Policy Adviser - Workforce Strategy

Policy Adviser - Workforce Strategy

• Salary: National: £44,600 - £47,906 If the successful candidate is a current Civil Servant joining on level transfer, HM Treasury will honour their current substantive salary if higher.
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Working Pattern: This post is available on a full time, part time or job share basis, and flexible working hours can be accommodated.
• Location: Darlington (Feethams House) only

We are looking for a policy adviser to lead HM Treasury’s Civil Service workforce strategy for the Spending Review and beyond. This is an opportunity to work across the centre of government, leading some of HMT’s most high-profile and impactful pieces of work on government spending.

About the Team

The Workforce, Pay and Pensions (WPP) team sits at the centre of HM Treasury’s work on public spending and public services. The team is responsible for overseeing pay policy, workforce strategy, and pension spending across the public sector. WPP works closely with departments, the Cabinet Office, and the centre of government to develop and implement the annual Public Sector Pay Remit Guidance, advise Ministers on pay and Civil Service workforce decisions, and provide assurance on departmental pay proposals. The team also contributes to cross-government workforce planning, helping ensure that workforce size, shape and capability align with government priorities and spending constraints. WPP is a positive and inclusive place to work that enables personal development while working on lots of interesting and high-profile policy areas.

About the Job

You’ll play a central role in the next Spending Review, working closely with senior leaders across HMT, the Cabinet Office and departments, and providing the advice that enables ministers to decide on the size, shape and capability of the Civil Service over the next 5 years.

The Civil Service workforce is one of the largest and most visible areas of public spending, with profound implications for the government’s ability to deliver its priorities. This role sits at the heart of decisions that will shape how the state operates over the coming decade—balancing affordability, capability, productivity and reform, including how and when government relies on consultancy and other external resource.

You’ll lead work to bring together workforce strategy, financial planning and delivery priorities into a coherent offer for SR27. This includes building on the approach developed at SR25 to scrutinise the total cost of the workforce—covering both Civil Servants and the full range of external resourcing—and to ensure departments are making the right long-term decisions about capability and value for money.

This is a fast-paced, intellectually demanding role with clear line of sight to senior decision making. You will regularly engage at Director and DG level across HMT and the Cabinet Office, influence departmental thinking, and help shape advice that sits at the very centre of fiscal strategy.

The key responsibilities of the post-holder will be:

• Lead HMT’s SR27 workforce strategy, shaping how workforce planning, budgets and delivery priorities come together at the Spending Review, and ensuring this work commands the confidence of ministers and senior officials.
• Develop the cross-government strategy on external resourcing and consultancy, advising on how departments should balance permanent capability with use of consultants, contractors and professional services to deliver the best value for money.
• Provide high-quality advice directly to ministers and senior leaders, including on complex and politically salient choices around workforce size, cost, productivity and reform.
• Work closely with the Cabinet Office, senior HMT colleagues and departments, building strong relationships to challenge and shape workforce plans and ensure they are credible, affordable and aligned with government priorities.
• Have real impact on the future shape of the Civil Service, helping to design a workforce that is more productive and better equipped to deliver, while ensuring costs are managed.

About You

We want you to be able to have the ability to understand the strategic drivers for your area of work and remain alert to emerging issues and trends which might impact your work area. We want you to actively build and maintain a network of colleagues to achieve progress on a shared objective or piece of work as well as communicate effectively with senior leaders and break down complicated information. We also want you to regularly monitor your own and team’s work against milestones and show a positive approach to keeping the whole team’s efforts focused on the top priorities.

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 28%
• 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

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