Policy Leader (Finance)

Salary: £46,920 (London) / £42,373 (National) per annum
Hours: Full time (but open to proposals including part time, job shares etc)
Contract: Permanent
Benefits:
- 27 days annual leave + statutory holidays + 3 closures days over the Christmas period;
- Flexible working for all staff including working from home / hybrid working, and flexi-time/TOIL scheme;
- Attractive family friendly policies;
- Private healthcare cover;
- Season ticket loans;
- Employee awards, and training and development opportunities.
For more information about our benefits please visit our website.
Location: London/Bristol - employees are able to work from home on an arrangement agreed with their line manager and we have colleagues based around the UK.
An exciting opportunity has arisen at the National Housing Federation (NHF) for a Policy Leader (Finance Policy).
The NHF is the voice of housing associations in England. We are the trade body to almost 600 housing associations, who have grown from philanthropic roots to provide 2.6 million homes to around 6 million people. You can find further information about the NHF here: https://www.housing.org.uk/about-us/
This role is a crucial and exciting one within our policy team and the wider organisation. You will use your knowledge and understanding of housing associations and their finances to build strong relationships with Finance Directors across our membership, and use their and your specialist knowledge to shape the financial environment so that housing associations can best deliver on their social purpose.
Whether this is making a persuasive and evidence-based case to the government for additional grant funding to build new homes, or working with sector experts on the detail of accounting, pensions, tax or treasury policy, or meeting with banks, lenders, ratings agencies, UK Finance, HMRC, and the Treasury on behalf of our members, this role is central to our work influencing national social housing policy.
Please scroll down to the bottom of the page to download the full job profile and person specification for this role.
Key elements of the role:
- Shape and lead our policy work on key strategic issues for housing associations around housing finance – advocating for solutions and mitigating risks that affect the delivery of housing associations’ social purpose;
- Develop evidence and ideas on technical policy areas into salient policy solutions that will make a difference for the sector and influence government;
- Represent the NHF to senior colleagues in government, members and external stakeholders with credibility, expertise and political judgement;
- Communicate with and provide advice to members on critical changes to policy and the external environment.
The successful candidate:
The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate:
- A strong and in-depth understanding of housing association finances and the operating model of housing associations (finance qualifications are not required, but a technical understanding of finance and accounting issues will be vital);
- An ability to lead the development of credible, robust, evidence based policy, including on complex and technical policy areas;
- An ability to communicate credibly, clearly and persuasively in writing and in person including to Chief Executives, senior government officials and finance professionals;
- An ability to draft, oversee, adapt and deliver complex plans for the delivery of multiple projects or programmes of work.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
The NHF has published its equality, diversity and inclusion strategy, which was co-created with staff – https://www.housing.org.uk/about-us/transparency/who-we-are/. We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and we value the contribution each individual makes to our work.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and are working to increase the diversity profile of our workforce. We are currently under-represented by ethnic minorities, people with a disability or disabilities and LGBT+, and would particularly welcome applications from people in these groups.
Disability confident committed employer
We are a disability confident committed employer and if you are a disabled person who demonstrates you meet the skills and experience we consider essential for the role, we will offer you an interview.
We are happy to consider reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process if you have a disability or have a condition that you feel may affect your performance during the recruitment process. Please email Stephanie Green, People Manager at hradmin@housing.org.uk with your request or to arrange a time to discuss in more detail.
Our role profile and job advert can also be requested in large print or in accessible format via this email address.
Uploading your CV and cover letter
If you decide to apply for this role, when requested, please upload a version of your CV that does not include any personal details, such as name, gender, age etc. You should also ensure that you do not add your name at the end of the cover letter. This will help us to shortlist candidates for interview based solely on their knowledge, skills and experience.
Right to work in the UK / UK VISA Sponsorship
You must have the right to work in the UK and it is important to note that the NHF does not sponsor individuals to work in the UK.
Closing date for applications: Wednesday 17th April
Interview date: Thursday 25th April

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme