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Senior Policy Adviser

Job details
Posting date: 17 July 2025
Salary: £44,720 to £52,130 per year
Additional salary information: National pay location: (Manchester): £44,720 min - £47,850 max London pay location: £48,720 min - £52,130 max
Hours: Full time
Closing date: 31 July 2025
Location: London
Company: Government Recruitment Service
Job type: Permanent
Job reference: 416198/1

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Summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, fire, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Public Safety Group’s role is to keep the public safe by cutting crime, disrupting the highest harm criminals, protecting the vulnerable and ensuring that our police, fire and rescue services are as efficient and effective as they can be in delivering front line public services. We work with our partners in other government departments, local government and the voluntary sector to develop and implement policy, provide funding, and deliver legislation.

The Neighbourhood Policing Unit is an important contributor to the success of the Government’s Plan for Change and Safer Streets Mission. It has an overarching aim to deliver the government’s manifesto commitment to restore neighbourhood policing through delivering the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and 13,000 increase in the neighbourhood policing workforce.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee sets out what communities can expect from their neighbourhood policing teams, including putting police back on the beat, ensuring neighbourhood policing is community led, driving professional excellence and tackling local issues such as anti-social behaviour and town centre crime.

The Neighbourhood Policing Unit leads the Neighbourhood Policing Programme jointly with the National Police Chiefs Council.

A key part of delivering the Programme will be to increase the number of special constables and wider volunteering in neighbourhood policing. The successful applicant will lead this work, including designing and collaboratively delivering initiatives to boost the recruitment and retention of special constables, working closely with key stakeholders such as the National Police Chiefs Council and the College of Policing to ensure successful implementation. This position requires a proactive and innovative approach to overcoming recruitment and retention challenges and encouraging a supportive environment for police volunteers more widely.

The policy area is fast-paced and attracts significant ministerial, Parliamentary, and media interest. The successful applicant will work in a fast paced and rapidly changing environment, supporting the development of policy and delivery of high-quality advice and briefing to Home Office ministers, senior leaders and other government partners (internal and external).

The post requires a commitment to working flexibly, there may be need to flex staff across the team to respond to emerging priorities. This includes in support of the wider Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee team.

Key Responsibilities

The successful candidate will be responsible for (but not limited to):

  • Collaborating with senior stakeholders across government and policing to design, develop, and deliver policy related to special constables within neighbourhood policing
  • Contributing to the Government’s commitment to increase the number of special constables, working as part of a team to support recruitment and retention efforts
  • Providing high-quality and well-evidenced advice to ministers and senior officials in both written and verbal form
  • Working effectively with a range of people at both junior and senior levels, demonstrating the ability to learn quickly, think critically, present, write clearly, and convey complex information to others
  • Evaluating complex information, including data, quickly and efficiently, using it to develop evidence-based policy
  • Horizon scanning, monitoring data and emerging trends, and keeping abreast of relevant research to ensure policies related to special constables draw on and reflect the best evidence
  • Working flexibly, as priorities can change rapidly. Be prepared to operate and contribute within a level of uncertainty and adapt/respond quickly as the role develops

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis. However, compressed hours are available.

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Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.

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