London Housing Policy Advisor

Do you enjoy building solid working relationships with internal and external stakeholders? Have you got exceptional written and oral communication skills? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as a London Housing Policy Advisor and we’d love to hear from you! This is an exciting time to be joining the team, as we play a key role in contributing to the Government’s commitment to deliver 1.5 million homes. We work closely with colleagues from across the Department to deliver this, as well as key partners such as the Greater London Authority and London Councils. The London Housing Strategy team is responsible for leading the Department’s work to support increased housebuilding in our capital. Our primary objective is to isolate core issues that are preventing and delaying new supply from coming forward, and implementing new policies to overcome these challenges. To achieve this objective, the team leads on several separate work strands and owns a range of policy levers. These work strands include accelerating delivery of stalled housing developments; unlocking strategic sites to deliver regeneration and high-quality homes; progressing ambitious planning policy and supporting local authorities and housing associations to bring forward new affordable housing supply. The successful candidate will play a key role in co-ordinating the monthly London Housing Delivery Forum, recently set up to discuss cross-cutting issues and provide strategic direction related to housing delivery, including national, strategic and local planning matters, in London. You will also have the opportunity to expand your knowledge of housing policy and undertake numerous development opportunities such as leading priority policy and delivery advice for ministers, shaping key announcements and driving meaningful change in our capital. Due to the nature of the role, regular attendance at the London office (2 Marsham Street) will be required – this is likely to be once a month., You will be: + helping to develop London’s housing policy, considering economic growth, planning policy and overcoming blockages in the sector + working closely alongside colleagues from a wide range of teams inside the department and across other government departments to ensure housing policy is coherent and impactful + representing the Department to local stakeholders, presenting findings and policy recommendations to senior officials and ministers across government + supporting a programme of stakeholder engagement (e.g. roundtables and visits) between the department and London boroughs, to ensure that policy development genuinely reflects local priorities and the department is responsive to community voice + reviewing and evaluating evidence to support policy development and funding proposals + contributing to parliamentary business for the team (eg correspondence and Parliamentary Questions) + contributing to the team’s corporate objectives and making the team a welcoming and inclusive place to work, This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Strengths. As part of our pre-employment checking process we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process. Unless stated otherwise in the advert, your CV will not form part of the assessment but will be used for information purposes and only shared with the panel at interview stage. Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise). Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions, for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible. Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. When writing your application, remember: + The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially. + Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers. + If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) At sift, we will be assessing Behaviour 1: Delivering at Pace (lead behaviour) Behaviour 2: Making Effective Decisions Behaviour 3: Seeing the Big Picture Behaviour 4: Communicating and Influencing There is a 250 word limit per question. In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview., There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.

• Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus (DEC) is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.
For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. SIFT AND INTERVIEW DATES: Sifting is envisaged to take place w/c 6 January 2024 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. Reserve List In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details in a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. CTC (Counter-terrorism Clearance): Important note Successful candidates for roles based in our 2 Marsham Street building must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC). Thank you. Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. Candidate Pack Information Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. The candidate pack contains information about the CS Commissioners appeals and complaints procedure. Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules Internal Fraud Database The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented. For more information please see: Internal Fraud Register Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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: + UK nationals + nationals of the Republic of Ireland + nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) + nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) + individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 + Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service 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).

+ work collaboratively across teams building effective working relationships to deliver shared objectives + assess evidence from multiple sources to come to sound policy judgements + prioritise workload effectively in order to deliver high quality work to often tight timelines + communicate complex ideas clearly and succinctly, including through written advice and briefing to seniors + effectively brief senior members of staff ahead of ministerial and board meetings Desirable Criteria Experience working in the housing sector or knowledge about housing delivery at a local level., + Delivering at Pace + Making Effective Decisions + Seeing the Big Picture + Communicating and Influencing

Alongside your salary of £33,787, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £9,788 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. + Learning and development tailored to your role + An environment with flexible working options + A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity + A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%, The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements: Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions, Seeing the Big Picture Strengths: The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates. In the full campaign we will test the below Success Profile Elements: Behaviours Strengths We do not consider direct CV applications to our Recruitment mailbox – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign. HEO salary + The salary for this role is £37,170 (London) or £33,787 (National)., Any move to MHCLG 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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk