Policy Adviser- Growth Strategy

North East Combined Authority; Tees Valley; Hybrid; GBP 45,000 - 48,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave

Flexible working patterns

Parental and adoption leave

Job summary

HM Treasury's Growth Strategy Unit (GSU) seeks a Policy Adviser to help shape the Government’s growth agenda. The role involves moving between strategy, delivery, and coordination, with regular contact with senior officials and Ministers.

It offers flexible working patterns and is based in Darlington, within Feethams House. The postholder will contribute to growth policy development and oversee priority projects, engaging with external experts and coordinating cross-departmental inputs to drive

Responsibilities

• Growth Strategy: Contribute to advice on the Government’s growth strategy and priority growth areas, developing and testing policy ideas with senior colleagues.
• Priority Projects: Lead and support priority projects with clear plans, milestones, governance, risks and dependencies across HMT and Whitehall to deliver ambitious outcomes.
• External Engagement: Develop and support engagement with external experts, think tanks, academics and business to bring fresh thinking into the work.
• Coordination: Deliver fiscal events and other significant growth moments, coordinate inputs, track actions and prepare briefing materials.

Job description

Policy Adviser - Policy Adviser Growth 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

Do you want a fast paced, dynamic and stretching role at the heart of the Government’s growth strategy. If so, this could be the ideal role for you?

About the Team

The Growth Strategy Unit (GSU) is a new team in the Enterprise & Growth Unit, tasked with leading the Government’s growth strategy. It does this by developing the Government’s overall approach to boosting growth and living standards through supply side reform.

It advises the Chancellor, Exchequer Secretary, and senior officials on the drivers of the UK's economic underperformance, the sufficiency of our existing strategy, and opportunities to go further – including navigating fiscal and wider trade-offs.

It works in close partnership with teams across HMT and beyond with responsibility for specific growth policies. GSU seeks to ensure strategic and narrative coherence; and acts as the ‘growth conscience’ of HMT and the Government, providing constructive challenge, creativity and alternative ideas.

It leads external engagement on growth, including with economic commentators, think tanks and academics. This engagement is strategic, and two-way: hearing stakeholders’ views, whilst also proactively and confidently setting out the Government’s strategy and responding to challenges.

It undertakes strategic growth projects on specific priority areas – for example, where these are crosscutting, or require a new perspective. It leads work on growth economics and analysis for HMT, working across a large, expert analytical community in EGU, Economics Group and beyond. This is an exciting time to join GSU, as the team expands – you would be a good fit if you enjoy working across teams to deliver one of HMG’s top priorities.

About the Job

Economic growth is the Government’s key priority, and the Growth Strategy Unit (GSU) plays a central role in shaping the Government’s growth agenda and delivering on key growth moments and fiscal events.

This role would suit someone who enjoys working at pace, brings curiosity and fresh thinking to complex problems, and is comfortable moving between strategy, delivery and coordination as priorities shift. The role will provide opportunities to work closely with colleagues across HMT and other departments, engage with external experts, and contribute to a high-profile and fast-moving agenda. The postholder will have regular contact with senior officials and Ministers and will be expected to work flexibly across the full range of GSU’s work responding to changing priorities as they arise.

The postholder will:

Growth Strategy

• Contribute to advice on the Government’s growth strategy and priority growth areas, working with senior colleagues to develop and test policy ideas.
• Work with colleagues across HMT and Whitehall to design and advocate for innovative, novel and impactful policy solutions in distinct growth priority areas.
• Conduct independent research on growth policies and keep up to date on the evolving policy debates.

Priority Projects

• Lead and support priority projects that advance the Government’s growth objectives, establishing clear plans, milestones and governance, identifying risks and dependencies, and working with colleagues across HMT and Whitehall to deliver ambitious outcomes.
• Develop high-quality analysis, advice, briefings and recommendations to support decisions by senior officials and Ministers, drawing on evidence, stakeholder insight and delivery considerations.

External Engagement

• Develop and support engagement with external experts on growth strategy and policy, including think tanks, academics and business, building and maintaining relationships to bring fresh thinking into the team’s work.
• Develop opportunities for external engagement, including organising roundtables, meetings and events, and preparing senior officials and Ministers to get the most out of these interactions.

Coordination

• Play a proactive role in delivering fiscal events and other significant growth moments, including coordinating inputs, tracking actions and producing briefing materials.
• Provide flexible support to colleagues as needed, including on briefings and correspondence.

The balance of work will vary over time and the postholder should expect to move flexibly between strategic policy advice, project delivery, and external engagement and coordination, depending on the changing priorities of the team.

About You

We want you to have the ability to understand how your work fits into wider organisational and/or Government priorities and use this insight to shape decisions and advise others. We also want you to be able to communicate effectively with senior leaders and break down complicated information and look at complicated information, weigh up different options and clearly explain your recommendation. As well as being able to plan and prioritise work, manage your time well and keep projects on track so that high-quality outputs are delivered to deadline.

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