Sector Engagement Officer, HEO, FTC 12 Months. London

Job summary

The Charity Commission regulates around 180,000 charities across England and Wales ensuring that they work within a legal framework thus building public confidence that the £30bn generously donated each year is put to good use.

Our ambition is to be an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent so that charity can thrive.

The Communications & Policy Directorate is at the centre of delivering the Commission’s purpose and strategy. The directorate leads the organisation’s efforts to engage with charity trustees, the public and stakeholders to support those running charities, to help the sector deliver positive outcomes and build public trust in charity.

Job purpose:

Our Sector Engagement Officer will help us have direct dialogue with a wider range of charities, so that the Commission can use its convening power to help galvanise positive change that enables charities to thrive.

This is a new post, with the core responsibility of designing and establishing a brand-new set of sub-sector engagement panels. Our aim is for these panels to meet routinely to share insights on challenges and opportunities facing the sector to help inform the Commission’s own policy development and feed into engagement with other parts of the sector and of UK Government.

You will propose and support ad-hoc roundtables and other meetings on topical issues, and contribute to delivering a proactive programme of stakeholder engagement, including meetings and visits. Because of this, you will sometimes need to travel to the Commission’s offices, and other venues, in England and Wales

You will need to be comfortable briefing senior officials directly, both in writing and verbally, and in rapidly analysing policy topics to understand the relevance to the Commission’s role and remit.

Job description

Key responsibilities:

1. Designing, establishing and running a set of sub-sector engagement panels. Devising fair and open methods for recruiting representative members from across sub-sectors, liaising with representatives, organising and administering effective meetings.
2. Researching and analysing policy issues discussed at engagement panels or other meetings we convene, producing concise and accurate briefing materials for senior colleagues and sector representatives.
3. Advising upon and taking forward relevant actions raised by the engagement panels, which may include liaising with Commission colleagues on regulatory processes and working with Policy team colleagues to engage externally on relevant matters.
4. Providing secretariat support to engagement meetings with sector umbrella body, which currently take place quarterly.
5. Researching and organising ad-hoc roundtables and other meetings on topical issues, sometimes at short notice in response to external events, where the Commission’s convening function can help build sector resilience by developing shared solutions.
6. Drafting meeting and visit briefings for senior colleagues, including the Chair and the Chief Executive Officer, and sometimes accompanying them for such events, including to Wales.
7. Developing systems for mapping key individuals and organisations across the charity sector, building connections that can be drawn upon in support of the work above.
8. Supporting senior colleagues with responsibility for managing relationships with our key stakeholder groups, in particular with monitoring and recording engagement activity.

Person specification

Key skills and experience and knowledge you will need are:

Person Specification

Ability:

• Excellent written and oral communications skills, including an ability to communicate confidently with senior colleagues and external stakeholders
• Demonstrate attention to detail and maintain a high-quality of work output
• Research and analytical skills, with ability to evaluate competing ideas to present workable policy proposals for senior managers
• A demonstrable ability to work flexibly and effectively under pressure and manage multiple deadlines
• Evidence of building effective relationships with senior staff and with key external stakeholders

Experience:

• Good understanding of the current strategic and policy context facing the charity sector
• Policy development, preferably within a public or charity sector environment, with demonstrable experience of consulting a range of stakeholders on proposals and building consensus on way forward
• Synergising and testing complex information to formulate advice for senior managers, including demonstrable experience of weighing up the impact of different options on the organisation and wider operating environment

Technical:

• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications
• Practical event management knowledge, including good working understanding of approaches to event planning, procurement, systems and accessibility.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,384, Charity Commission contributes £10,250 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).

This is your chance to make a contribution that really matters and to make an impact in an organisation where your voice will be heard and your hard work noticed.

Watch this short video to find out more about us. short video

We operate a flexible hybrid working policy where office attendance is combined with homeworking days dependent on role and corporate requirements.

We recognise everyone as an individual, accepting people for who they are and treating everyone fairly. We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring from all backgrounds and we aim to have a workforce that represents the wider society that we serve. We champion inclusion and wellbeing, aiming to create a workplace where everyone feels valued and has a sense of belonging.

We do not discriminate on the basis of culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

We offer access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme (employer contributions of 28.97%), far more than in the private sector, and a flexible, family-friendly environment. Additionally, you can look forward to other great benefits via our ‘Perkbox’ and ‘Edenred’ schemes. These include everything from an interest-free season ticket loan, tenancy deposit loan scheme and bicycle loan (after two months) to discounts on gym membership, cinema tickets and restaurants. Please see the attached Charity Commission benefits document.

A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30 days per year. You have the opportunity to purchase up to an additional 5 days annual leave (pro rata) per year, requests must be submitted in the February of that year.

The Charity Commission’s operational ambition is to realise the Commission’s values of being an expert regulator that is fair, balanced, and independent, which works in a way that is supportive, collaborative, and innovative to achieve our ambitions. We want to develop our capability to regulate charities to realise this goal and meet our statutory and public duties to ensure that charity in England and Wales can deliver maximum benefit to society in a way that upholds its reputation in the eyes of the public.

Work at the Charity Commission and you’ll make a difference every day to:

• The 170,000 charities of all shapes and sizes that we regulate across England and Wales.
• The trustees we partner with and advise.
• The people and causes that benefit from the £10bn generously donated each year by the public.

Find out more about working for us here.

To note: Any move across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018 may have implications on an employee’s ability to carry on claiming childcare vouchers.

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 and Experience.

To apply for this post, you must complete the following:

• Comprehensive CV which lists qualifications and skills sets
• Personal statement of up to 750 words demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria for the role outlined on the Job Description.

We will assess your experience, and the following Behaviours and a task at Interview stage:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a Quality Service

You will also be asked to complete a task prior to interview. This will be on a prepared topic and will assess your knowledge and experience.

Interview Arrangements

Interviews will be taking place Face to Face

The sift is due to take place on 24/07/2026

Interviews will be held on 4th and 5th August 2026

We will try to meet the dates set out in the advert. There may be occasions when these dates change. You will be provided with sufficient notice of the confirmed dates.

At the interview, the panel can then probe further and ask applicants to provide further specific examples that show how they best demonstrate their skills.

We reserve the right to raise the score required at any stage of the process to manage numbers.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.

Behaviours:

The distinguishing Behaviours (the required skills, knowledge, and behaviours) for this role are set out in the Civil Service Behaviours Framework 2018 (Success Profiles - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) and should be referred to when making this application.

You are required, under the Behaviours approach, to describe how you have dealt with a specific situation.

You must give evidence of your knowledge, skills, and behaviours and how you have applied this, such as what you did or said and how you interacted with other people.

When you are giving your examples, do not spend too many words on description and background information. Avoid using general or unspecific statements. Instead say what the situation was, what you did, what your thought process was and what was the result.

Reasonable Adjustment:

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled persons, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via Charitycommissionrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at an interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Reserve Lists

If we have more successful candidates than available vacancies, we will hold a 12-month reserve list as standard.

During that time, we may use the list to fill the same, or similar roles with closely matching essential criteria, without further testing of merit. Any appointments from the Reserve list will be made in strict merit order.

Applying

We recognise everyone as an individual, accepting people for who they are and treating everyone fairly

All applications for these vacancies must be made online. There are limited exceptions to this. Paper applications will only be considered if you have a disability that will prevent you from applying online. If this is the case, please email Charitycommissionrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Once you have submitted your application it cannot be amended; only submit your application when you have completely finished and answered all the relevant questions.

Please note that late applications will not be accepted.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Fixed Term Contracts – Important Information

This is a fixed-term appointment as User Researcher in DDaT. Your responsibilities are listed in the Job Description for this post. This post will therefore begin from the date of your appointment and end 12 months later.

Permanent civil servants joining the Charity Commission on a Fixed-term Appointment:

If you accept a Fixed-term Appointment with the Charity Commission it must be a transfer from your home department on a loan basis to ensure you can return to your home department at the end of the Fixed-term Appointment.

Criminal Record Check

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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.

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 : Ben Wilson
• Email : Recruitment@charitycommission.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : charitycommissionrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

The Charity Commission’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition.
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the values in the Civil Service Code and/or if you feel the recruitment has been conducted in such a way that conflicts with the Civil Service Commissioner’s Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance hrselfservice@charitycommission.gov.uk.
If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web page here.

Attachments

HEO Sector Engagement Officer JD Opens in new window (pdf, 318kB)Benefits Opens in new window (pdf, 169kB)