Strategic Policy Advisor , HEO, Perm, Liverpool, London, Newport

Job summary

• Are you able to see the big picture across Government?
• Do you have an inquisitive and analytical mind?
• Do you want to lead projects?

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. The policy function ensures that the Commission spots and understands key policy challenges and how they impact on the public, charities and our regulatory priorities. We develop and lead clear, consistent and effective policy interventions in response. This includes understanding casework risks, undertaking stakeholder engagement and communicating new policy positions, and supporting parliamentary or legislative activity. We undertake a significant programme of horizon scanning in order to ensure we are an agile and forward-thinking regulator.

Role Purpose: Strategic Policy Advisor.

This roles is based in a small but busy strategic policy team. We undertake both proactive and reactive policy work on the full breadth of challenges arising in charity governance and from the changing regulatory landscape. Recently this has included addressing charity use of AI, examining challenges with banking services for charities, and considering the implications of campaigning rules and new legislation on charities. You will have the opportunity to lead a diverse and exciting portfolio of end-to-end policy development projects, that could include regulation of social housing charities, options to understand and reduce barriers to individuals becoming charity trustees and how we engage with and support new trustees more effectively.

Strategic policy advisors are expected to work independently to build stakeholder relations, analysis and liaising with Government on their proposed legislative plans where they impact charities, and plan various policy interventions. The postholders will have substantial autonomy, ensuring that senior Commission staff are appropriately briefed on developments. They will provide advice and guidance to senior colleagues, including the CEO, on strategic policy interventions and work collaboratively and constructively with senior colleagues from across the organisation.

Job description

Key responsibilities:

This is a role leading on a variety of policy development. The core responsibilities include:

• Undertake policy development programmes in line with best practice. This will include scoping projects, evaluating and recommending options, and overseeing implementation, including products such as new guidance or communications to charities.
• Developing and delivering stakeholder management and engagement strategies with external stakeholders and government departments.
• Horizon-scanning and spotting issues as they develop.
• Briefing senior staff and providing comprehensive and balanced advice
• Feeding into a broad range of the Commission’s change and improvement projects by providing a policy perspective

You will develop an excellent understanding of the Commission’s remit and strategic purpose and the environment (political, legal and economic) in which we operate, and embed this in your policy proposals and recommendations.

Person specification

Ability:

• Ability to develop exciting and forward thinking policy
• Relationship management and influencing (with internal and external stakeholders)
• Excellent, succinct and persuasive written and oral communication skills
• Ability to take the initiative in identifying and dealing with issues
• A demonstrable ability to work flexibly and effectively under pressure, manage multiple targets and deadlines
• Proven skills in providing advice developed by gathering information from a range of internal and external sources
• Strong analytical skills and sound judgement to evaluate complex information to support decisions
• Ability to plan, prioritise and work collaboratively at all levels to achieve demanding targets and deadlines and good project management skills, with a track record of delivering projects to agreed milestones and targets.

Experience:

• Experience of policy development
• Experiencing in working closely with senior stakeholders
• Experience of gathering evidence to successfully inform a proposal, an assessment of a problem, or of conducting horizon scanning
• Management of a project or initiative, a research programme, or a contract

Technical:

• Knowledge of the techniques, approaches or skills associated with policy
• Strong knowledge and interest in public policy issues and current affairs.
• Knowledge of either the charity sector, regulation or public sector policy making would be desirable, OR a proven ability to come up to speed quickly with understanding a sector’s legal, regulatory and policy environment

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

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.

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, Strengths and Experience.

As part of the application process as a minimum you are asked to complete a CV and statement of suitability (up to 750 words).

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

At interview we will assess the following Behaviours at interview alongside strengths and experience :

• Seeing the big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

Interview Arrangements

Interviews will be taking place Face to Face in the Liverpool Office

The sift is due to take place on 02/07/2026

Interviews will be held on 14th and 15th July 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.

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

Feedback

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.

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 : Holly Riley
• 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 Strategic Policy Advisor Job Description Opens in new window (pdf, 200kB)02. Advert - Benefits Opens in new window (pdf, 169kB)