Head of Financial Strategy

Job summary

Are you able to build strong relationships that will enable you to influence and challenge at all levels?Do you have strong leadership skills that you can bring to this role with the ability to coach and mentor your team?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) as the Head of Financial Strategy and we'd love to hear from you!
The Head of Financial Strategy is a critical role in the Finance Directorate at MHCLG. It is within the Strategic Finance division – a small, influential team that supports strategic decision-making by the SoS and the Executive Team, and leads the department’s relationship with HMT.

Job description

We are looking for a high-performing and experienced team leader. We offer rewarding, high-profile work within inclusive and friendly team. You will lead a small, high-performing team of three Grade 7’s and a SEO.

What you will be doing:

- Developing the Department’s financial strategy and medium-term financial plans, ensuring proposals are coherent, realistic and deliverable.
- Ensuring we are well positioned and organised to secure funding at HMT fiscal events including Budgets and Spending Reviews.
- Ensuring we make the best use of existing resources, advising Ministers and the Executive team on options and trade-offs and deliver better outcomes for the public.
- Coordinating rapid responses across the department on emerging financial pressures and priorities.
- Leading the relationship with our HMT Spending Team. This is a high-profile, fast-paced role, involving close working with senior officials and Ministers, and with colleagues from across the department including Finance, Strategy and HR.

Person specification

Skills and experience that we are looking for:- A good understanding of government finance and policy making including experience of strategic planning, policy development and/or fiscal events.
- Highly collaborative, leading a team that builds effective relationships at all levels.
- An experienced manager, able to motivate and inspire your team to work at fast pace and respond positively and flexibly when requirements change.
- Ability to see the big picture, joining up strategies and approaches across the whole department.
- Outstanding verbal and written communications.
- Organised, efficient and adaptable approach.
- Confident and credible managing senior stakeholders. The post-holder could come from the finance or policy profession.

You are very welcome to get in touch with the Vacancy Manager David Keenan - David.Keenan@communities.gov.uk.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £66,620, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £19,299 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 , Experience , Strengths

Stage 1: Sift

• Experience (Lead Criteria): In no more than 250 words, please tell us how your experience makes you a good fit for this role.

• Behaviour: Seeing the Big Picture

• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing

• 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.

Stage 2: Interview

• Behaviours: Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing, Working Together
• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
• 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 2nd February 2026.

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 16th February 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 : David Keenan
• Email : david.keenan@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

Attachments

1a. MHCLG Candidate Pack (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 834kB)1b. Candidate Guidance (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 355kB)1c. Success Profiles Candidate information (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 936kB)Darlington Economic Campus Career Pathways (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 452kB)