Fire Policy SEO

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Do you enjoy developing evidence based policy and turning complex issues into clear advice? Are you confident building effective relationships and influencing internal and external stakeholders?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for SEO Policy Advisors to join the Fire Directorate at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), contributing to high profile work that helps keep people safe. The Fire Directorate recently transferred to MHCLG from the Home Office as part of a Machinery of Government change.

The Directorate plays a vital role in keeping the public safe from fires and the harm they cause, as part of MHCLG’s vision to end the building safety crisis and transform the fire and rescue sector. It leads a wide and varied portfolio of work, including fire safety policy, national resilience and emergency preparedness, and reform of the fire and rescue sector. This includes delivering Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations, supporting vulnerable people, working closely with fire and rescue services, and shaping the future direction of the sector.

These roles sit across different divisions within the Fire Directorate and offer the opportunity to work across priority policy areas, collaborating with colleagues across government and with external partners to develop evidence based policy and deliver meaningful change.

Job description

About the posts
1. Fire Risk Assessor Policy Advisor

• Leadership of policy development for key elements of the FRA Competency Programme, including leading work with stakeholders, analysts, legal and other professions to develop policy proposals to support recommendations to ministers, especially relating to future regulatory structures.
• Supporting the launch and conduct of an imminent public consultation, ensuring that we effectively gather the necessary evidence to inform further policy development.
• Facilitation of wide-ranging stakeholder engagement with various industry and cross-government partners to ensure policy making takes account of their views. Engaging credibly with a range of external partners including individuals and representative bodies from fire safety, fire and rescue services, property owners and residents.
• Analysis, alongside Analysis and Insight colleagues, of responses to consultation and/or the outcomes of stakeholder engagement and close working with economists to develop rollout planning with regard to sector capacity and potential cost impacts.
• Development of key documentation to support the delivery of crucial legislative changes and facilitate the successful management of parliamentary and legislative processes, particularly with regard to future standard-setting processes.
• Ownership of key programme management products and processes to ensure effective delivery and appropriate risk management and escalation.

2. College of Fire and Rescue Policy Advisor

• Analysing responses to a public consultation on the potential functions, delivery model and funding model for a new college of fire and rescue, and contributing to the development of the government’s formal response to the consultation.
• Leading policy development work to shape some of the college’s core functions.
• Facilitating engagement sessions with a range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure policy development takes account of their views.
• Contributing to key programme management documents and processes to ensure delivery progress is captured and that risks are mitigated and escalated as appropriate.
• Leading the department’s relationship with the independent Fire Standards Board, which designs and maintains professional standards for fire and rescue services in England to follow.

3. Evacuation Policy Advisor

• Identifying and evaluating new measures arising from legislation to support fire safety of disabled residents of high rise buildings, expanding and publishing a toolkit to aid building owners/managers.
• Support on primary legislation to complete the policy, and lead on revision of supporting guidance.
• Lead on evacuation considerations of cross-unit high-risk building work.
• Policy development regarding other evacuation measures, including watching brief on fire safety developments, inputting the evacuation policy perspective, and maintaining a clear, up to date understanding and narrative.
• Maintaining an up to date evidence base and clear policy narrative on evacuation, including monitoring emerging fire safety developments and advising senior officials

4. Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Policy Support Lead

• Lead policy support for the CBRN DIM uplift project, working collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure successful delivery.
• Provide policy and project support for the MD capability review, contributing to the development of alternative options to strengthen and enhance the national specialist mass decontamination capability.
• Coordinate project working groups, ensuring effective governance, clear documentation and strong communication and collaborative work with key stakeholders.
• Support policy lead contributions to research and development on other initial decontamination responses (Surge Decontamination Deluge Corridor model), assessing feasibility and operational benefit and delivery.
• Provide flexible support to emerging fire national resilience
• Important: To be eligible for this post, candidates will need to be able to obtain SC security clearance.

5. Culture and Firefighter Health Policy Advisor

• Support the design, development, and implementation of policy to promote positive culture and firefighter heath across FRSs.
• Draft clear, evidence‑based products including briefings, submissions, guidance, and consultation materials.
• Contribute to the production of a sector‑wide culture vision and implementation approach, working closely with senior officials and external stakeholders.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships with key partners, including the Ministerial Advisory Group Culture Task and Finish Group.
• Monitor performance issues and emerging vulnerabilities across individual services, analysing evidence, collating data and sector insight, and escalating risks appropriately to inform policy recommendations and ministerial advice
• Play an active role in the wider unit to improve culture by supporting collaborative working, contributing to team priorities, and modelling positive behaviours.

Person specification

Essential Criteria Successful candidates will need to demonstrate:Making Effective Decisions:

• Ability to assess evidence, identify key issues, and draw clear conclusions.
• Able to present complex information accurately and succinctly, both in writing and verbally.

Communicating and Influencing:

• Confident and clear communicator with the ability to adapt your style to different audiences.
• Able to build trust and influence stakeholders across the fire sector and within the department.

Seeing the Bigger Picture:

• Able to understand how fire culture policy interacts with wider departmental objectives and operational realities across FRSs.

Delivering at Pace:

• Proven ability to work to tight deadlines, prioritise effectively, and maintain high standards under pressure.
• Comfortable managing competing demands in a fast moving policy environment.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,004, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,747 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 Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, 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): Making Effective Decisions
• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing
• Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture
• 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: Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, 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 27th April 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 11th May 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: + CTC

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

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 : Martha Lloyd
• Email : martha.lloyd@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