Complex Decision Maker

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy and is responsible for helping people move into employment, supporting pensioners and protecting some of the most vulnerable in our society. Counter Fraud Compliance and Debts (CFCD) aim is to drive down the level of fraud, error and debt within the benefit system, to protect the public purse.,

• Make informed decisions on complex compliance and fraud investigation referrals, applying relevant legislation, policy, and guidance to ensure fair, consistent, and robust outcomes.
• Exercise sound judgement and interpretative skills, particularly in cases that fall within established rules and regulations but require careful analysis and discretion.
• Manage Mandatory Reconsideration requests and MP enquiries, responding to queries on the interpretation of policies and handling more complex or sensitive cases with accuracy and professionalism.
• Provide clear, comprehensive verbal and written explanations of decisions, ensuring customers understand outcomes and the reasoning behind them.
• Return cases to Compliance Officers or Fraud Investigation teams where required, ensuring instructions have been followed and notifying appropriate stakeholders of any issues or gaps identified.
• Maintain effective caseload management, ensuring work is progressed in a timely manner and all relevant trackers and systems are accurately updated to support reliable management information (MI).
• Collaborate closely with colleagues and stakeholders, both locally and across Compliance and Fraud Hub networks, to ensure alignment, consistency, and best practice., Support team performance by contributing to productivity and quality standards, while delivering a high standard of customer service., We will assess you against the following behaviours during the selection process at Level 2 Executive Officer.
• Making Effective Decisions (Lead Behaviour)
• Managing a quality Service (Second Lead Behaviour)
• Delivering at Pace
It may help touse one or more examples of a piece of workyou havecompleted or a situationyou havebeen inand use the WHO or STAR model to explain:
• WHO - Whatit was,Howyou approached the work/situation and what theOutcomeswere, what did youachieve? or
• STAR - What was theSituation? What were theTasks? WhatActiondid you take? What were the Results of your actions?
Youdonthave to explain the whole process, just whatyouhavedone and the skills and experienceyou haveused.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., 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.


• Demonstrate strong communication and influencing skills, clearly articulating complex decisions and rationale to colleagues, stakeholders, and external partners, both verbally and in writing.
• Exhibit sound judgement and evidence-based decision-making, with the ability to assess complex information, weigh risk, and make fair, consistent, and defensible decisions in line with policy and legislation.
• Maintain a high level of attention to detail, identifying discrepancies, inconsistencies, and risks within complex evidence sets (e.g. recognising potentially fraudulent or non-genuine documentation).
• Show excellent organisational and prioritisation skills, effectively managing a varied caseload and balancing competing demands while maintaining quality and timeliness.
• Are confident presenting and justifying decisions professionally, including in formal settings or when challenged by colleagues, stakeholders, or customers.
• Work effectively both independently and collaboratively, sharing knowledge, supporting team objectives, and contributing to continuous improvement.
• Handle sensitive and complex situations with professionalism and empathy, including interactions with vulnerable individuals, ensuring fairness and compliance with safeguarding considerations.
• Demonstrate resilience, adaptability, and accountability, taking ownership of decisions, responding positively to change, and maintaining performance under pressure.
• Commit to continuous learning and improvement, keeping up to date with guidance, legislation, and best practice to ensure high-quality decision making.
The successful candidates should be able to demonstrate the following:
• Making Effective Decisions (Lead Behaviour)
• Managing a quality Service (Second Lead Behaviour)
• Delivering at Pace
Desirable skills The ability to speak Welsh is always welcomed. In the event that candidates are tied on scores, the ability to speak Welsh may be used as a tiebreaker. It will not be used as part of the selection criteria for appointment in any other circumstances., 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 candidates 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.

As part of CFCD you will be at the heart of DWPs efforts to reduce fraud and error in the benefit system. This is a hugely important public service, and our challenge is bigger than ever. If you want to join somewhere that recognises the importance of work-life balance, where you can learn new skills and progress your career, then CFCD is the place for you.

Alongside your salary of 32,137, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 9,310 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, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (prorata 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 years 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 Womens 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., Part-time, part-year, term-time compressed hours and job-sharing working patterns within working hours will be considered but must meet business needs. Wewill do our best to let people with existing part time contracts retain their contracted hours provided they are in line withcurrent business needs. Please note that successful candidates with agreed alternative working patterns will be required to work full timefor specific periods to complete all training and consolidation., 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 asappropriate. You will be given advance notice of your personal schedule., 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 DWPs 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. Find out more about working for DWP on the DWP Careers Hub . Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups:
• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) . The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) . 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) .