Senior Policy Advisor - Housing

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Are you highly motivated and driven, being able to deliver change across government systems and governance?

Do you enjoy building solid working relationships with stakeholders across professions and departments?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for a Senior Policy Advisor to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we'd love to hear from you!

We are recruiting for a policy advisor in the Housing and Regeneration Strategy division, which sits at the heart of the Regeneration, Housing and Planning Group. The Group is central to the Government’s ambition to ensuring everyone can access good quality, secure and affordable housing.

Our role is to ensure the Group has an ambitious long-term strategy on housing; is delivering on the manifesto commitment to build 1.5 million homes; lead the Group on fiscal events strategy; support our ministers on a range of cross-cutting and high profile topics; and work to generate creative solutions to complex policy challenges. We work closely with colleagues across the Group, including on planning, supply and social housing, as well as across MHCLG, the centre of Government and wider departments to ensure strong alignment as we push forward the housing agenda.

Job description

This role is in the Housing Supply and Markets division who are responsible for delivering 1.5 million homes within the parliament - this is a flagship commitment for this government and receives significant interest from the public, Ministers, No10 and HM Treasury.

The post holder will lead work across the department and Government to report on progress towards delivering 1.5 million homes within the parliament, with a core focus of the role centred on MHCLG’s engagement with the No10 Delivery Unit.

This role offers the opportunity to demonstrate strategic grip over one of MHCLG’s top priorities and to drive effective decision making across the department and wider government to support the delivery of 1.5m homes. Specific responsibilities include the following:

• Leading the reporting and governance architecture underpinning the 1.5 million homes commitment
• Building strong, influential relationships with the Portfolio Office, Ministerial offices and with No10 to enable effective, timely decision-making
• Working closely with analysts to understand the latest data and modelling on housing supply, with an ability to translate leading indicators into actionable insight
• Partnering with the wider Supply Strategy team to ensure the overarching strategy is credible, deliverable and responsive to emerging risks
• Lead and develop a high-performing team through effective matrix management.

Person specification

The ideal candidate would have the following key skills and experience:

• Proven ability to operate at a strategic level, demonstrating strong judgement and political awareness in complex and often sensitive contexts
• Confidence working with a wide range of analysis, including quantitative data, and the ability to draw clear, strategic insights from complex and sometimes incomplete information.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to engage effectively across a diverse set of internal and external partners, and sound judgement about handling sensitive information.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to distil complex issues into clear, accessible messages and adapt style, tone and format for different audiences, including senior leaders and ministers.
• The confidence and resilience to provide constructive challenge, ensuring that advice and outputs are robust, high quality, and support the best possible outcomes for ministers and senior officials.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, maintain clear oversight of complex workstreams, and ensure high-quality outputs are delivered to tight deadlines.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,092, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,829 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).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 , Experience , Strengths

Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.

Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.

Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.

Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)

Experience:

In your CV and covering letter, please include:
a. why you are interested in the role;
b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required

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: Seeing The Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Communicating and Influencing

• Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.

Candidates will be asked to complete a short exercise at interview, further details will be provided on invitation to interview.

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 27/07/2026

Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 10/08/2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.

Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)

We are a Disability Confident employer.

We apply a fair and proportionate interview process for all candidates. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to progress candidates who apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and meet the required minimum selection criteria.

However, where high application volumes are received, progression to interview may be limited to those who best meet the role criteria. In these circumstances, the benchmark required to proceed to interview may be raised for all candidates.

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

• Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles

• CV Declaration

• Sponsorships

• Salary and Grade

• Existing Civil Servants

• Conflict of Interest

• Location and Flexible Working

• Internal Fraud Database

• Appeals and Complaints

• Fixed Term Appointments for:

• External Candidates

• Existing Civil Servants (Including Loans)

• Secondments

• MHCLG employees

Security Clearance Requirements

National Office:

London Office: + CTC

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

Security

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 : Ellie Lloyd
• Email : ellie.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