Summary

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for welfare, pensions and child maintenance policy. As the UK’s biggest public service department, we operate on a scale that is almost unmatched anywhere in Europe and most people in Britain come into contact with us at some point in their lives.

DWP Estates Directorate are accountable for the delivery of all aspects of real estate services and the work we do is critical in ensuring the vital work that the Department undertakes is enabled effectively. The DWP commercial estate is the largest within Government and our diverse national property portfolio reflects this scale. It is a unique mix ranging from modern corporate centres, multi-occupied Service Centres, to its frontline high street services.

We are responsible for the Department’s 900+ workplaces, that provide workplaces for 90,000 employees and a UK wide presence for all those that visit us. Ultimately, the Department relies on us to provide safe and secure buildings that are fit for purpose and meet the needs of the business.

The Department is also committed to delivering Sustainability and Net Zero Carbon improvements across its estate, demonstrating leadership in making the public estate smaller, better, greener. The work you will be undertaking is therefore crucial in us meeting the needs of all those who use our services.

Reporting to the Head of Business Assurance this management role will be responsible for the overall management of the DWP Business Assurance team and will govern the financial activities undertaken by the Cost Management Teams and Estates teams.

This role will work in partnership with the Head of Cost Management, Head of Supply Chain Management, Estates Team Leads and the DWP Finance Business Partners to govern and ensure compliance of the cost and finance management activities in accordance with the DWP policies, processes and procedures. Including the development, design and continued improvement thereof.

The role will provide guidance on financial compliance matters, business rules and standards. Monitoring and enforcing working practices to ensure that DWP Estates conducts itself in a lawful and ethical manner and is achieving best practice in the way it manages its financial matters.

The role will play a key part in the strategic management and reporting of financial compliance associated with the DWP Estates budget of around £900m.

Job description

Key accountabilities

• Govern the control of the DWP Estates budget and expenditure across the Estates function including the delivery of the Estates Strategic Plan.

• Develop and manage a programme of audit activities to strengthen the first line of defence in assuring financial compliance. Work in collaboration with key stakeholders to identify focus areas and agree an annual plan.

• Identify any financial risks emerging from the audit programme, providing recommendations and mitigations.

• Collaborate with the Cost Management Teams, Supply Chain Leads and Estates Service Leads to agree audit recommendations. Design and impact process improvements including changes to the external Integrator processes and systems.

• Manage the delivery of process improvements and initiatives, delivering in a practical and expedient manner and ensure that they are successfully completed and handed over as business as usual activities.

• Develop a package of training to underpin process changes and oversee the delivery of training across Estates teams and other stakeholders as required.

• Support the development of broad strategic context for the future estates services model.

• Develop and maintain a full suite of estates category codes and business rules for estates contracts. Work in partnership with the Estates Category Management Team and Financial Control and Policy team to support procurement activity; impact assess new contracts to maintain a smooth transition for establishing and implementing new category codes and business rules requirements. Collaborate with the external Integrator provider to impact assess system and process change.

• Oversight of guidance material that supports the implementation of business rules and category codes.

• Support the Cost Management teams and be the point of escalation in relation to the implementation of category codes and business rules.

• Establish regular checkpoints with key senior DWP stakeholders and the Integrator provider, to ensure financial governance objectives are established and achieved in line with business requirements.

• Manage senior stakeholder engagement across DWP Estates to ensure full oversight of any potential operational change initiatives (temporary or permanent) that are in the pipeline or are reactive by nature.

• Maintain a good understanding of compliance with legal, statutory, regulatory and security requirements, to ensure all change initiatives are delivered in accordance with compliance requirements.

• Support the Head of Business Assurance to drive innovation, impacting industry and Government best practice to strategically inform and positively steer continual improvement.

• Foster the professional development of all staff, being responsible for managing performance, coaching, training needs, and motivating direct reports and wider team.

• Engage positively in debate and resolve ambiguities, gaining the best possible outcomes for the DWP, whilst ensuring best value objectives are met through procurement and cost improvement projects identifying new ways of ‘smart’ working. Encourage an inclusive working environment across the team, Estates and stakeholder network, where all opinions and challenges are taken into account.

• Foster a ‘one team’ culture of quality and continuous improvement across the extended organisation to include the Integrator on a day to day as well as strategic basis.

Responsibilities

Essential Skills, Knowledge & Experience

• Excellent written and verbal communications and interpersonal skills, with capability to undertake analysis of data to report on progress and inform decision making.

• Strong financial acumen, with the ability to govern the control and management of large budgets and associated expenditure in accordance with business rules and public finance policies and procedures.

• Excellent change management leadership skills and experience of steering an organisation through substantial change. In particular, managing the impact of financial process change and associated risk.

• Strong experience in developing and implementing financial compliance processes, procedures and business rules to ensure adherence to policies and standards.

• Strong experience of team leadership and building a ‘one-team’ culture of continuous improvement across multiple teams to drive efficiency.

• Influential and able to guide key stakeholders towards solutions recommended by the Business Assurance team, to give a balance of optimal commercial performance whilst delivering on business strategy, financial governance and control.

• Excellent stakeholder management skills that extend across multiple teams in a multi-site and complex estate, including external providers.

Essential Qualifications/professional memberships

• AAT Level 3 or equivalent (including demonstrable experience); and/or

• Degree qualified or equivalent in relevant Property and/or Financial discipline

Leadership attributes and behaviours

• Strives for continuous improvement, innovation and efficiency, taking responsibility for managing and improving all relevant standards, policies and processes relating to the role.

• Collaborate with stakeholders across the estates department and wider DWP ensuring that cross functional ways of working and processes are continuously improved and optimised – calling out opportunities for improvement and taking ownership where applicable.

• Prioritise and role-model continuous self-learning and development to the team.

As a line manager

• Set out clear processes and standards for managing performance at all levels to ensure delivery of timely and high quality outcomes, allowing access to right resources to do the job.

• Ensure clear roles and responsibilities are identified for all team members with defined objectives and clear accountability

• Ensure working practices of team adhere to department standards, policies, and processes and that appropriate governance is followed at all times

• Encourage team to identify improvement opportunities to improve policies, processes and ways of working

• Ensure individuals are taking full advantage of learning and development opportunities available to them, to enable a culture of continuous learning and high performance.

• Ensure everyone clearly understands and owns their roles, responsibilities and business priorities. Give honest, motivating and enthusiastic messages about priorities, objectives and expectations to get the best out of people.

Qualifications

• AAT Level 3 or equivalent (including demonstrable experience); and/or

• Degree qualified or equivalent in a Property and/or Financial discipline

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role

• An environment with flexible working options

• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

• A Civil Service pension