Strategy and Engagement Lead

Job summary

We are MHCLG

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives with a focus on Homes, Places and Growth. To deliver on these priorities, we work with partners across the UK on a range of policy interventions, programme delivery and legislation. We also work closely with other parts of government and the Devolved Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on areas of joint interest and to support strong intergovernmental working.

The Nations Strategy and Engagement Team (NSET) provides strategic leadership and place-based expertise to ensure the department delivers effectively across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. With presence across the UK’s four capital cities, we act as a bridge between local insight and national policy, supporting strong devolution and intergovernmental working and helping deliver MHCLG's vision.

As Strategy and Engagement Lead, you will play a senior role in setting strategic direction and providing stewardship across the division’s work. You will ensure that engagement with the Devolved Governments, intergovernmental relations activity and devolution considerations are coherent, well‑prioritised and aligned with ministerial and departmental objectives.

Based in Cardiff or Belfast, you will work closely with partners across MHCLG and beyond to anticipate risks and opportunities, shape advice at an early stage, and ensure that UK‑wide policies, programmes and legislation are informed by a strong understanding of the distinctive governance and policy contexts of the Nations.

Job description

As Strategy & Engagement Lead, your responsibilities will include:

• Set strategic direction and provide stewardship for the department’s engagement with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, ensuring intergovernmental relations and devolution considerations are coherent, prioritised and aligned with ministerial and departmental objectives.
• Act as lead on intergovernmental relations, shaping MHCLG’s approach to formal forums, ministerial engagement and cross government working, and ensuring clear, timely and well judged advice to senior leaders.
• Provide strategic oversight of devolution capability across the department, setting expectations and standards so that policy, programme and legislative work is informed by a strong understanding of devolved governance, institutions and accountability arrangements.
• Shape and assure how place based intelligence is gathered, analysed and applied, ensuring insight from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland meaningfully influences policy development, risk management and delivery decisions at an early stage.
• Lead strategic relationships with the Devolved Governments, Offices for the Nations and other government departments, resolving issues, managing sensitivities and identifying opportunities to strengthen collaboration and outcomes.
• Take ownership of key cross departmental policy, programme and legislative linkages, ensuring devolution related risks, opportunities and impacts are identified, escalated and addressed in a timely and proportionate way.
• Provide high quality strategic advice, briefings and written products for Ministers and senior officials, particularly on complex, sensitive or politically significant issues relating to the Nations.
• Champion an inclusive, high performing culture across the Nations Strategy and Engagement Team, modelling strong leadership behaviours, sharing expertise and supporting continuous improvement across the division.

Person specification

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage:

• Ability to set strategic direction and exercise sound judgement in complex, politically sensitive environments, balancing competing priorities and managing risk effectively.
• Strong understanding of how place based insight, stakeholder relationships and intergovernmental considerations can be used to inform and improve policy, programme or legislative decision making.
• Experience of influencing and engaging senior stakeholders to shape policy, strategy or delivery outcomes.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with experience of operating effectively in ambiguity and at pace while maintaining quality and strategic focus.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to tailor messages for different audiences and handle sensitive issues effectively.
• Ability to work with autonomy and authority, leading work areas across organisational boundaries, setting expectations for others and ensuring coherence and alignment across teams or departments.
• Experience of working with devolved institutions, on issues relating to devolution and intergovernmental relations, or the ability to rapidly develop and apply this understanding in a complex policy environment.

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 , Strengths ,

Stage 1: Sift

• Behaviour: Communicating and Influencing (Lead Behaviour)

• Behaviour: Seeing The Big Picture

• Behaviour: Making Effective Decisions

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.

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, Making Effective Decisions, Communicating and Influencing

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

Candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview. The presentation will be assesed against Communicating and influencing

Sift and Interview

Sifting is envisaged to take place starting 10/07/2026.

Interviews 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:

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.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

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 : Victoria Simpson
• Email : Victoria.Simpson@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