Policy Advisor
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 10th November 2024
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About the job
Job summary
Are you looking for an exciting role, developing and delivering policy which directly impacts citizens across the UK? Three roles have opened in the Elections Directorate in the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.
The Elections Directorate is a welcoming and inclusive team. We are responsible for a challenging and dynamic policy landscape, always in the public eye, covering electoral policy and law. This includes how elections are run, who can participate, and how elections and campaigning are regulated.
The Electoral Campaigning Team leads on policy and legislation relating to political finance, the conduct of electoral campaigning, and the regulator of elections (the Electoral Commission). We are looking for three Policy Advisors whose roles will focus on either:
- the regulation of political finance
- the regulation of campaign conduct
- the role, powers, and governance of the Electoral Commission
The post-holders will have the opportunity to develop policy and understand the intricacies of legislation, working with a degree of autonomy but supported as required. You will become an expert policy professional, able to lead on the production of high-quality advice for Ministers and communicate complex issues clearly. This will include producing ministerial briefings, preparing for parliamentary debates and questions, and responding to relevant reports and ministerial correspondence. You will keep track of media coverage and research and be ready to provide rapid advice in response to current events.
These roles will play a key part in shaping the present and future regulation of electoral campaigning and will require the post-holders to work with other departments, the Electoral Commission, and the wider electoral community, including political parties and civil society organisations.
Job description
Policy Advisor – Political Finance
This post will focus on developing policy relating to the UK’s political finance framework. The effective regulation of political finance (broadly, donations to and spending by political parties and other campaigners) is crucial to maintaining trust in our democracy and combatting the threat of foreign interference. Political finance regulation is a technical area of policy, requiring the post-holder to think strategically and engage with complex regulations that interact across multiple pieces of legislation, case law and the devolution settlements. This is a fast-paced and highly political policy area which regularly attracts parliamentary and media interest. If you enjoy the challenge of navigating complexity and responding at pace this is an exciting opportunity to put those skills to use.
Policy Advisor – The Regulator (Electoral Commission)
This post will focus on developing policy relating to the role, powers and governance of the Electoral Commission. The Electoral Commission is the independent statutory body which oversees elections and regulates political finance. The Commission is accountable to Parliament via the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission. The role of the regulator in overseeing elections and regulating political finance is integral to maintaining public confidence in the integrity of our electoral system and in combating the threat of foreign interference in our democracy. Therefore, you will need to think strategically and proactively to make links to the other policy areas, programmes and departments, for example, the Government’s wider response to the threat posed by AI-driven election interference.
Policy Advisor – Campaigning Conduct
The post will focus on developing policy relating to campaigning conduct (the regulation of the practice of electoral campaigning carried out by campaigners, and the policy relating to intimidation and undue influence of voters and campaigners). You will develop subject matter expertise in a high profile and complex area of legislation and will have the opportunity to work strategically with key stakeholders both within and outside of Government, for example, to support the Government’s response to the challenging issue of intimidation in public life.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Demonstrate experience of adapting to change and working in a fast-paced environment.
- Have an interest in working on a technical and political policy area.
- Demonstrate experience of researching, analysing and summarising information to inform decisions based on the best available evidence in a policy or other context.
- Be able to build strong working relationships with stakeholders inside and outside the department.
- Be able to present complex information clearly and concisely, in a range of formats and to different audiences.
- Be able to develop a good awareness of the wider context connected to your policy area, with the ability to proactively consider how it impacts your work.
Desirable Criteria
- Preferably, you will have an interest in or some prior knowledge of how Parliament and/or elections work.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
Benefits
- 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%
Things you need to know
Selection process details
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 ‘Making Effective Decisions’ 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: Making Effective Decisions (lead behaviour)
Behaviour 2: Communicating and Influencing
Behaviour 3: Delivering at Pace
Experience: Demonstrate experience of researching, analysing and summarising information, and presenting complex information clearly and concisely, in a range of formats and to different audiences.
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.
The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:
Behaviours: Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace
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
Experience
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 £35,400 (London) or £32,178 (National).
- For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.
Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.
BENEFITS:
Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018:
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
For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack.
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
- Leeds
- London
- Wolverhampton
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.
SIFT AND INTERVIEW DATES:
Sifting is envisaged to take place w/c 11 November 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.
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
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 : Kaisa Laine
- Email : kaisa.laine@communities.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk
