Business Banking Policy Adviser
HM Treasury
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 20th October 2024
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
HM Treasury
If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.
Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.
We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a pioneering new cross-government hub which brings people together to play an active role in the most important issues of the day whilst working closer to the communities we serve. The campus provides the opportunity for people from all over the UK to help shape the future of the country, and our flexible working practices ensure you can collaborate effectively with our partners. It’s central government, made more accessible to you!
We are encouraging applications for upcoming roles on Campus and as such we are holding a Careers Day on 1st October 2024 which we thought might be of interest to you.
There will be multiple sessions throughout the afternoon to help you better understand our recruitment process and perfect your examples when it comes to application and interview. The sessions will begin at 1pm so arrival for 12:45 at the latest, they will be running until 4:30pm. You will leave the day with a greater understanding of what is expected from our Success Profiles approach and a relevant buddy who will be able to help you on the day and moving forwards. If this would be of interest to you, please contact daniel.wood@businessandtrade.gov.uk for further details.
Job description
About The Group
The Financial Services Group advises the government on how to promote a stable and efficient financial services sector, to deliver excellent outcomes for consumers and business, enhance the UK’s position as a global hub for financial services and support economic growth across the country.
The financial services sector is important to the UK economy – providing significant numbers of jobs and making a large contribution to the UK’s economic output. It also provides essential services to individuals – for example, helping them to purchase goods with ease, buy their first home, and plan for their retirement. During the COVID pandemic, it played a critical role in supporting individuals and businesses – for example, in providing payment holidays for individuals and businesses affected by the pandemic and working with the government to deliver Bounce Back Loans.
We ensure that financial services businesses such as banks, investment firms, financial advisors and insurers are well-regulated. Ensuring firms treat customers fairly, customers have access to a range of financial services as a result of competition in the market, and there are appropriate remedies in place when things go wrong.
We work on a significant international agenda which includes promoting openness and trading links between the UK and countries all around the world, including through Free Trade Agreements and other international dialogues and negotiations. To do this we work closely with colleagues in offices overseas from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for International Trade.
Working with stakeholders is key in Financial Services – for example, we work closely with the independent regulators to help them fulfil their roles, consult consumer groups on issues affecting them, and work with the sector on wider issues like the net-zero agenda.
About The Team
The Banking and Credit Team is a high-profile and friendly team of about 20 people with interests across a range of financial services issues. The team leads the Treasury’s policy work on retail banking, mortgages, business lending, building societies and mutuals, dormant assets, and the Government’s strategy for competition in financial services. The team works closely with a number of Treasury teams (in the Financial Services and Financial Stability Groups, the Fiscal Group and the Enterprise and Growth Unit), other government departments and with a wide range of partners, including all the major banks.
About the Job
The team has a vacancy for a stretching and high-profile role in the Business Lending and Competition Unit. The role will give the post-holder the opportunity to shape Government policy in a wide-ranging and fast-paced area.
The business banking sector is one of the most critical in the UK economy, providing essential financial services to sustain and grow the UK’s businesses. The role is varied and high-profile, with significant ministerial, parliamentary and press interest and engagement. You will be the lead on several areas of business banking policy development, working to ensure the Treasury has an effective and coherent medium-to-long term strategy for the sector.
The post-holder can expect to manage a wide-ranging and high-profile portfolio, influencing the work of the Financial Services Group across business lending and domestic banking sector competition issues. While also getting to work with a broad range of internal and external parties including the major banks and alternative finance providers, industry and consumer representatives, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Bank of England, other Government Departments and institutions.
Key accountabilities for this role include:
- Proactively drive forward our development and delivery of business banking policy, leading on broad policy areas such as dispute resolution between banks and SMEs, the regulatory framework, access to bank accounts and supply of finance and delivery including through legislation, guidance and voluntary industry initiatives..
- Advise senior officials and Ministers on key issues related to business banking and competition.
- Look holistically at how the current regulatory framework is impacting competition in the wider domestic banking sector, and work with colleagues across Financial Services, Financial Stability and the independent regulators to ensure a balanced approach to regulation which adequately delivers market stability while enabling the entrance and growth of new banking services providers.
- Lead external stakeholder engagement for the Business Lending and Competition Unit, develop a strategy to support policy development and effective senior/ministerial engagement, and forge strong and collaborative relationships across industry, financial regulators and other government teams.
- Provide high-quality support for senior and ministerial engagement with the SME finance sector, including written and verbal briefings, to ensure that the government’s engagement strategy is effective.
- Respond to parliamentary, public and press activity/enquiries, including supporting ministers in parliamentary debates, and use these channels to identify and monitor developing policy issues.
- Act as a key point of contact for the business banking and domestic competition policy areas, dealing with issues and queries as they arise in a timely manner and with sound judgement.
- Provide high-quality, flexible support to other areas of the unit’s work, such as the Dormant Assets Scheme, as needed.
Candidate Drop-In Session – Microsoft Teams
The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and ask any questions you may have. If you would like to join us, then use the link below to join the call at the right time.
4th October 2024 12:00 – 13:00hrs Join the meeting now
If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact Sophie Green (sophie.green@hmtreasury.gov.uk).
Person specification
Your application will consist of a CV and a 750-word personal statement.
Your CV should consist of your career history, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will not be scored, but instead will be used to provide further context on your personal statement, and support conversations at interview.
Your personal statement should demonstrate evidence of how you meet the criteria listed below:
- Ability to evaluate complex information and evidence, balancing trade-offs to develop evidence-based policy advice, and communicate a recommendation in an accessible way to senior decision makers.
- Ability to autonomously deliver high quality work across short- and long- term objectives, in the face of a dynamic and changing work environment.
- Strong communication skills, with an ability to develop a meaningful partner network across government and industry to progress policy areas and represent government positions.
These criteria have been identified as the essential skills or experience for the role, so it is important that you include evidence to demonstrate you have the skills or experience we are looking for. You should not include any personal identifying information within your CV or personal statement.
Please review the Candidate FAQ document that is attached to the advert for more guidance on how to complete your application form.
Candidate Guidance Support Session – Microsoft Teams
We will be running an overview of Success Profiles and the STAR approach including top tips for the application and interview process and an opportunity to ask general questions around our recruitment practices. Please note that this session is not role specific, so we will be unable to answer specific questions about roles we are advertising. If you would like to join us, please use the link below to join the call at the right time.
Thursday 3rd October at 12:30: Join the meeting now
At interview stage, you will be assessed on the below criteria:
- Strengths
- Behaviours:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
Interview Task/Presentation
Prior to your interview, we will contact you about a task/presentation that the interview panel would like you to complete as part of the assessment. The exact details will be communicated to you nearer the time.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
Benefits
- 25 days’ annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King's birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant)
- Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
- Generous parental and adoption leave package.
- A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 28%
- Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
- Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
- Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
- A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
- A range of active staff networks, based around interests and diversity
Flexible Working Arrangements
HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they can enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; part-time, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees the flexibility to adjust their working patterns throughout the week which is subject to operational needs and line management approval.
At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff can realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites - Darlington, London, and Norwich, and along with the rest of the Civil Service, has an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office, along with working remotely. This blended working approach allows you to work collaboratively, meet stakeholders face to face, support others and promotes a healthy work life balance (please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas). Some roles will not be suitable for Hybrid Working. Similarly, Hybrid Working will not suit everyone’s circumstances. Arrangements will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate(s) and subject to regular review. All our offices have been recently modernised and designed to collaborate and connect with colleagues as well as desk and quiet space to allow a range of ways to work.
The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Recruitment Timeline
Closing date: 20th October 2024
Shortlisting: w/c 21st October 2024
Interviews: w/c 28th / 4th November 2024
This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.
If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.
Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.
Eligibility Statement
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information.
Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Counter Terrorist Check (CTC)
To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case by case basis once the advert closing date has passed.
Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you. Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.
These short videos address common concerns and preconceptions which applicants may have about national security vetting. If you have questions relating to security clearances, please contact HMTSecurityVetting@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Sophie Green
- Email : sophie.green@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk
Further information
