Deputy Director, Housing and Regeneration Strategy

Job summary

The work we do shapes the lives of people across the country – from the homes people live in, to the places and communities they are part of. Housing is central to the Government’s growth mission and is high on the political agenda, making this an exciting time to join the Housing Markets and Strategy leadership team.

This is one of the Department’s most high-profile roles, sitting at the heart of decisions on growth, regeneration policy and housing reform.

We are looking for a Deputy Director to lead the Housing and Regeneration Strategy function. This is a senior leadership role for a strategic policy professional who can set long-term direction while remaining focused in delivery realities.

The role plays a central part in shaping the Department’s overall housing strategy, working across tenures and policy areas to support delivery of the Government’s ambition to build 1.5 million homes this Parliament, alongside improving quality, affordability and outcomes for residents. This includes leading the Government’s strategy to deliver 1.5m homes, working across the department, government and with external stakeholders to shape our approach. The postholder will ensure that housing policy responds effectively to the economic, fiscal and delivery context -supporting growth, unlocking supply, and driving reforms to support housing supply.

You will lead a team of around 30 staff and be part of the senior leadership team in Housing Markets and Strategy. You will work closely across the Department, with HM Treasury and No.10, and with key delivery partners including Homes England and the housing sector.

Success in the role will involve shaping a clear and deliverable long-term housing strategy, strengthening cross-government alignment, and ensuring the Department is well positioned for fiscal events and delivery against the 1.5 million homes target.

You will be a visible and collaborative senior leader, contributing to a high-performing and inclusive culture, and role modelling Civil Service leadership behaviours.

Job description

Why Join Us

As Deputy Director for Housing Strategy, you will work on one of the Government’s highest priorities - driving the delivery of 1.5 million homes while improving quality, affordability and outcomes for residents. You will operate at the interface of policy, delivery and fiscal decision-making, coordinating major Spending Reviews and Budgets and working closely with HM Treasury, No.10 and key delivery partners.

You will engage with senior stakeholders across Whitehall and beyond, including Ministers, regulators and industry leaders, and play a central role in shaping how the housing system responds to economic, fiscal and delivery challenges.

You will join a high-performing and collaborative leadership team, with the opportunity to build capability, develop talent and contribute to a strong and inclusive culture. The role offers significant scope to make a lasting impact on housing outcomes across the country, while developing your own leadership at the most senior levels of the Civil Service.

The Role

Working closely with the Director and wider senior leadership team, key responsibilities include:

• Setting and leading the Department’s overarching housing strategy, aligned to the Government’s growth mission and wider economic priorities

• Driving cross-cutting strategy across housing tenures, ensuring coherence between supply, demand, affordability and quality

• Leading the Department’s approach to fiscal events, including Spending Reviews and Budgets, working closely with HM Treasury and No.10

• Shaping delivery of the Government’s ambition to deliver 1.5 million homes this Parliament, reporting to No.10 through regular PM stocktakes.

• Leading cross-government work to unlock housing supply and address systemic barriers to delivery.

• Providing high-quality advice to Ministers on complex, sensitive and politically significant issues

• Leading a central housing strategy and briefing function, ensuring clear, evidence-led and timely advice

• Playing a full role in the leadership of the Directorate and wider Group, including corporate and cross-cutting priorities

• Leading, developing and deploying the team effectively, ensuring clear prioritisation, strong capability and resilient delivery in a fast-paced environment

Person specification

The Person

You will be an experienced and visible leader who can motivate and empower teams delivering at pace, and who actively contributes to corporate leadership across the Directorate and Department.

You will be comfortable operating with ambiguity, bringing clarity and structure to complex problems, and using evidence and judgement to shape strategy and advice in a politically and economically dynamic context.

You will bring strong stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the credibility to engage senior leaders across Whitehall and externally, including Ministers or equivalent senior stakeholders.

You will combine strategic thinking with a strong grip on delivery, and be confident working with specialist professions (including analysts, legal, finance and commercial) and in commercially informed policy environments.

Prior experience in housing, market or competition policy, or finance and investment is welcomed but not essential.

Given the national scope of the role, hybrid working and some travel to meetings and other UK locations should be anticipated.

You will be expected to attend the office in accordance with the Department’s office attendance policy which is currently set at 60% for SCS.

EssentialCriteria

• Leads complex, cross-cutting strategy across policy and delivery contexts, using strong analysis and evidence to inform decisions

• Delivers at pace, managing risk effectively and adapting to changing priorities

• Influences at senior level, building strong relationships across Whitehall and externally, and advising Ministers with sound judgement and political awareness

• Provides inclusive leadership, leading through ambiguity and building high-performing teams

• Demonstrates strong understanding of fiscal and public spending processes, including experience of working with HM Treasury and in financially or commercially informed contexts

• Brings a creative, innovative and problem-solving approach to complex policy challenges

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• 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

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

How to Apply - To apply you will need to submit a CV and Statement of Suitability via the Be Applied link. Your CV (up to two pages) should set out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years. Your Statement of Suitability (up to two pages) should explain how your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential and desirable criteria for the role.

Equal Opportunities - We encourage candidates to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring Data via Be Applied. The data will be treated in the strictest confidence and used for monitoring and statistical purposes only.

Interview Schemes - MHCLG is a Disability Confident employer and is committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health of all colleagues and applicants. We also operate the Great Place to Work for Veterans and Redeployment schemes. Applicants applying under these schemes who meet the essential criteria, will be invited to interview.

The Panel - Melanie Montanari – hiring manager and Director. Two other panel members TBC.

Additionally, the panel may be joined by one of our staff representatives from a pool of volunteers as part of our commitments to diversity and inclusion.

Shortlist - Applications will be sifted after the closing date and shortlisted candidates will be invited to the next phase of assessment and interview. Your CV and Statement of Suitability will be assessed against the essential criteria, these will also be used to form the basis of the panel’s final interview questions. Desirable criteria will only be used to determine the merit order of candidates who rank evenly against the essential criteria.

Assessment - Shortlisted candidates may be invited to attend a Staff Engagement Panel, designed to provide insight into how you engage and interact with your team. Feedback from the session is passed to the panel for consideration alongside your final interview.

Candidates may also be invited to meet with a Senior Stakeholder. This is not a formal part of selection, but an informal chance to find out more about the role and organisation.

Shortlisted candidates may also be invited to give a short presentation or complete an exercise at interviews - further details will be provided when invited to interview.

Feedback - This will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Expected Timeline*:

• Advert closes: 13/07/2026
• Shortlisting: W/C 14/07/2026
• Assessments: W/C 20/07/2026
• Interviews: W/C 27/07/2026

*Please note that we try to offer flexibility where possible, but it may not always be possible to offer alternative interview dates.

Salary​ - For external appointments, remuneration for this role is advertised at £81,000 pa plus a bonus opportunity depending on performance (within the normal Civil Service pay arrangements) and attractive pension. ​

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If appointed on promotion you would get the higher of 10% uplift or the new minimum for SCSPB1. Please also note that, if successful, any existing specialist allowances you currently receive will not automatically transfer or be retained upon moving to this role.​

Future pay awards will normally be made in line with current SCS performance-related pay arrangements.​

Eligibility​ - This post is advertised on level transfer or promotion to existing civil servants, and externally.

Full Information & Benefits - 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

• 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

• Appeals and Complaints

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

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 security 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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : SCS Recruitment
• Email : scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.recruitment@communities.gov.uk