Policy Adviser – Homelessness

Are you looking for an exciting new opportunity to develop policy on matters relating to homelessness? If so, we'd love to hear from you!

About the Team

We are looking to recruit a Policy Adviser – Homelessness which sits within the Public Services Group of the Housing, Planning and Cities Team.

We are a friendly team of about 20 people, and we are responsible for over £10 billion of public spending each year, covering a huge range of government priorities including homelessness, housing, planning reform, local economic growth and the ‘levelling up’ of communities across the UK.

Our work is at the centre of government, and therefore is an exciting place to learn, develop and build an understanding of how government policy making works.

We value different experience, and encourage people from a wide range of backgrounds and with different ideas to join the team. We are dedicated to diversity, belonging, personal development and work-life balance, and also support flexible working patterns.

About the Job

In this role, you will:

• Lead policy thinking on homelessness across HM Treasury, building a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of homelessness and the best evidence on the impact of current interventions and approaches.
• Shape the government’s long-term strategy on homelessness spending
• Manage spending control for DLUHC’s multi-programme homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. Supporting the spending side of the team to develop spending strategy ahead of fiscal events and take a key role in Spending Reviews and Budget delivery.

About You

Great policy making is about understanding what needs to change, what problems need to be solved and supporting ministers to arrive at the best solution to deliver the change. Policy also means working out how we are going to make the changes or solve the problems, and then delivering on those plans. To do all this, we need to build relationships with ministers, civil service colleagues, groups with expertise and the public. To work as a policy adviser, you will need to demonstrate a range of skills, including strong problem-solving skills, the ability to clearly explain your thinking both in writing and in person, and the drive to overcome challenges and see your ideas through into action and delivery.

You don’t need to be a policy professional or have any specific qualifications to apply for the role. We are looking for people who have the right set of skills, who demonstrate the values of our organisation, and who are motivated to come and work with us on a range of issues that are at the heart of how we spend money and deliver public services.

HM Treasury is proud of a diverse and inclusive work environment, committed to fairness and the promotion of equality of opportunity for all. We know that having a range of experiences, ways of working and thinking makes us a stronger organisation, better at developing policy that is reflective of the communities we serve. We embrace different views and experiences and value the fresh perspective that people from a variety of circumstances bring to the work we do. We welcome applications from candidates who have not previously worked for the Civil Service, mid- and late-career changers with transferrable skills, people from all backgrounds and circumstances regardless of disability, ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 27%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity (e.g. women in the Treasury, ethnic minority network, LGBT* network, faith and belief network)

For more information about the role and how to apply, please follow the apply link.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form, or speak to the recruitment team.