Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Strategy and Engagement Lead
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Strategy and Engagement Lead
"Strategy & Engagement Lead, Nations Strategy and Engagement Team (NSET)" *Ref: 12345 – Fixed Term or Permanent – £58,092 [Belfast, Cardiff]
About Us
We are MHCLG — the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. Our work makes a real difference to people’s lives by shaping policies on homes, places, and growth. We collaborate with partners across the UK on policy interventions, programme delivery, and legislation. We also work closely with Devolved Governments (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) to ensure strong intergovernmental collaboration.
The Nations Strategy and Engagement Team (NSET) provides strategic leadership and place-based expertise to support MHCLG’s delivery across the UK. Based in the four capital cities, we act as the bridge between local insight and national policy, helping to foster devolution and intergovernmental working and advancing MHCLG’s vision.
About the Role
This is a senior leadership opportunity within NSET, based in Cardiff or Belfast. The Strategy & Engagement Lead will shape engagement with Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, shaping ministerial and departmental objectives while ensuring coherence, prioritisation, and strategic alignment.
As a forward-thinking leader, you’ll drive intergovernmental relations, strategic decision-making, and cross-departmental collaboration—ensuring that place-based insights influence policy, risk management, and delivery decisions at the earliest stages.
Key Responsibilities
As Strategy & Engagement Lead, your role includes:
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Strategic Direction & Governance
- Set the strategic direction for MHCLG’s engagement with Devolved Governments, ensuring nexus principles and devolution considerations are actively prioritised across all policy, programming, and legislative work.
- Ensure intergovernmental relations are well-led, aligned with ministerial priorities, and signposted accurately to senior leaders—both within MHCLG and across government.
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Intergovernmental Relations
- Take strategic lead on forums, summits, and ministerial engagements, shaping MHCLG’s approach to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
- Provide clear, timely, and well-judged advice on complex national-political interplay, defending and promoting departmental objectives in sensitively managed ways.
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Devolution Capability & Compliance
- Set standards and expectations for place-base insights, ensuring they meaningfully inform policy, risk assessment, and legislative choices.
- Assess policy-manual interventions for Northern Ireland-specific and intra-UK devolution-aligned scrutiny, ensuring high-quality, structured analysis.
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Strategic Relationships & Fleet Answers
- Build and maintain strong relationships with Devolved Governments, Offices of Nations, and relevant UK government departments, driving collaborative outcomes and resolving external sensitivities.
- Champion agenda delivery and civil service-wide engagement dynamics, aligning with policy development and emerging debates around place-based growth.
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Policy-Coherent Planning & Components
- Own key cross-departmental policy and legislative risks, identifying and escalating devolution-related impacts proactively and early.
- Ensure understanding of devolved institutions’ resource and institutional constraints, selecting options with appropriate process criteria to mitigate or model forward.
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Advice & Written Deliverables
- Prepare high-quality strategic advice, briefings, and written products for Ministers and senior officials, particularly on complex, politically sensitive, or cross-cutting Nation-specific issues.
- Lead written narrative on intergovernmental developments and guiding government positions across engagement with the governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
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Culture & Inclusion
- Champion a high-performing, inclusive culture within NSET, modelling leadership behaviours and fostering knowledge-sharing across the division.
Requirements
Essential Criteria
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Strategic & Judgement Skills
- Strong ability to set priorities and exercise sound judgement in complex, politically sensitive environments with multiple challenges.
- Balanced perspective on competing demands, combining risk appetite with effective coalition-building.
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Place-Based & Devolutional Insight
- Broad understanding of how place-based insights and intergovernmental relationships shape public policy, including knowledge of:
- Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland governance structures.
- Key legislative, devolved, or intergovernmental agreements.
- Ability to spot-develop devolution-related knowledge effectively in a fast-evolving context.
- Broad understanding of how place-based insights and intergovernmental relationships shape public policy, including knowledge of:
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Influence & Engagement
- Proven experience influencing at senior levels to inform strategy, policy, or delivery—through workshops, briefings, and advocacy with partner stakeholders.
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Analytical & Risk Approach
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills to operate effectively in ambiguity and complexity, maintaining strategic urgency without compromising quality.
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Professional Communication
- Expertise in crafting clear, tailored advice/messages for varied audiences, including Ministers, senior officials, and external government partners—especially in sensitive rounding.
- High level of written delivery skills for briefings, strategic narratives, and formal reports.
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Devolution Working
- Experience working with devolved institutions (through recent work, experience, or personal research) on devolution-related challenges or cross-government/scale governance.
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Leadership & Autonomy
- Capacity to lead strategic teams across organisational boundaries, setting standards while escalating deadlines respectfully, working highly autonomously.
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Benefits
- Salary: £58,092 per annum
- Civil Service Pension: £16,829 additional contribution See details on Civil Service pension benefits here.
Additionally, MHCLG offers:
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Flexible & Hybrid Working commitments (where possible).
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MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme (a wide selection of employee discounts).
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Cycle-to-Work Scheme.
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Childcare Vouchers Schemes.
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Validity: Temporary position open for [6 months or until role is fully scaled].
Selection Process
This appointment follows a 2-stage assessment process:
Stage 1: Initial Sift (Remote Application)
- Assessed Behaviours:
- Communicating & Influencing (Lead Behaviour)
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Applicants complete short, concise, unstructured answers (250 words per question).
- Answers are individually evaluated by assessors (no sequential reading).
Stage 2: Panel Interview (Virtual)
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Assessed Behaviours:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Making Effective Decisions
- Communicating & Influencing
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Strengths-Based Questioning: Expect structured, evidence-based answers testing natural behaviour fit.
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Presentation & Consensus Debate:
- Prepare a 5-minute structured presentation (full details provided pre-interview).
- Presentation assessed under Communicating & Influencing key behavioural criteria.
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Expected Timelines:
- Sift Window: Likely to start the week beginning 10/07/2026.
- Interview Format: Initially remote via videocall (tentative measure).
Diversity, Inclusion, & Support
MHCLG is a Disability Confident Employer, committed to supporting underrepresented candidates. Should you disclose a disability (or neurodivergence), we offer individual support, and reasonable adjustments are made where required (accommodation of evening tests or role-play components*).
Successful applicants must pass a criminal record check (BPSS clearance required additionally). Baseline security clearance is a workplace prerequisite.
How to Apply
Full candidate guidance, including essential pre-read materials, is provided on the MHCLG Career Site. Important steps include:
- Eligibility review (Security, Nationality, CSC Code, right to work).
- Complete the online application form via Be Applied.
- Need Support? Contact hello@beapplied.com.
Expected Duration: Sifting once complete may take ~4–8 weeks.
Need Clarification?
For questions on the role specifications, eligibility, or interview process, email: Victoria Simpson → victoria.simpson@communities.gov.uk
Duplicate, repetitive notes removed for clarity. No changes to essential text or requirements.
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