Policy Officer

The Housing and Land directorate is responsible for the Mayor’s plans to address London’s housing crisis, including by driving delivery of new affordable homes. Working closely with boroughs and partners, we manage the Mayor’s housing investment programmes and land and property assets to support the building of affordable homes, job creation and regeneration.

This role is in the Housing Policy team, which is responsible for developing the Mayor of London’s housing policies. In this post you will be working alongside colleagues to formulate policy to deliver on the Mayor of London’s priorities, and to ensure that those policies are informed by sound evidence. You will also work closely with colleagues across the wider Housing and Land directorate.

You will become an expert in housing policy and the challenges facing London. We welcome applications from people with the aptitude to learn and who can bring diverse skills and experience to tackle London’s housing crisis. You will have an ability to communicate with and influence a diverse range of people, as well as experience of problem solving, and planning and organising a varied workload. In addition, you’ll have some experience of carrying out research and a familiarity with standard office software such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel.

What your day will look like

1.    Contribute to the development, review and evaluation of housing policies, and participate in implementing the Mayor’s policies and monitoring their impact on London’s housing market and housing needs.

2.    Keep abreast of national and local housing issues, legislation, research and good practice, and contribute to identifying those most likely to impact upon the Mayor’s housing policies and his investment priorities.                                                                                                                

3.    Research housing issues through the analysis and interpretation of data, policy information, research and legislation.

4.    Lead research and policy projects, and contribute to more complex projects.

5.    Draft briefings, presentations and reports on housing issues for the Mayor and his Policy Advisors, and respond to enquiries about the Mayor’s housing policies from Assembly members, MPs, other stakeholders and agencies, and Londoners.      

6.    Establish and maintain effective lines of communication and positive working relationships with key internal GLA family and external stakeholders: to ensure consistency across the Mayor’s policies and strategies; to disseminate the Mayor’s policies; and to promote cross-departmental and cross-organisational working.                                                                                                   

7.    Realise and promote the benefits of London’s diversity by promoting and enabling equality of opportunities, and promoting the diverse needs and aspirations of London’s communities.                                                                                                                                 

8.    Realise the benefits of a flexible approach to work in undertaking the duties and responsibilities of this job, and participate in multi-disciplinary, cross-department and cross-organisational groups and project teams.

To be considered for the role you must meet the essential criteria set out below. You will be assessed on these competencies in both your written application and via the interview process.

Technical requirements

1.   Some understanding of issues and policy relating to housing or an equivalent social policy area.

2.   An understanding of the GLA’s commitment to equality and diversity.

Behavioural competencies

Building and managing relationships
 

… is developing rapport and working effectively with a diverse range of people, sharing knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals.

Level 1 indicators of effective performance

·    Builds rapport quickly with people at all levels and from different backgrounds

·    Actively listens to others and is open to their ideas 

·    Identifies and resolves conflict between self and others

·    Makes others feel comfortable and respected by being positive and friendly

·         Shares information openly with colleagues within and outside own team.

Planning and organising

… is thinking ahead, managing time, priorities and risk, and developing structured and efficient approaches to deliver work on time and to a high standard.

Level 1 indicators of effective performance

·         Plans and prioritises own workload to meet agreed deadlines

·    Advises colleagues or manager early of obstacles to work delivery

·   Perseveres and follows work through to completion

·   Checks for errors to ensure work is delivered to a high standard first time

·    Effectively juggles priorities.
 

Research and analysis

… is gathering intelligence (information, opinion and data) from varied sources, making sense of it, testing its validity and drawing conclusions that can lead to practical benefits.

Level 1 indicators of effective performance

·         Uses a variety of methods and sources to gather relevant data and information

·         Checks accuracy of data and information before using it

·         Assesses trends in data and spots connections to draw meaningful conclusions

·         Summarises research outcomes in a clear and concise way

·         Focuses on the research goal, working in a systematic way

Job description

Job purpose
To contribute to the development of the Mayor’s housing policies, to participate in putting in place plans and partnerships to ensure the delivery of those policies, and to play a role in supporting the Mayor in directing the use of London’s public housing investment.

Principal accountabilities

1    Contribute to the development, review and evaluation of housing policies, and participate in implementing the Mayor’s policies and monitoring their impact on London’s housing market and housing needs.

2    Keep abreast of national and local housing issues, legislation, research and good practice, and contribute to identifying those most likely to impact upon the Mayor’s housing policies and his investment priorities.                                        
3    Research housing issues through the analysis and interpretation of data, policy information, research and legislation.
    
4    Manage research and policy projects, and contribute to more complex projects.

5    Draft briefings, presentations and reports on housing issues for the Mayor and his Policy Advisors, and respond to enquiries about the Mayor’s housing policies from Assembly members, MPs, other stakeholders and agencies, and Londoners.    
        
6    Establish and maintain effective lines of communication and positive working relationships with key internal GLA family and external stakeholders: to ensure consistency across the Mayor’s policies and strategies; to disseminate the Mayor’s policies; and to promote cross-departmental and cross-organisational working.                                    
7    Manage staff and resources allocated in accordance with the Authority’s policies and Code of Ethics and Standards.                                    
8    Realise and promote the benefits of London’s diversity by promoting and enabling equality of opportunities, and promoting the diverse needs and aspirations of London’s communities.                                                
9    Realise the benefits of a flexible approach to work in undertaking the duties and responsibilities of this job, and participate in multi-disciplinary, cross-department and cross-organisational groups and project teams.

Key contacts
Accountable to:    Housing Policy Manager 
Accountable for:    Resources allocated to the job
Principal contacts:    Mayoral Policy Advisors, Assembly Members and their staff, senior managers, central government officers, London representative bodies, London boroughs and other statutory and voluntary agencies and functional bodies.                                        

Person specification

Technical requirements and experience

1    Some understanding of issues and policy relating to housing or an equivalent social policy area.

2    Experience of using IT software, including word processing, spreadsheets and statistical analysis of datasets.

3    An understanding of the GLA’s commitment to equality and diversity. 

Behavioural competencies 

1    Working with others - building and managing relationships
… is developing rapport and working effectively with a diverse range of people, sharing knowledge and skills to deliver shared goals. 

Level 1 indicators of effective performance 
•    Builds rapport quickly with people at all levels and from different backgrounds
•    Actively listens to others and is open to their ideas  
•    Identifies and resolves conflict between self and others
•    Makes others feel comfortable and respected by being positive and friendly
•    Shares information openly with colleagues within and outside own team

 
2    Working with others - communicating and influencing
… is presenting information and arguments clearly and convincingly so that others see us as credible and articulate, and engage with us.

Level 2 indicators of effective performance
•    Communicates openly and inclusively with internal and external stakeholders
•    Clearly articulates the key points of an argument, both in verbal and written communication
•    Persuades others, using evidence based knowledge, modifying approach to deliver message effectively
•    Challenges the views of others in an open and constructive way
•    Presents a credible and positive image both internally and externally

3    Delivering results - planning and organising
… is thinking ahead, managing time, priorities and risk, and developing structured and efficient approaches to deliver work on time and to a high standard.

Level 1 indicators of effective performance
•    Plans and prioritises own workload to meet agreed deadlines
•    Advises colleagues or manager early of obstacles to work delivery
•    Perseveres and follows work through to completion
•    Checks for errors to ensure work is delivered to a high standard first time
•    Effectively juggles priorities

4    Delivering results - problem solving
… is analysing and interpreting situations from a variety of viewpoints and finding creative, workable and timely solutions. 

Level 1 indicators of effective performance
•    Breaks down work issues, seeking further information if necessary
•    Provides workable solutions to solve immediate work problems
•    Makes suggestions and implements improvements to personal work processes
•    Actively supports new initiatives and tries different ways of doing things
•    Learns from others’ experiences

5    Delivering results - research and analysis
… is gathering intelligence (information, opinion and data) from varied sources, making sense of it, testing its validity and drawing conclusions that can lead to practical benefits.

Level 1 indicators of effective performance
•    Uses a variety of methods and sources to gather relevant data and information 
•    Checks accuracy of data and information before using it
•    Assesses trends in data and spots connections to draw meaningful conclusions 
•    Summarises research outcomes in a clear and concise way
•    Focuses on the research goal, working in a systematic way

Reasonable adjustment
Reasonable adjustment will be made to working arrangements to accommodate a person with a disability who otherwise would be prevented from undertaking the work.

If you would like to apply for the role you will need to submit the following:

• -    Up to date CV
• -  Personal statement with a maximum of 1500 words. Please ensure you address how you demonstrate the essential criteria outlined above in the advert. 

Please note all applications for this vacancy must be submitted via our online recruitment system. We do not accept CVs alone for this role. Please upload a personal statement to the ‘Additional Documents’ section of the form. Word or PDF format preferred and do not include any photographs or images. 

Please ensure your CV and cover letter/supporting statement documents are saved with the job reference number as part of the naming convention (E.g. “CV – applicant name - 012345)

Please note, if you do not provide both a CV and a covering letter, you will not be considered for the role so please ensure the above has been submitted before the deadline. 

If you wish to speak to someone about the role, the hiring manager would be happy to speak to you about the role [email protected]  If you have any questions about the recruitment process, contact the [email protected] who support the GLA with recruitment. 

If you have questions about the role

If you wish to talk to someone about the role, the hiring manager, Alexis Harris, would be happy to speak to you. Please contact them at [email protected].

Assessment process

Once you have submitted an application, your details will be reviewed by a panel.

If shortlisted you’ll be invited to an interview/assessment.

The interview/assessment date is: To be confirmed

London's diversity is its biggest asset and we strive to ensure our workforce reflects London's diversity at all levels. We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, sexual orientation, faith or disability.

We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic candidates and disabled candidates who are currently underrepresented in our workforce.

We are committed to being an inclusive employer and we are happy to consider flexible working arrangements. We would welcome applications from candidates who are seeking part time work as this role is open to job share. 

Please note we are a Disability Confident Employer so for candidates who wish to be

considered under the scheme and meet the essential criteria, they will automatically be invited to interview. Please note, should you require any adjustments through the process, we will accommodate as much as possible. Please contact the recruitment team for further information if required.

GLA staff are hybrid working up to 3 days a week in our offices and remotely depending on their role. As part of this, you will need to split your time between home working and coming into the office.

In addition to a good salary package, you will be paid every four weeks, providing frequent salary payments. We also offer an attractive range of benefits including 30 days’ annual leave, interest free season ticket loan, interest free bicycle loan and a career average pension scheme

Please note, all candidates will need to confirm that the information provided in this application form is true and correct. Should a candidate deliberately give false information, including the use of AI software, they understand that this would disqualify them from consideration.

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record (DBS) check but some roles may require additional security screening. 

Use for roles which require SC clearance

Please note Post holders must be willing to undergo National Security Vetting to the level of SC. This process requires the post holder to have been resident in the UK for

five years. Individuals will not be expected to hold existing National Security Vetting in order to apply for the posts.

Find out which DBS check is right for your employee - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If you have a disability which makes submitting an online application form difficult, please contact [email protected].