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About HM Treasury

If you’re interested in making a difference to people’s lives across the country, the Treasury is the department for you! We sit at the centre of everything that the Government does and have provided advice on economic policy and decisions that affect the public finances throughout the country’s history. A Treasury career continues to offer an exciting opportunity to be part of the decision making that affects the whole of the UK.

Working at the heart of government, we collaborate with other departments to ensure public money is spent well and to drive strong and sustainable economic growth. Our work ranges from protecting customers through to the regulation of the financial sector, helping to reduce carbon emissions and creating a greener economy, supporting people across the country through the COVID 19 furlough scheme and Plan for Jobs as well as helping first time buyers buy their first home.

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, gender, age ethnicity, LGBT+ identity and socio-economic status.

The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring people together across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important issues of the day.

HM Treasury in Darlington will be joined by the Department for International Trade, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Department for Education and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

About the Group

Public Services Group

The Public Services Group is at the heart of the Treasury’s work to secure strong and sustainable public finances. We manage public spending of more than £250 billion across key public services and departments, including health, education, the police, the criminal justice system, local government, housing, defence and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

We do this by working with other government departments, ministers, and other Treasury teams to ensure that spending plans support high quality public services and provide value for money for the taxpayer.

Our roles offer a range of opportunities to work with senior leaders in other government departments, as well as helping to ensure the effective delivery of public services that so many people rely on.

About the Team

This is a joint recruitment campaign and the successful candidates will work in one of three departments depending upon their role.

Health and Social Care Team

We are responsible for Treasury’s oversight of over £150 billion of annual government spending in health and adult social care – accounting for almost a quarter of all public spending! We work collaboratively with the Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) and its Arm’s Length Bodies, No10 and the Cabinet Office, and external partners including NHS leaders and Local Authorities. Not only do we set budgets and monitor performance, we also look to deliver real value to the public and drive forward a long-term vision to make health and care services productive and sustainable into the future.

Given the importance of health and social care to the Government, MPs and the public, this is a high-profile team that offers demanding work. We are constantly in the thick of it and at the core of key Treasury spending decisions and issues. The team comprises people from a diverse range of backgrounds, including from both within and outside government. We are friendly, buzzy and completely committed to diversity, inclusion and personal development.

Devolution Team

The Devolution team is a friendly team of around 20 people, with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. We are currently based in London, Darlington and Scotland. The team is responsible for the Treasury’s strategic approach to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, sitting across the Treasury’s finance and economic ministry functions. We work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations, across Whitehall, and the whole department to:

• Manage the funding arrangements for the devolved administrations and Territorial Offices;
• Promote Treasury’s interests within the UK Government’s constitutional and Union policy;
• Advise on economic and fiscal policy interventions by the UK Government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland;
• Increase Treasury’s devolution capability.

Defence, Diplomacy and Intelligence Team

Defence, Diplomacy and Intelligence (DDI) is an open and friendly team that looks at spending issues across international and national security policy. We work with the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Intelligence Agencies and Cabinet Office/No. 10 on pivotal, high-profile and often sensitive decisions supporting the policy and operational capabilities of the UK. This also means we work across the Treasury with other spending teams, the Enterprise and Growth Unit, and the International Group to help balance multiple objectives.

Defence Branch advises Ministers on budget negotiations, priority Defence capability investment strategy, industrial policy, and operational expenditure for the Ministry of Defence’s annual budget of c.£50 billion. Within Defence Branch, the Defence Capabilities and Industrial Strategy team works closely with the wider Treasury, MOD, the Infrastructure and Projects Authority and Cabinet Office to deliver best value for money from MOD's £242 billion Equipment Plan.

About the Role

We are recruiting four Policy Advisors to join the Public Services Group to work on some of the highest priorities in government: adult social care, tackling Covid-19, devolution, and defence spending.

Successful candidates will work in one of four policy areas:

Adult Social Care – Leading HMT’s oversight of the adult social care system, including managing core budgets and the recent funding uplift provided at the Autumn Statement, assessing HMT’s response to risks including market stability and workforce pressures, and supporting work on reforms.

Covid-19 – HMT’s strategy and spending on Covid-19 vaccines and/or therapeutics, the development of new vaccine manufacturing capacity in the UK, oversight of DHSC’s spending on Covid-19 interventions, and input into HMT’s response to the Covid Inquiry.

Territorial Office Spending – Leading Spending Reviews and in-year spending control for the Territorial Offices (the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, the Office of the Secretary of State for Wales and the Northern Ireland Office), assessing the funding implications of policy developed by the Territorial offices, overseeing and monitoring the delivery of Northern Ireland Funding Packages and influencing work across Whitehall and the Treasury on Union policy.

Defence Spending Policy – Leading the team’s involvement in cross-cutting policy areas such as exports, innovation, industrial relations, single source contract regulations, and R&D, and supporting Defence branch in the delivery of MOD’s Spending Review settlement and the Chancellor’s economic growth agenda. Working collaboratively with other Defence Branch colleagues on investment decisions (e.g. for military equipment such as helicopters and satellites) with a Defence industry angle.

Please indicate on your application if you prefer a particular role.

Other opportunities across the group may also become available.

Exact policy responsibilities will be tailored to the post-holder with core roles and responsibilities including:

• Advising Ministers and senior officials – providing high-quality advice and briefing to Treasury Ministers on key issues relating to government spending on health, devolution and defence.
• Analysing evidence – researching and scrutinising policy proposals and business cases to reach evidence-based conclusions and ensure value for money in government spending.
• Developing core spending control skills – building a knowledge base of the relevant budgets, trends, and context for additional funding requests, and supporting work on fiscal events.
• Building and maintaining relationships – developing positive relationships with a range of government and external partners. Depending on the role, this could include relevant teams within HM Treasury, DHSC, the Ministry of Defence, the Devolved Administrations and Territorial Offices, and relevant companies and industry groups.
• Developing policy expertise – understanding the political and policy environment, deepening expertise in specific policy areas, and applying that to everyday work.
• Working effectively on cross-cutting policy – understanding different perspectives and working through competing priorities to develop effective policy solutions and work collaboratively across teams.
• Contributing to the successful running of the team and Group – including by responding to Parliamentary Questions and correspondence and supporting cross-team activities.

Owing to the nature of these posts, successful candidates will undergo Security Check (SC) security clearance before starting in post. For the Defence role, it is not essential to hold or undertake Developed Vetting clearance, but we will encourage you do so once in post if you do not hold it already, and we welcome applications from those without current DV!

Required Skills, Experience and Behaviours:

The below criteria will be assessed in your application form.

The lead criterion is:

• Making Effective Decisions: The ability to evaluate different and sometimes competing evidence sources to come to a conclusion and advise senior officials and/or ministers

If we receive large volumes of applications, we will conduct an initial sift on the lead criterion only.

We will assess the below further criteria in your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing: Developing clear and compelling messages and delivering them effectively to gain agreement to change from a wide range of partners, using evidence to challenge, negotiate and resolve differences
• Seeing the Big Picture: The ability to understand the broader context for your work and how you can add value and align activities to contribute to wider organisational priorities

Candidate Guidance on Completing your Application Form

Where will we assess success profiles across your application form.

• Behaviours - these will be assessed individually with a 250-word statement per behaviour. The application form will indicate which behaviour is being assessed each time you provide a statement, and we are ideally looking for an example using the below STAR method to demonstrate this behaviour in line with the full criteria stated

All elements of the success profiles will be linked to a defined criterion that demonstrates the behaviour, experience or technical skills. It is beneficial to ensure your answer focuses on the full criteria, and not just the related success profile, to give you the best chance or providing the evidence the panel wants to assess.

In your statements, it is best to focus on one example in each section to allow you to provide enough detail in your answer and use all the words you have been allocated. Examples from a range of roles across your application will demonstrate that you have the skills, experience and behaviours we are looking for. We would also advise you to use examples that best meet the criteria, even if it is a few years old.

How to Structure your Answer

Please use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) approach when writing your application answers.

• Situation - Describe the situation you found yourself in and what happened.
• Task - The Hiring Manager will want to understand what you tried to achieve from the situation that you found yourself in.
• Action - What actions did you take and how did you do it. Make sure to use “I”, not “we” to explain how your actions lead to a result.
• Result - Use facts and statistics to demonstrate the results that your actions produced. Explain whether it was a successful outcome, and if not, what you learned from the experience.

Notes to Candidates

• Please refer to the candidate FAQ document which is a link on the job advert – this will provide you with guidance on completing the application form. Please contact [email protected] if you have any issue accessing this document.
• At HM Treasury, to maximise diversity and inclusion within our workforce, we operate a fair, open and anonymous recruitment process. This means that the sift panel will only be able to assess you on the written evidence supplied in your application answers. They will not have access to personal information.
• You may be asked to provide some CV details during your application; however these will NOT be assessed during the process, but will be used to support discussions at interview – please ensure you put all information you would like to be scored against in your behaviour, experience and technical skill statements .
• You will be assessed on your skills, experience and behaviours through the online application form. When completing your application form, please outline how you meet the requirements as detailed in the ‘Essential Criteria ‘section of this job description. This will give you the best chance to provide the evidence that the panel wants to assess. More guidance can be found here – completing your application.
• If we receive a large number of applications, applications will be assessed initially against the lead criterion alone. You will then be assessed against the other criteria if you have met the minimum score on the first criterion.
• Find out more about how the Civil Service assesses candidates and uses Success Profiles to test skills, experience and behaviours in applications and interviews.
• Applications are not reviewed until the closing date has passed. You will be notified of the outcome of your application as soon as the recruitment panel has reviewed all the applications.

Support to Candidates

Candidate Drop-In Session

We will be running a candidate drop-in session for this role to give you greater insight about the role as well as the chance to learn more about HM Treasury and the recruitment process. This session will be held on Wednesday 15 February at 13:30 – 14:00. If you would like to join us, then use the appropriate link below to join the call at the right time.

Click here to join the meeting

Recruitment Timeline

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

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

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

• 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)
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%
• Onsite restaurant and coffee bar. The London office also offers a gym, showers and prayer room
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme, season ticket advances and payroll giving
• Access to a retail discounts and cashback site
• A Rental Deposit Advance Scheme to help meet the total costs of deposits for privately rented homes
• 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)

Flexible working arrangements:

HM Treasury views flexible working as essential in enabling us to recruit and retain talented people, ensuring that they are able to enjoy a long-lasting career with us. All employees have the right to apply for flexible working and there are a range of options available including; working from home, compressed hours and job sharing. Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month, providing you work enough hours to meet business need.

We also offer a generous parental and adoption leave package.

At HM Treasury we have an incredibly broad remit; our work touches every citizen of the country. So, it’s important our employees come from the widest possible range of backgrounds, bringing us the widest possible range of perspectives and ways of thinking. We are committed to ensuring that all staff are able to realise their potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.

Job contact :

Name :
Sarah White
Email :
[email protected]

Recruitment team :

Email :
[email protected]