Vacancy -- Team Band Rural Payments Wales Division

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Economy, Skills and Natural Resources
Rural Payments Wales Division
Team Support - £22,150 - £25,620
£20,000
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Fixed term
Up to 12 months
Various locations
Llandrindod Wells, Carmarthen, Caernarfon, Llandudno Junction, and Aberystwyth.

Interviews are scheduled to be held between the 25/11/2019 – 29/11/2019. This may change depending on the volume of applications however, candidates will be given sufficient time to prepare if invited to interview. 

Interviews will most likely be held in (Llandrindod Wells, Carmarthen, Caernarfon and Aberystwyth) however, if you are a disabled person with an impairment or health condition which means that you would like to be interviewed at another location as a reasonable adjustment please do call or email the contact number so that alternative arrangements can be made.

https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/inline-documents/2019-10/interview-guide-en.pdf

Purpose of Post:

Why work for Welsh Government?

It’s a great career choice whether you are leaving school or college, returning to work after starting a family or looking for a new career. There’s a wide range of jobs on offer.  A job at the Welsh Government is unlike any other in Wales.

At the Welsh Government you’ll be given support and guidance so you can develop your skills in the workplace. You’ll be a valued member of the team from day one.

Successful applicants will be joining a large processing team involved in providing a range of administrative duties including mapping to support the processing of applications in respect of Direct Aid and Rural Development schemes administered by Rural Payments Wales. Rural Payments Wales is the largest operational delivery team in Welsh Government with a variety of roles on offer.

Successful candidates will be matched into the most appropriate branch within the Rural Payments Wales Division.

We are recruiting for staff to start from late 2019.

We will consider your location preferences when assigning you to a post however, we cannot guarantee we will be able to offer a placement in your preferred location.  We will consider requests to work in specific locations based on personal circumstances like caring responsibilities or an impairment or health condition. Tell us your preferred locations in the 'Additional Information' box. If you provide a specific location you will only be offered the locations you have stated in your application regardless of merit order. 

To apply, you will need to meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements.  You will be a:

  • European Economic Area (EEA) national, including a British citizen
  • Commonwealth citizen
  • Swiss national
  • Turkish national (in some circumstances)
  • will be at least 16 years of age by 16th September  2019.  There is no upper age limit
  • will need to meet the Civil Service Nationality requirements to apply.

Key tasks:

Types of tasks you could be doing

  • Undertake administrative duties to support the validation of applications and claims for payment in respect of the Rural Development and Direct Aid schemes.
  • Mapping and spatial capture of data relating to Rural Development Scheme applications and Direct Aid schemes.
  • Use a variety of Microsoft Office packages such as Word, Outlook and Excel.
  • Liaise with operational colleagues and attend any relevant training and user testing sessions throughout the year.
  • Deal with telephone enquiries and callers to the office, including the provision of Digital Assistance appointments to support external customers.
  • Action and respond to correspondence received by specified deadlines.
  • Work flexibly with other Team Support Officers across the Division to provide cover and meet priority needs
  • Process paper and electronic CPH applications, liaising with customers where necessary to resolve processing problems.
  • To act as first point of contact / direct line support to all Rural Payments Wales (RPW) customers throughout Wales in dealing courteously and efficiently with all telephone, email and online enquires in relation to all schemes administered by RPW and online
  • Manage own work, ensuring quality standards are maintained in line with guidance
  • Working with other teams within your wider business area as and when required 

Who are we looking for?

Individuals who are keen to learn, and have the commitment to working as part of a team.

You will be:

  • Motivated to learn while you work, in order to develop your skills
  • A team player
  • Able to work to deadlines with little supervision 
  • Flexible in your approach
  • A good communicator
  • Confident using ICT, and have good digital skills
  • Able to demonstrate a high level of numeracy and literacy skills

We will assess all these skills during the selection process.  

We are looking for individuals to be able to provide our customers with a professional, friendly and accurate service; this is likely to include answering phone calls, emails, drafting prepopulated letters / correspondence, and redirecting customers to an appropriate colleague for further assistance, where required. We need individuals who are competent using ICT, whether this is to manage spreadsheets / databases or accurately process online financial payments. You will need to be flexible in your approach and be able to work across other teams as and when required.

Language 

Welsh language is a good skill to have and is essential for some of our roles but not all. We encourage Welsh speakers and non Welsh speakers to apply for these posts. We have a range of roles with opportunities to put your skills to use. We can also help you to learn or improve your Welsh if you would like.

Those that have registered as a fluent Welsh Speaker will be matched to a Welsh essential post and will test your Welsh Language skills at interview. 

Want to know more?

Recruitment open days:

We are holding several recruitment open days across Wales. 

Find out more about the work we do, hear from our current staff, discover more about the post we are advertising and obtain assistance in how to complete your online application. There are 5 sessions, please choose a preference of either 10-11am, 11-12noon, 1-2pm, 2-3pm or 3-4pm, use the link below to book your place:

28 October – Carmarthen Job Centre

28 October – Llandrindod Wells Job centre

Development opportunities:

Why Welsh Government and Rural Payments Wales? 

Successful candidates will be joining the largest Operational Delivery Division within the Welsh Government. We work across a breadth of government activity from Policy Implementation, processing Scheme payments, providing briefing to our Ministers, general administration, IT development and Rural Inspectorate.

These posts will be working as part of our processing teams located at five main sites in Aberystwyth, Carmarthen, Caernarfon, Llandrindod Wells and Llandudno Junction.

Who we are and what do we do

Our Division, Rural Payments Wales, is part of the Environment and Rural Affairs department. We are responsible for administering all aspects of the European Union's (EU's) Common Agricultural Policy schemes in Wales. We pay around £340m per annum to farmers, fishers, businesses and local communities via 3 major EU funded programmes:

•             CAP: Direct Aid - Basic Payment Scheme (BPS),

•             CAP: RDP 2014-2020,

•             EMFF 2014-2020.

We aim to get the maximum benefit for Wales - and set high standards of compliance and professionalism in delivering the services we provide to our customers the recipients of farm payments.

These payments are vital to supporting a sustainable rural economy and the agricultural industry as well as protecting and improving wildlife and the environment in Wales.

What are the benefits?

Working for the Welsh Government has many great benefits, including:

You will earn £20,000 a year.

You will get 31 days holidays as well as 10 public and privilege days.  We offer flexible working arrangements to help you get the right work/life balance.  You will also be eligible for membership of the Civil Service Pension Scheme

Other benefits

  • All members of staff have access to training opportunities, including regular personal development discussions.
  • Flexible working practices to help you get the right work/life balance. We also offer term-time working for staff with childcare responsibilities.
  • Dedicated health & safety and occupational health teams to provide staff support.
  • 3 active trade unions within the organisation: PCS, IPMS/Prospect and FDA.
  • Mentors, office buddies, social networking groups.

 

Closing Date:

05/11/2019, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

1. Why do you want to work at Welsh Government and Rural Payments Wales? (Up to 500 words)

2. Tell us about a piece of work you have delivered successfully using your IT and digital skills? You can include an example from any aspect of your education, work or social life. (Up to 300 words)

3. What skills have you learned from your education, work or social life that would be important in your role in Welsh Government? Please bear in mind the key tasks listed in the advert. (Up to 300 words)

Assessment Process

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.

Other vacancy related information  

The Welsh Government published its strategic equality objectives in 2016 and these included a commitment to be an exemplar in equality and diversity.  Welsh Government welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage (including equal/same sex marriage) and civil partnership, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, disability, race, religion or belief or pregnancy/maternity.  

In recent years we have been awarded Level 3 Leader Status for being a Disability Confident employer, we are currently 8th in the UK for Stonewall Workplace Index which supports Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) employee’s, we have signed up to the Race at Work Charter and are included on the list of organisations that have been recognised as an inclusive employer for race. We have also been awarded Gold status by a:gender the inclusive support network for staff in Government Departments and Agencies, covering all aspects of gender reassignment, gender identity, gender expression and Intersex. We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, an organisation in which people want to work and are proud to work. For this reason, we have put the principles of human rights, equality, fairness, dignity and respect at the heart of our values.

Welsh Government has adopted the social model definition of disability, which recognises that barriers in society act to disable people who have impairments or health conditions or who use British Sign Language. We are committed to removing barriers so that all (or potential new) staff can perform at their best. The Equality Act 2010 uses the medical model definition of disability (“a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long-term impact on a person’s ability to carry out normal day to day activities”).

Shared Service Helpdesk - sharedservicehelpdesk@gov.wales - 0300 0255454

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have a disability which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to a disability in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.