Communities and High Streets Strategy – Senior Policy Advisor

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Are you a self‑starter who can lead policy or project work at pace, bringing others with you?

Can you clearly explain complex policy issues to ministers, senior officials and stakeholders?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we'd love to hear from you!

We are recruiting a senior policy advisor in the Communities and Inclusive Growth division. It is a busy and exciting time for the division: we are driving forwards the Pride in Place Programme which will deliver £5.8bn to 284 of the most deprived communities across the UK over the next decade, as well as developing a new High Streets Strategy this year. We are also enacting several major policies through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.

You will be joining a friendly, fast-paced team working across issues that are at the top of this Government’s agenda. This policy area is of deep interest to MHCLG Ministers and No10 and come under significant scrutiny from parliament. We work collaboratively across the Department, No10 and across Whitehall, as well as with experts from across the communities and high streets sector.

Our work is firmly rooted in places. All members of the team are encouraged to get out and about across the country to understand challenges and opportunities on the ground and bring these insights into our policymaking. That could mean visiting our 284 Pride in Place neighbourhoods or one of early adopters of High Street Rental Auctions or High Street & Growth Incubators.

Job description

The division carries out a broad range of work across communities and high streets policy. Responsibilities could include:

• leading policy development to maximise the impact of Pride in Place Programme, ensuring this flagship fund has a strong legacy beyond the decade of grant funding
• helping to develop the departments’ wider agenda for place, exploring how we can build on the Pride in Place Programme to improve outcomes in in-need places
• supporting the development of our new ministerial team’s high streets agenda, including a new High Streets Strategy and fund
• delivering on existing policy commitments, including through consultation and legislation
• interrogating data and evidence, working closely with the analytical team, and learning to apply basic concepts of economic theory to high streets policy
• drafting accurate, high-quality advice, briefings and correspondence for Ministers, senior officials and No10 on a range of cross-cutting policy issues that impact high streets
• organising and delivering engagement with external stakeholders at an official and ministerial level, bringing in relevant expertise to inform our ongoing policy development and managing relationships with key stakeholders
• helping manage the divisional correspondence inbox and responding to briefing requests and parliamentary questions
• contributing to making the division an even better place to work

Person specification

Essential Criteria

Successful candidates will be:

• self-starters, confident in leading policy development or project delivery with independence at pace and bring others along with them
• strong communicators, able to articulate complex and nuanced issues for senior leaders, ministers and other stakeholders, and adapt their approach for different audiences
• collaborative team players, adept at building relationships within and beyond the team and bringing people together to deliver crosscutting projects, over the short and long-term
• adaptable and resilient, able to manage multiple priorities and deliver high-quality work at pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,890, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,135 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

Application and Selection

The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:

Behaviours, Strengths

Stage 1: Sift

• Behaviour (Lead Behaviour): Communicating and Influencing

• Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture

• Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions

• Behaviour: Delivering at Pace

There is a 250-word limit per question.

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!)

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.

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 interview.

If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at hello@beapplied.com.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions, Delivering at Pace.

• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 23rd March 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 6th April 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

How We Recruit

Find out more about our recruitment processes here.

• Applying

• Sifting

• Interview

• Interview Results & Feedback

• Reserve List

• Near Miss

• Civil Service Grades

• We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer

• Reasonable Adjustments

How to Apply

Find out everything you need to know before applying here.

You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.

• Security Clearance Requirements

• Civil Service Nationality Requirements

• Right to Work

• Artificial Intelligence

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Fixed Term Contracts

• Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register

• Appeals and Complaints

• Conflict of Interest

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office:

London Office: + CTC

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 theCivil 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

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 :

• Name : Communities and High Streets Strategy Inbox
• Email : communitiesinclusivegrowth@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Further information

If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:

a procedural irregularity

an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy

exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.

It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.

If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk