Having regular dialogue with customers and Child Maintenance Service (CMS) and/or Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to gather information to assist an investigation, and to settle complaints at the earliest opportunity. Analysing complex information from customers and CMS and/or DWP to enable robust investigation reports to be produced. Identifying scope to settle complaints at the earliest opportunity. Drafting findings and articulating recommendations to address the complaint raised. Ensuring completeness and accuracy of evidence gathered, as part of an investigation, to enable the Independent Case Examiner to reach a fair and balanced conclusion. Drafting high quality closure letters and / or a detailed report of an investigation and proposed conclusions for consideration by the Independent Case Examiner. Attending case conferences with senior leaders and the Independent Case Examiner to present detailed explanations of case events and enabling findings to be reached and appropriate recommendations for redress made. Managing an active caseload of case investigations whilst meeting challenging quality standards and productivity targets. Person specification The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate the following experience: Extensive experience in complaint handling, investigative casework and/or issue resolution. Essential Criteria The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate the following: An ability to manage detailed and in-depth complaint or casework investigations confidently and autonomously, often involving multiple and complex issues, frequently over extensive periods of time; (lead) An ability to work at pace and to prioritise work to ensure full and effective caseload management. Strong well developed analytical skills on complex evidence gathered; The ability to apply judgement in interpreting procedures and policies to establish whether maladministration has occurred; Strong, well developed drafting skills and experience of drafting for senior managers and/or a broad range of stakeholders; Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with internal and external stakeholders; A commitment to delivering results in a customer-focused environment and utilising proven customer service skills to deliver these results. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Making Effective Decisions Leadership Delivering at Pace Managing a Quality Service Benefits Alongside your salary of 38,772, Department for Work and Pensions contributes 11,232 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Pay and Reward An occupational pension with an employer contribution of over 28% plus a range of other benefits - Benefits of the pension scheme - Civil Service Pension Scheme An Employee Assistance Programme - a free and confidential service providing information and counselling to help with a range of work, family and personal issues A comprehensive reward scheme which includes vouchers and monetary awards Access to discounts on a range of products and services A range of schemes to help you budget certain costs Leave and Working Arrangements Generous holiday allowance of 23 or 25 days for new starters dependent on grade based on full-time work pattern, which increases to 30 days over time, in addition to public/bank holidays Flexible working options, including full-time, part-time, job share, flexi-time and hybrid working for some roles A range of family friendly policies such as generous maternity, adoption or shared parental leave Personal Development and Well-Being Excellent learning and development opportunities A culture encouraging inclusivity and diversity with a range of local and national employee networks A comprehensive wellbeing offer which includes support for mental and physical wellbeing Support for volunteering and charitable giving activities, including time off Sports and social activities 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. More about what we offer is available on our careers site found here Things you need to know Selection process details This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience. After submission of their initial application, candidates will progress through to the next stage a written sift of their CV, experience question and 1000-word Personal Statement. As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, Personal Statement and an Experience question. Your CV will not be scored but will be considered for context against your Personal Statement. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Please note that your personal statement (in no more than 1000 words) should be aligned to the Essential Criteria outlined in the Person Specification. The selection process will assess both what candidates are good at and what they enjoy, to help us assess candidates behaviours, strengths and their potential. All applications will be sifted based on the evidence demonstrated in line with the essential criteria detailed in the Person Specification. The standards detailed in the Essential Criteria are the minimum expectations for the role and only candidates with the strongest evidence will be invited to interview. Your statement must not exceed 1000 words and you are advised to take advantage of the full word count. In the event of a large volume of applications, an initial sift on Experience question (250 words) will be completed. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift on their Personal Statement. Candidates will have to meet the standard for all criteria to progress to interview. 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. Interview stage: Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a blended interview (this will be face to face) testing strengths and the following behaviours: Making Effective Decisions (lead) Leadership Delivering at Pace Managing a Quality Service Sift is planned for week commencing 10th November 2025 and interviews will take place week commencing 1st December 2025 and week commencing 8th December 2025. Interviews will be conducted face to face. 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 6 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 youre 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, Civil Service Principles and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) 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 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. 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 applicants 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 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. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security 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). 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 : Diane Jackson Email : diane.jackson1@ice.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : dwprecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk Further information Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commissions Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DWP by email: HR.BUSINESSASSURANCE@DWP.GOV.UK. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Click here to visit the Civil Service Commission. Attachments ICE Investigator Candidate Pack Oct 25 Opens in new window (pdf, 1396kB) Success-Profiles-Candidate-Overview Opens in new window (pdf, 635kB) DWP Terms and Conditions January 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 17kB)