Lead Analyst for Services and Fraud Group

Job summary

Virtual Engagement Session ​

Date: Wednesday 4th November Time: 09:30 – 10:30

This virtual session is an opportunity for you to find out more about the role and what it's like leading the Services and Fraud Group. You'll get the opportunity to hear directly from Chris Smith, Catherine Hutchinson and Sarah Thompson, who will provide an overview of the role and hold a Q&A session.
Click here to join the Virtual Engagement Session

Service Enablement is a new Directorate set up to support the successful delivery of frontline operational services to customers across DWP. The Directorate directly supports the Child Maintenance Service, Retirement Services, Counter Fraud Compliance and Debt and Health-Related Benefits, as well as providing a number of cross-cutting functions which also support Working Age Services (Universal Credit and other working age benefits). This covers around 80,000 colleagues working in frontline roles across the Department across two DG areas, with an operating budget of around £5bn per annum, delivering around £250bn of welfare payments.

This role is also embedded within DWP’s Analytical Community (AC) which has over 900 analysts made up of Economists, Operational Researchers, Social Researchers, Statisticians and Data Analysts. Analysts are grouped into 20 Lead Analyst areas, embedded across the Department. Our services are in high demand from ministers, senior leaders and policy and operational stakeholders.

The Lead Analyst for Service Enablement has overall responsibility for leading the analytical teams underpinning one of the Department’s largest operational delivery groups, ensuring that performance, workforce and service delivery decisions are informed by robust evidence across services supporting millions of customers. As such, the Lead Analyst leads the delivery of robust analysis, MI and work study activity. This includes ensuring that there is an agreed prioritised work programme being delivered successfully by the teams, and that all key decisions being made across operations are supported by a robust evidence base.

Job description

The Lead Analyst is also responsible, through their teams, for providing independent analytical challenge and assurance to senior operational leaders, ensuring decisions are informed by robust evidence, transparent assumptions and a clear understanding of delivery risks and opportunities.

The primary focus of the role is to provide leadership for a large analytical division, DWP Services and Fraud performance, resourcing and analysis.
The role will support the Director for Service Enablement, sitting under the Director General for DWP Services and Fraud. The role plays a central part in shaping operational strategy and performance across DWP Services and Fraud, providing senior leaders with the evidence, challenge and assurance required to make informed decisions on workforce, performance, productivity and service outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

The post holder will directly lead the following seven Grade 6 led areas of work:

• Performance insight: providing support on cross-cutting performance issues across all DWP services. This includes the provision of regular insight reports as well as ad hoc analysis to support the Director and other senior stakeholders
• Performance strategy and data delivery: Working closely with digital colleagues to ensure the provision of consistent, high-quality performance data
• Data and MI: Delivering a suit of Management Information reports to operational leaders and decision makers across the Department.
• Work Study: Producing a number of reports which are measuring the timing of specific activities taking place in service delivery used to inform the resource planning process
• Failure Demand, Complaints and Contact analysis: providing insights drawn from customer contact with to the Department to help in design and continuous improvement activity
• Supply Tracking, delivery and work study analysis: Monitoring and forecasting staffing levels across Service Delivery, and providing analytical support for the Work Study teams
• Service Specific Analysis: A number of smaller analytical teams providing direct analytical support into operational teams on themes such as performance, workloads, trials and evaluation

They will be directly responsible for leading a geographically dispersed team of c150 colleagues from all the analytical professions, and generalists who specialise in work study, data and management information. They will also be part of the Senior Analytical Leadership Team (SALT) made up of around 20 Lead analysts as well as the Chief Analyst/Chief Scientific Adviser. Together they ensure ministers and senior leaders are provided the most robust data and evidence to support key decision making across the department, and support the creation and maintenance of a world class analytical community in DWP.

The Lead Analyst is accountable for delivery of fit for purpose analytical and research outputs for their area; these include performance data, analysis, forecasts, analytical publications, evaluation, evidence base and analytical advice relating to service delivery.

The Lead Analyst is also accountable for ensuring operational performance, workforce and service delivery decisions are underpinned by robust evidence, insight and challenge, enabling senior leaders to drive effective performance, productivity and continuous improvement across Services and Fraud.

Current key deliverables for the post are:

• Setting the strategic vision for a strong and robust programme of analytical work covering performance, workforce and operational analytics across Services and Fraud, ensuring evidence has maximum impact on operational strategy, investment decisions and service outcomes.
• Strong personal leadership, setting a clear vision and objectives for the division, building capability, pride and staff engagement whilst effectively managing performance, continuing to push the boundaries in building a collaborative culture and harnessing expertise from all professions and individuals.
• Influencing senior leaders across DWP and wider government to ensure evidence, insight and operational intelligence drive continuous improvement, productivity and delivery performance.
• Acting as Service Enablement’s senior analytical adviser on operational performance, productivity and service delivery, providing strategic challenge and evidence-based recommendations to Directors, and other Deputy Directors in Services and Fraud on service performance, resource investment and operational priorities.
• Providing analytical leadership for the performance, productivity and effectiveness of Services and Fraud operations, ensuring leaders are equipped to make timely, evidence-based decisions that improve customer outcomes, efficiency and value for money.
• Ensuring the appropriate quality assurance mechanisms are in place.
• Provide analytical advice at the highest levels through formal submission and presentations (e.g. Permanent Secretary, Ministers, Secretary of State, HMT) and also present analysis and evidence to governance boards and external organisations e.g. National Audit Office.
• As a member of the Senior Civil Service and Senior Analytical Leadership Team, the Lead Analyst has wider leadership responsibilities across the DWP and will be a role model within the Analytical community, visibly leading on activities that support improved diversity and inclusion, talent and capability growth.

Person specification

The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge, experience and skills against the following essential criteria:

• Outstanding, broad and interdisciplinary analytical skills; with extensive experience of leading analytical projects, scrutinising and challenging methodological approaches, and introducing innovation
• Excellent leadership skills with a track record of designing, developing and motivating high-performing and diverse multi-disciplinary teams
• Excellent communication and influencing skills to build highly effective and trusting relationships to work collaboratively with senior leaders across the organisation and wider
• Experience in developing and utilising analysis to drive continuous improvement, value for money and implementing change
• Experienced in building capability and growing talent across teams, whatever their profession, using inclusive leadership to create a culture, with wellbeing at its heart, where diverse talents thrive and succeed

The successful candidate will be from one of the government analytical Professions or will need to be suitably qualified to join. For further details of eligibility requirements and membership please see links below: ​

• Government Economics Services (GES) (Link)
• Government Statistician Group (GSG) (Link)
• Government Operational Research Service (GORS) (Link)
• Government Social Research (GSR)

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £86,000, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £24,914 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).

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 and flexible working.
• 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 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.

1. Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process outlined below no later than 12 noon on Monday 16th November 2026.

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years;​
2. A personal statement (maximum 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. ​

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

2. Shortlist

A panel, including the hiring manager, will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the person specification section of this pack. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application. Please see candidate pack (attached for an indicative timeline).

3. Assessment

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a Staff Engagement Exercise and Individual Leadership Assessment in advance of the interview. This assessment will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, it is designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.

Shortlisted candidates may have the opportunity to speak to Chris Smith and Catherine Hutchinson prior to the final interview. This is an informal discussion to allow candidates to learn more about the role and is not part of the assessment process.

4. Interview

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the person specification. You may be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation. Full details will be provided prior to the interview.
Your interview will be face-to-face, in London. The interview panel will be chaired by Chris Smith, who will be supported by additional panel members. The final panel interview will be a blended interview, covering Behaviours, Technical skills and Experience. A blended interview aims to be more of a conversation exploring the candidate’s capability for the role.

5. Offer and Feedback

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible. We will offer the opportunity to discuss feedback for all candidates who reached interview.
A reserve list will be held for up to 12 months, which we may use to fill future similar vacancies for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, especially 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 senior.recruitment@dwp.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 further information regarding reasonable adjustments, please see following link: Reasonable Adjustments , Civil Service Careers

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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.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 : DWP SCS Resourcing Team
• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk

Further information

The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact: senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

Lead Analyst Services and Fraud SCS1 Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 670kB)Lead Analyst Services and Fraud SCS1 Welsh Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 738kB)