Policy Adviser - Financial Transactions - The Guardian : Job Details

Are you looking for an exciting new role in a developing area of policy, helping deliver the government’s growth mission? If so, we’d love to hear from you!  

About the Team

The Balance Sheet Team in HM Treasury leads work to improve analysis, policy, and risk management across trillions of pounds of assets and liabilities owned by government. It also leads on policy advice for new interventions using the government’s balance sheet, such as issuing guarantees, loans and equity investments (referred to as ‘financial transactions’) to support infrastructure and business growth. This work is central to the Treasury’s role as a finance and economics ministry. We draw on a diverse network, including international institutions, colleagues across Treasury and other government departments.

The team (composed of about 12 people) is split into four branches:

Frameworks, Capital Assets and Metrics; Financial Assets and Investments; Contingent and Implicit Liabilities and Balance Sheet Management.

The importance of our work has been underlined by an increasing focus on the balance sheet and growing use of balance sheet interventions, such as during the Covid-19 pandemic and energy price shock. Over the past year, the team have led work to support the decision by the Chancellor to target a broader measure of debt in the fiscal rules, developed a new framework for managing financial investments published at Budget, and have been part of various major policy decisions from the financing of Sizewell C nuclear power station to the government’s fiscal support for Ukraine.

About the Job

In this role, you will lead work to:

• Support the Treasury’s policy thinking and help manage the approval process for large, new financial transaction proposals at fiscal events like the upcoming spending review. This will involve understanding the financial and policy impacts of proposals across a wide range of areas such as decarbonisation, education funding and affordable housing, considering benefits and risks, and supporting ministerial advice on whether to proceed with policies.
• Lead policy development for specific aspects of the new Financial Transaction Control Framework, such as a new annual publication to set out the value and performance of all government’s financial assets. This will involve building expertise on financial transactions and advising teams within Treasury and departments on implementation of the framework.
• Support the design and implementation of reforms to the management of government’s public financial institutions to ensure the Treasury can balance their financial risk, economic policy impact and return for the taxpayer. This will provide a fascinating insight into how investment institutions operate and involvement in major structural reforms, such as the establishment of the new National Wealth Fund.

About You

This is a rapidly developing area of work that provides opportunity for exposure to many different policy areas, so the post-holder will be able to shape the role to their interests and development priorities.

You will need to be able to come to sound judgments when faced with challenging problems and incomplete information; communicate complex issues to a variety of audiences and be able to collaborate effectively with a range of stakeholders, including other organisations.

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.

If you need any reasonable adjustments to take part in the selection process, please tell us about this in your online application form, or speak to the recruitment team at .uk