Policy Adviser

Job summary

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives, the Treasury can offer you an exciting opportunity to influence decision making that affects the whole of the UK. Working at the heart of government, we collaborate across government to promote responsible public spending and drive strong and sustainable economic growth.

Our work ranges from protecting customers through the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, to promoting British trade around the world and supporting people across the country on jobs, growth and more.

We are part of the Darlington Economic Campus, a cross-government hub bringing people together to tackle key national issues while working closer to the communities we serve.

The Budget and Finance Bill Team is a fun and supportive team which sits at the centre of the Treasury and is responsible for delivering the department’s policy objectives through Budgets and Statements. The team works with privates offices, special advisers, policy teams, HMRC, comms specialists and more to bring together a coherent package of tax, welfare and spending policy announcements and present these to the outside world in the most effective way.

Job description

You will be responsible for ensuring the smooth running of Budget and Statements across the department, delivering a high quality of service, identifying and mitigating risks, and driving delivery. You do not need any specific qualifications or experience to take on this role, just evidence of the right behaviours, values and motivation to succeed.

Key accountabilities for this role frequently include the following, although exact responsibilities are flexibly allocated across the branch and can be tailored to post holders’ interests:

1. Creating and managing a project plan for delivering Budgets and Statements, covering the full range of milestones and processes relevant to fiscal event delivery including Ministerial meetings and movements, policy development, presentational products, and legislation.
2. Coordinating the development, clearance and publication of Budget documents, including Charts and Tables included in the main budget document (the publication setting out all policies being announced), and supplementary documents published alongside the main document on budget day (which can number anywhere between 30 and 90).
3. Leading on core elements of fiscal event delivery, including organising kick off and post event townhalls for the department, providing secretariat for the weekly budget directors meetings in the run up to fiscal events and coordinating weekly comms emails from the budget team to the department.
4. Building and maintaining strong relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to ensure essential budget services are delivered and there is timely and high-quality input into budget processes run by the branch; including private offices, policy leads, HMRC, internal comms, the internal reprographics service, the external printing supplier (who typeset and print the main budget document), and HMT facilities, security and caterers.
5. Designing and implementing a cross-departmental lessons learned process to collect, review and act on feedback from the department across all budget processes run by the team. This will include facilitating discussions within the team and with key stakeholders to reflect on processes and team ways of working, designing actions to address these, and driving implementation.
6. Account management of an allocated policy workstream (such as all measures in a budget relating to public services, or welfare and labour markets), including tracking policy development and ensuring timely input into budget products and processes.

In time and with sufficient experience, the role holder may have the opportunity lead on key presentational processes run by the branch, including:

1. Leading a x-HMT process to identify and mitigate presentational risks associated with budget policy packages, by organising challenge panels and advising the Chancellor.
2. Coordinating the development of a comprehensive briefing pack covering every policy announced at fiscal events to support Ministers, officials and press officers from across government engage with stakeholders and explain the budget package confidently.
3. Work with the comms team to collate and influence stakeholder handling plans in the run up to and directly after budget and Statements.

Long hours can sometimes be required in the period immediately before a Budget or Statement, and you will need to be able to travel to London for short periods of time around a fiscal event. However, SPB is committed to helping staff maintain a good work-life balance and actively manages flexible working practices to balance hours over the course of the year.

Candidate Drop-In Session

The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session to give you greater insight about the role and HM Treasury, and ask any questions you might have. If you would like to join us, use the link below to join the call at the right time.

Wednesday 24th June 2026 at 11:00am

https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/37345069475523?p=oNSxvTI2jnMWl5Lygv

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date for applications to find out more about the job, please contact:

Joe Oakes; joe.oakes@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

Application Stage

Application Form

Applications should consist of a CV including your employment history, and a 250-word statement demonstrating evidence of each of the below shortlisting criteria. Your CV and employment history won’t be scored. It’s used to give context to your application and support discussions at interview.

The panel will review applications and invite those that best demonstrate evidence of the shortlisting criteria below for interview. Please keep this in mind when writing your application.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

1. Delivering at Pace: Ability to plan, prioritise and deliver on a broad portfolio of work at pace and to a high quality, in an often busy and uncertain working environment.
2. Working together: Ability to build and maintain relationships with a wide network of stakeholders and collaborate to deliver results
3. Changing and improving: Ability to identify and implement improvements to processes and/or ways of working and support people to manage change.

The lead criterion is: Delivering at Pace

If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.

Interview Stage

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Strengths
• Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Working Together, Changing and Improving

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,820, HM Treasury contributes £10,087 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).

• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus public holidays and the King’s birthday.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme - Defined Benefit pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Parental Leave Packages - Including 6 months’ occupational pay for maternity/adoption, shared parental leave options.
• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Options include part-time, job-share, compressed hours, flexitime, and hybrid working (where business needs allow).
• Advance Schemes & Discounts - Rental deposit, cycle-to-work, SmartTech, season ticket loans, and access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal for a wide range of discount codes.

You can review HM Treasury’s full offer 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

The reference to Experience above is system generated. For this role, experience is not assessed at any stage. We will ask for some CV details in your application form, but this is for reference only and will not be scored.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 1st July 2026 before 23:55
• Shortlisting: From 2nd July 2026
• Interviews: w/c 13th July 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Counter-Terrorist Check.

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. You will be asked to provide residency information within your application form, and eligibility for national security vetting will be checked once the advert closing date has passed. In certain circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

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.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : Joe Oakes
• Email : Joe.oakes@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints Process: Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment based on fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact HMT by email at: hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

Role Profile - Policy Adviser HEO 464620 Opens in new window (pdf, 123kB)