As a Pay & Reward Policy Advisor within Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) People & Capability team, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping the pay, reward and benefits arrangements for one of the UK’s largest employers.
Working within a dynamic and highly collaborative team, you’ll support critical annual pay cycles, provide expert advice to senior leaders and stakeholders, and contribute to policy and process improvements affecting over 90,000 colleagues across DWP.
The nature of the work will vary aligned to changes within the Department’s pay and reward offer. Work can be fast-paced and is often influenced by external factors such as legislation, government decisions or Cabinet Office guidance. You will need to operate confidently in ambiguous situations, think analytically, and help shape solutions to new and complex challenges.
This role offers exposure to senior decision-makers and key departmental stakeholders, and provides opportunities to become the go‑to departmental expert on specific pay or reward issues with the chance to directly influence how DWP’s people are paid and recognised.
Job description
Pay & Reward Delivery
Lead elements of and support DWP’s delivery of annual pay award cycles — including developing options, analysing impacts, drafting proposals, and ensuring alignment with legislation and Cabinet Office requirements.
Carry out analysis in response to statutory changes (e.g., National Living Wage, holiday pay legislation), including modelling impacts and identifying required changes.
Provide clear, evidence-based pay policy advice to HR colleagues, senior leaders, Trades Unions and other stakeholders on complex or emerging issues.
Stakeholder Engagement & Collaboration
Prepare for and participate in briefings, People Committee activity, trade union discussions and cross-government engagement, representing your area with confidence and professionalism.
Build strong relationships across DWP and with external bodies (e.g., Arm’s Length Bodies, suppliers, Cabinet Office), ensuring proposals and decisions are well‑understood, compliant and deliver value for money.
Policy, Process & System Improvement
Review and improve pay and reward policies to ensure fairness, compliance, consistency and readiness for future HR/payroll system transformation.
Lead or support specific projects such as equal pay audit activity, pay gap reporting, supplier/benefits management, or pay exceptions/allowances.
Operational Leadership & Quality Assurance
Provide guidance and leadership to colleagues as required, helping manage caseloads, quality, and resilience across the team.
Draft high‑quality written outputs (e.g., business cases, pay communications, intranet content, Parliamentary Questions, Freedom of Information requests) with accuracy and clarity.
Person specification
- Strong analytical skills, with the ability to interpret pay or workforce data, model impacts, and provide clear evidence-based recommendations. [Lead Criteria]
- Experience working with complex policy or regulatory information — ideally within a pay, HR, or workforce context — and translating this into practical solutions.
- Ability to operate confidently in fast‑paced or ambiguous environments, managing shifting priorities (e.g., during annual pay award cycles or legislative change).
- Excellent written communication skills, with experience producing high‑quality briefings, proposals, or policy documents for senior audiences.
- Proven stakeholder engagement skills, including presenting advice to senior leaders and navigating sensitive or contentious issues.
- Strong judgement and problem-solving ability, particularly where there is no clear precedent or established process.
Qualification (not sift-able essential):
- CIPD Associate membership, or willingness to work towards it on appointment.
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Data Analysis
Apply before 11:55 pm on Friday 1st May 2026
