Stage 1: Application
Your application will consist of four parts:
1. A Personal Details application form.
2. Employment history - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed. As a guide, we ask candidates to keep their employment history to roughly two pages if they can.
3. Personal statement - up to 1000 words. This statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria below:
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Proven experience of leading a high performing multi-disciplinary team that delivers analytics and insights at pace which best supports project, programme or business outcomes.
- Working knowledge and understanding of a wide range of data science techniques and when they are appropriate to use; keeping up to date with the latest industry trends and how to apply them to practical situations.
- Proven ability to build trusted peer and senior stakeholder relationships including with digital, operations and policy colleagues in order to understand their needs and how best to add value.
- Demonstrable evidence of setting the standards and best practices for teams including the appropriate safeguards to ensure all work adheres to key privacy, security and data protection principles as well as ethical considerations such as unintended biases.
- Evidence of playing a key role in leadership in the community, defining recruitment strategies and career progression as well as contributing to Digital Practices.
- Proven ability to create a diverse and inclusive environment where people feel safe to challenge and know their voice will be heard. Give people space to take initiative and to develop themselves.
4. Technical statement (up to 250 words). The following statement is aligned to the required technical skill of: Data Science (Innovation). This statement should be used to provide example(s) of how you meet the criterion below:
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Ensure that all examples provided in your statements are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words. If you choose to use gen-AI to support your statements, you must follow the guidelines outlined in the Artificial intelligence and recruitment guide.
The sift panel will use the information in your employment history, personal statement, and technical statement to assess your experience, skills and knowledge.
An initial sift will be conducted using the technical statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift will be progressed to a full sift.
If you do progress to a full sift, you will be provided with one combined overall assessment score for both your employment history and Personal Statement.
For Hints and Tips on completing your application visit Applying for jobs at DWP Digital.
Important Information
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You will be asked to complete your employment history. Any information that you would customarily share on a CV should therefore be entered onto the application form.
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Personal details that could be used to identify you including your name, contact details and address must be removed for your application to be considered.
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If your employment history, personal statement or technical statement contain any personal details your application will be withdrawn.
Stage 2: Interview
If youre successful at the sift stage, youll be invited to a video interview via Microsoft Teams. During the interview, youll be assessed against the experience criteria listed under both the essential criteria and technical skill.
You will be asked to do a 5 minute presentation on a specific topic, visual aids are permitted. Further details will be provided to candidates invited to interview.
You will also be asked at interview to complete a 10 minute exercise to assess the technical skill: Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices. Further details will be given at interview.
Interviews will take place from early July 2026. Interview dates to be confirmed.
Further Information
Find out more about Working for DWP
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.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.
All successful candidates and those placed on reserve will be posted in merit list order by location.
For these vacancies, we strongly recommend that applicants consult with an immigration specialist or qualified advisor to assess their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship before deciding to apply. Please note that while we consider sponsorship requests in accordance with current DWP guidance and Home Office policy, sponsorship cannot be guaranteed.
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. Applications will be screened and if evidence of plagiarism or copying examples/answers from other sources is found, your application will be withdrawn. Internal DWP candidates may also face disciplinary action.
Security Clearance Requirement
You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.
You must have resided continuously in the UK for at least 3 of the last 5 years, 2 of which must have been the immediately preceding years from the point of applying for this job.
Reasonable Adjustment
At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including 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 Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] 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.
For further information on reasonable adjustments, terms and conditions and how we recruit visit the How we recruit page.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
