Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Local Government Finance Programme Support Officer
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Bristol, Darlington, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton
Job Summary
We are MHCLG
The Local Government Finance Programme Team provides directorate-wide programme management, governance, reporting and assurance across 17 workstreams and 6 divisions across the Local Government Finance directorate. It maintains a single source of truth on delivery and risk, supports decision-making and promotes consistent programme management practice.
As a Higher Executive Officer, you will coordinate the directorate’s governance and reporting activity, including Programme Board processes and secretariat; cross- directorate commissions; risk and issue management; delivery information and stakeholder engagement. You will help ensure governance runs smoothly, supports robust assurance and enables well-informed decisions, while identifying opportunities to streamline processes and improve outputs.
Job Description
Programme Board coordination: support the monthly Programme Board cycle, including scheduling, preparation of the information pack and meeting papers, managing actions, preparing minutes, and circulation of agreed products.
Commissions and stakeholder engagement: manage regular commissions originating from within and outside the Directorate using agreed templates and logs, ensuring requests are clear, deadlines and approvals are tracked, Single Points of Contact are engaged, and returns are checked and collated returns provided for commissions.
Risk and Issue management: support risk and issue escalation within the directorate governance structure, and into Departmental Group level. Coordinate and deliver workstream risk reviews, and the monthly corporate risk and delivery update process, including commissioning, tracking, quality checks and follow-up.
Workstream and programme reporting: maintain oversight of information across the 17 Local Government Finance workstreams, including standing items, risks and issues, milestones and delivery concerns.
Governance products and continuous improvement: support governance maps, Programme Board communications and wider governance products, identifying opportunities to improve consistency, clarity and efficiency.
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Strong written and oral communication skills, with the ability to build stakeholder relationships and influence colleagues at all grades.
- Ability to work autonomously, take initiative to drive ambiguous workstreams forward, and apply a problem-solving approach.
- Ability to form effective partnerships with people internally and externally, share information, resources and support, and encourage joined-up teamwork.
- Ability to work across a range of priorities with strong organisational skills.
- Good IT skills, including use of WORD, CoPilot, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint.
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.
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.
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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
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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: Managing a quality service (Lead Behaviour)
- Behaviour: Delivering at pace
- Behaviour: Working Together
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: Managing a quality service, Delivering at pace, Working Together
- Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
Sift and Interview Dates
- Sifting is envisaged to take place starting 13/08/2026.
- 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 Disability Confident Scheme, Redeployment Interview scheme & Great Place to Work for Veterans 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
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Security Clearance Requirements
- National Office: BPSS
- London Office: BPSS + 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. See our vetting charter.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard 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
- 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
- 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code 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.
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 the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
- Name : Heather Roythorne-Finch
- Email : Heather.Roythorne-Finch@communities.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk
Further information
About
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,
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