions to react to intelligence and deploy with little notice.

You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule.

In applying you will have indicated that you have read and fully understood the demands of the role, specifically the unsociable hours and the physical requirements for this Covert Surveillance Officer role.

Learning and Development

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.

Important: If you hold a level 3 qualification (2 A levels or equivalent) then please bring your certificates with you to the interview if you have them.

Further Information

Diversity and Inclusion

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 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 the case of serious ill health).
• If we make 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 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 el