Digital & Technology (D&T) Spend Control Officer

Job summary

Can you communicate clearly and confidently, tailoring your approach for different audiences?

Do you enjoy building strong, effective relationships with stakeholders to get things done?

Are you highly organised, able to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality work on time?

If so, we’d love to hear from you!

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Read more in the Benefits section below!

Find out more about what it's like working at DVLA.

Job description

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role in how the DVLA governs and delivers its digital and technology (D&T) investment. The role supports the D&T Spend Control Approvals service, which ensures all D&T spend complies with Cabinet Office Spend Control requirements and Agency governance processes.

Working within a fast-paced team, you will help ensure the Agency remains compliant with Cabinet Office approval requirements for D&T spend. You will provide day-to-day support to the Lead responsible for managing the D&T Spend Control function within DVLA, helping to drive robust, timely, and well-governed decision-making.

You will contribute directly to the successful delivery of digital and technology initiatives by supporting the development and submission of D&T Spend Control cases, ensuring Cabinet Office requirements are met and enabling delivery to progress as planned.

This role offers an excellent development opportunity to build your knowledge of Change Governance and D&T Spend Control within a large and complex organisation. You will work with a wide range of stakeholders across the Agency, including senior leaders and Board-level colleagues, as well as external partners such as the Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Department for Transport (DfT).

By working collaboratively with business partners and providing advice across the change community, you will help shape high-quality spend control submissions and support the successful delivery of DVLA’s digital and technology ambitions.

Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:

• Managing the recording, tracking and distribution of all D&T approvals, including small change, routine spend, pipeline items and IT contracts.
• Planning and organising meetings with DfT, Cabinet Office and Senior Stakeholders across the Agency, ensuring associated activities are conducted to time and quality (Relevant papers / attendees / appointments etc). Taking notes, producing minutes and following up on actions as required.
• Contributing to continuous improvement of team processes to ensure the delivery of efficiency and effectiveness.
• Developing and maintaining working relationships with key stakeholders acting as a subject matter expert for unit activities, providing advice to stakeholders’ agency wide.
• Providing support in planning/note taking and/or facilitation of stakeholder workshops/meetings.

For further information on the role, please read the role profile.Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

To be successful in this role you will need to have the following experience:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor your approach to suit a range of audiences.
• Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver work to deadlines.

Additional Information

We welcome applications from candidates who can speak Welsh and English. Welsh language skills would be useful in this role, but it is not an assessment criterion so it won’t put you at any disadvantage during recruitment if you aren’t a Welsh speaker. Please note that the assessment process will be held in English.

Working hours, office attendance and travel requirements

Full time roles consist of 37 hours per week.

Whilst we welcome applications from those looking to work with us on a part time basis, there is a business requirement for the successful candidate to be able to work at least 30 hours per week.

This role is suitable for hybrid working, which is a non-contractual arrangement where a combination of workplace and home-based working can be accommodated subject to business requirements.

The expectation at present is a minimum of 60% of your working time a month will be spent at either your designated workplace (one of the locations cited in the advert) or, when required for business reasons, in another office/work location/visiting stakeholders. Your designated workplace will be your contractual place of work. There may be occasions where you are required to attend above the minimum expectation.

If you have a question about hybrid working, part time/job share hours, flexible working, travelling for work, or require a reasonable adjustment, please contact the Vacancy Holder during the recruitment process to avoid possible disappointment later in the process should your working arrangements not be compatible with the requirements of the role (see below for contact details).

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that we do not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Licence sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Candidates must ensure they have the appropriate rights to work in the UK before application.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,485, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency contributes £8,831 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Being part of our brilliant Civil Service means you will have access to a wide range of fantastic benefits:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave).
• 8 Bank Holidays plus an additional Privilege Day to mark the King’s birthday.
• Access to the staff discount portal.
• Excellent career development opportunities and the potential to undertake professional qualifications relevant to your role paid for by the department, such as CIPD, Prince2, apprenticeships, etc.
• Joining a diverse and inclusive workforce with a range of staff communities to support all our colleagues.
• 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme providing free confidential help and advice for staff.
• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Find out more about the benefits of working at DfT and its agencies

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.

How to apply:

Our selection process ensures a comprehensive assessment of each applicant's skills, and potential fit within our organisation.

The selection process for this role will be:

Stage 1: Sift of Behaviours and CV and personal statement

Stage 2: Interview

You must be successful at each stage to progress to the next stage.

Stage 1: Sift

At sift, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – you will be required to provide a 250 word statement on the following Behaviour - Seeing the Big Picture. Please tailor your statement to the indicators provided:
  • understand how your work and the work of your team supports wider objectives and meets the diverse needs of stakeholders
  • focus on overall goals and not just specific tasks to meet priorities
• Experience – you will be asked to provide a CV (unlimited wordcount) and personal statement (1000-word count). Please provide evidence of your Experience of the following:
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to tailor your approach to suit a range of audiences.
  • Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
  • Excellent organisational skills, including the ability to manage competing priorities and deliver work to deadlines.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead Success Profile element, Seeing the Big Picture. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.

The sift will take place week commencing Monday 2nd February 2026.

Stage 2: Interview

At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements:

• Behaviours – Seeing the Big Picture, Managing a Quality Service, Delivering at Pace
• Experience – Developing and maintaining effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders
• Strengths

The interviews will take place week commencing Monday 16th February 2026.

This interview will be conducted in person at our Swansea office. Further details will be provided to you should you be selected for interview.

You can find out more about our hiring process, how to apply, and application and interview guidance on our careers site (opens in a new window).

Please note that we will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates will change.

Further information on the selection process

We will also hold a 12-month reserve list for this role, which may lead to potential opportunities beyond the role you applied for. You can read more about our reserve lists here.

Reasonable Adjustments

As a Disability Confident Leader employer, we are committed to ensuring that the recruitment process is fair, accessible and allows all candidates to perform at their best. If a person with a visible or non-visible disability is substantially disadvantaged, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you need a reasonable adjustment so that you can complete your application, you should contact Government Recruitment Service via dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Document Accessibility

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

This job advert contains links to the DfT Careers website. Our website provides useful guidance and information that can support you during the application process. If you cannot access the information on our website for any reason, please email DRGComms@dft.gov.uk for assistance.

Further Information

For more information about how we hire, and for useful tips on submitting your application for this role, visit theHow We Hire page of our DfT Careers website. You can find detailed information about the recruitment process and what to expect when applying for a role.

Pre-employment Checking

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.

All External applicants and current employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) will be required to undergo a Social Media Check. A Social Media Check is a review of your publicly available online activity, typically across platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and others. The purpose is to identify any public posts or content that could raise concerns for employers, such as:

Hate speech or discriminatory behaviour

Threats or acts of violence

Illegal activity or substance misuse

Sexually explicit material

Extremist views or affiliations

Importantly, this check does not involve hacking into your accounts or accessing private messages. It only considers content you have chosen to make public.

Employers use this kind of screening to help ensure their workplace remains safe, inclusive, and aligned with company values. It’s not about judging your personality or lifestyle—it’s about checking for potential red flags that might affect the role or company culture.

If you have questions or concerns about the social media check, we would be happy to explain in more detail what’s being looked at and how your data is handled securely and fairly.

Feedback

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.

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 : Richard Dixon
• Email : richard.dixon@dvla.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact Government Recruitment Services via email: dftrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website Here

Attachments

Role Profile Opens in new window (pdf, 182kB)Proffil Swydd Opens in new window (pdf, 201kB)