Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Senior Policy Advisor: Regulation of Fire Risk Assessors
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Bristol, Darlington, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton
Job Summary
We are MHCLG
Do you want to make buildings safer for people to use? Can you solve challenging problems and become an expert in your field? If so, we’d love to hear from you! The Grenfell Tower Inquiry represented a sea change in the way we regulate the built environment, and we must learn from the lessons of the Grenfell Tower fire to make sure the mistakes highlighted by the Inquiry are never repeated.
Over 3 million premises in England require a fire risk assessment in order for them to be used. Since 2006, there have been no formal requirements for becoming a fire risk assessor, which has resulted in highly variable standards of professional competency. Reforming the fire risk assessor role is both a Grenfell Inquiry recommendation and a government strategic priority.
This is an extremely rare opportunity to take a direct role in the creation a brand-new regulated profession. You will play a direct part in defining the fire risk assessor profession and ensuring that it effectively meets the professional needs of fire risk assessors, the commercial needs of the businesses that employ them, as well as the safety of all those who may be affected by their work.
The fire risk assessor programme sits within the Fire Directorate of the Buildings Fire and Resilience Group. We are a supportive team with a strong commitment to personal development, learning and career progression
Job Description
- Leading policy development for planned primary legislation (- Spring 2027).
- Leading effective engagement with a very wide range of stakeholders across the whole of the built environment to support policy development.
- This will include representing MHCLG in discussions with (amongst others) heritage and culture organisations, the Ministry of Defence, the NHS, insurers, fire and rescue services, and Transport for London.
- Making viable recommendations to seniors, Ministers and partners across government.
- Supporting the passage of any relevant legislative measures through Parliament (Spring 2027 – Autumn 2027).
- Actively managing relationships with other Grenfell Inquiry teams, lawyers, analysis to ensure consistent and evidence-based policy delivery.
- Supporting the day-to-day work of the wider team and responding quickly to priority tasks.
Person specification
- Experience working with technical experts, including across organisational boundaries, and able to understand complex and technical policy issues and translate these effectively for different audiences
- Excellent written and oral communications skills, with strong drafting and editing skills, ideally including experience of producing advice for senior leaders or ministers
- Experience of building and maintaining stakeholder relationships, confidently representing the organisation and navigating a diverse set of perspectives, some of which may be challenging
- Experience of operating in a high-profile and fast-changing working environment, often dealing with ambiguity
- Experience of working in a project or programme setting.
Alongside your salary of £44,004, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £12,747 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.
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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
- 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 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description.
- In Your CV And Covering Letter, Please Include:
- why you are interested in the role;
- how you meet the essential skills and experience required
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, Seeing the Big Picture, Making Effective Decisions
- Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
- Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
Candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview.
Sift and Interview Dates
- Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 10th August 2026.
- Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 24th August 2026 and 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
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
National Office: BPSS
London Office: BPSS + CTC
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
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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 the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
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 : Alexander French Email : Alexander.French@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
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