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Job summary

We are MHCLG

The Hate Crime and Religious Hatred team in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a fast-paced, high-performing team which is part of the government’s wider approach to improving social cohesion. We work across government and with stakeholders to combat all forms of religious hate, including antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility. This includes designing policy interventions such as the new, landmark definition of anti-Muslim hostility, delivering funding programmes, briefing ministers and engaging with stakeholders.

The team works closely with other teams in MHCLG to coordinate engagement with faith communities, and respond to unrest and hate incidents. This HEO Policy Adviser would support work to combat anti-Muslim hostility, coordinate correspondence and briefing, and provide administrative support to the wider team. There would also be an expectation that the role holder would work on other workstreams – like tackling antisemitism – in busy periods.

Job description

The successful candidate can expect to:

• Support delivery of policy priorities, including implementation of the anti-Muslim hostility definition across sectors. This would involve providing clear advice to support effective application of the definition in different contexts, leading on coordination and logistics, and working with teams across MHCLG and other government departments.

• Provide secretariat support to the incoming Special Representative on anti-Muslim hostility, including drafting briefings and coordinating engagement.

• Lead on ministerial briefing and correspondence related to combatting religious hatred, ensuring the delivery of high-quality, timely advice to Ministers and senior officials.

• Support for the team’s work to fund delivery partners to tackle religious hatred, including pre-market engagement exercises for grant competitions.

• Provide surge support at busy periods across the team, particularly in response to unrest and hate incidents.

Person specification

• The ideal candidate for this role will be an ambitious policy adviser with a keen interest in supporting communities at a vulnerable time.

• As this is a high-profile and fast-paced policy area, you would need to be calm under pressure, and able to expertly manage competing priorities and deadlines. This would include keeping on top of rolling administrative tasks at busy times.

• The nature of this work can be difficult, especially when responding to hate incidents or wider community tensions. The ideal candidate will be resilient, and sensitive to the needs of stakeholders at emotionally challenging times.

• You will also need to be collaborative, and happy to support others in the team where needed, even if the task does not sit within the formal remit of your role.

Essential Criteria:

• Excellent communication skills, particularly when drafting (advice, briefing, and correspondence) and working with stakeholders, notably at times of unrest.

• Highly organised with the ability to work proactively and independently, managing a busy workload of competing priorities, and effectively project managing long-term and short-term asks.

• The ability to work flexibly within a small team and support others as needed to respond to pinch points and pressures across our broader portfolio.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,169, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £10,478 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: Your covering letter should be no more than 750 words referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description.

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: Communicating and influencing, Delivering at pace, Managing a quality service

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

Sift and Interview Dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 20/07/26.

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 & London Office: + CTC

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

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 : Chloe James
• Email : Chloe.James@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