Child Maintenance Service Financial Investigations Unit Investigator

Your work will involve several aspects; all subject to changing business priorities. You will undertake a range of duties with the following provided as an example.

Working as an Investigator in the Financial Investigations Unit with responsibility for :

• Leading on financial and or, criminal investigations, to establish such things as the correct income to use in the calculation of child maintenance payments.
• Managing investigations on an end-to-end basis, including gathering, analysing and evaluating evidence to effectively progress investigations to an outcome, including decision making.
• Managing and conducting fraud investigations, in accordance with all legal and policy requirements, pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry including appropriate use of surveillance and visiting customers and witnesses.
• Conduct robust and challenging interviews by telephone or in person in accordance with all legal and policy requirements, pursuing all reasonable lines of enquiry. Ensuring declarations and changes have been reported at the right time and taking appropriate corrective action if errors are found.
• Developing and preparing prosecution cases, representing the department by attending court and giving evidence in criminal cases and appeal tribunals.
• Working collaboratively, effectively and flexibly within a team, contributing towards team expectations.
• Liaising with other departments / organisations such as Local Authorities (LAs), Police and HMRC within the framework of any existing partnership agreements.

Person specification

An FIU Investigator should be able to demonstrate :

Qualifications

Please note the following :

Learning requirements

Behaviours

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

Benefits

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.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Working for DWP will include benefits such as learning and development tailored to your role, an environment with flexible working options, a culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.

Annual Leave

23 days annual leave rising with service to 30 days, plus public holidays.

Flexi Time

Access to flexible working hours scheme will be available.

Hybrid Working

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is where an employee works 60% of the week in their DWP office and 40% of the week from home . This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement and your office will be your contractual place of work. The number of days that anyone will be able to work at home will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be considered. If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working - including whether a hybrid working arrangement is suitable for you - will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Working Hours

The Departments contracted working hours are :

Employees are contracted to work a set number of hours per week within these timeframes.

Employees are expected to work the full number of hours for which they are contracted.

See the Candidate Pack for more of the benefits available to as a Civil Servant.

Things you need to know

Eligibility

Visa Sponsorship

Please note that these vacancies are not currently eligible for new applications for Visa Sponsorship on the Skilled Worker route, for any candidates who do not currently have permission to be in the UK as a Skilled Worker where they were sponsored before 4 April 2024, even if relying on tradeable points (including the new entrant tradeable points option) as they are not included in the published Immigration Salary List. This information is offered as guidance only, and we recommend that applicants seek specialist advice on their eligibility for Visa Sponsorship (if applicable) when considering whether to apply for any role.

Location

Applicants should only apply for roles where they can reasonably commute to and from their selected home office location daily .

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.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a CV and 750-word Personal Statement.

Important Information Regarding Anonymisation

When completing your application form, CV and personal statement you must remove any personal details that could be used to identify you. This includes name and contact details which might usually appear on a CV or personal statement.

Failure to do so will result in your application being withdrawn.

Personal Statement

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a personal statement detailing the relevant skills and experience you can bring to the role. In no more than 750 words, please carefully consider the questions below. You should address these when constructing your personal statement. You do not need to answer each individually as one example of evidence may cover all of the questions. You should also consider both the job description and person specification details above when providing your evidence.

Your personal statement needs to set out evidence of how your experience meets the requirements set out above. Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. One narrative example may cover the requirements needed. You dont have to explain the whole process, just what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. 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.

Sift

The sift panel will assess your evidence-based statement to evaluate your experience, skills, and knowledge against the essential criteria outlined in the job advert. To progress to the next stage of the application process, you must provide clear and sufficient evidence demonstrating how you meet these criteria.

If we receive a high volume of applications, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead question : Explain how you have conducted a robust and challenging interview or conversation either via telephone or face to face and achieved an outcome.

CV

Your CV is for reference / context only and is not scored , put the main content of your evidence and skills in your personal statement.

Interview

The interview will assess yourbehaviours and strengths.

For the purposes of the selection process, the Lead Behaviour will be Leadership .

The interviews will be conducted face to face. The interviews will take place in any office in the advertised region.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to attend a face-to-face interview, please ensure you state those on your application form when asked to do so.

See the Personal Statement Guidance and Candidate Pack attachments for full details of the application and selection process.

Approximate campaign timeline :

Sift Period : 14 21 October 2025

Interviews : 3 14 November 2025

Sometimes we might decide to invite all candidates straight to interview without assessing the written application evidence, therefore sift and interview dates are subject to change.

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 3 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 :

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 :

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.

Disclosure and Barring Service and Internal Fraud Database Checks

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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.

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.

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 :

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 :

Recruitment team

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 EO FIU Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1068kB) Personal Statement Guidance Opens in new window (docx, 51kB) DWP Terms and Conditions January 2024 Opens in new window (docx, 17kB) Success-Profiles-Candidate-Overview-Accessble-Version Opens in new window (docx, 69kB)