Head of Housing and Family Benefits

Job summary

Working at HM Treasury puts you at the heart of government, making a difference to the UK economy and ultimately to people’s lives right across the UK.

Jobs at the Treasury are fast-paced, fun and can offer unparalleled perspective – not least the opportunity to advise Ministers on the decisions which directly determine the UK’s prosperity. Deep in our DNA is a commitment to empowering our people: maximising individual and collective impact, with interesting work no matter your role or seniority.

Day-to-day you could be supporting Ministers to decide the right level of a specific tax or line of government spending; helping maintain the stability of financial markets; analysing the long-term trends impacting the future of the economy; or enabling this work as part of our vital corporate functions.

We are a high-performing department and proud to have outstanding staff from a wide range of backgrounds. We are also a friendly, inclusive and sociable workplace that prides itself on fostering great team spirit. Our two largest offices are 1 Horse Guards Road in London, opposite St James’ Park, and the Darlington Economic Campus, which also contains eight other departments. We work seamlessly across all our sites, including Norwich, Birmingham and Leeds, as one Treasury.

We are both a 1,000-year-old institution and dynamic, forward-looking economics and finance ministry, with a strong direction set by our organisational strategy, the Future Treasury Vision. The 21st century offers huge opportunities and poses new challenges for the UK. Working at the Treasury is your chance to help the country chart the right course.

Job description

This is a maternity cover for a Grade 7 role as the Head of Housing & Family Benefits in the Welfare Spending and Reform (WSR) team. You will lead a branch that looks at the range of ways the welfare system supports households with the cost of housing and raising children.

Key accountabilities of the role include:

• Leading the Treasury’s policy development on housing benefits, Child Benefit, the High Income Child Benefit Charge, and the Crisis & Resilience Fund. This will include advising the Chancellor and junior ministers on a wide range of new policy proposals for Budgets and Spending Reviews.
• Running the Treasury’s spending control for housing and family-related benefits. This will include identifying spending risks and scrutinising bids from other departments, including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), and HM Revenue and Customs. You will also oversee spending control for smaller benefits such as parental pay and bereavement support.
• Develop the expertise of yourself and your team, so that your branch acts as the point of contact on housing and family-related benefits within the Treasury. This will require you to stay abreast of the latest data and trends, stakeholder views, how these benefits impact on claimant households, and headline metrics such as child poverty and homelessness.
• Building open and collaborative relationships with colleagues in DWP, HMRC, MHCLG as well as a range of Treasury teams with an interest in these policy areas. Our work often involves taking a strategic, crosscutting look at how the welfare system is supporting key government ambitions, like tackling homelessness, improving living standards, or addressing migrants’ access to benefits.
• Managing a branch of two staff , ensuring they deliver timely and high quality work and supporting their wellbeing and personal development.
• Act as part of the team leadership alongside the team’s other Grade 7s and Grade 6s. Actively contribute to creating a positive and inclusive team. This includes supporting team objectives and role-modelling Treasury and team values. You will also be expected to get involved in making the Personal Tax, Welfare and Pensions (PTWP) group, and the wider Treasury, a great place to work.

This role is available as maternity cover for a fixed term. If you are an existing HM Treasury employee applying from outside PTWP, you will return to your current group at the end of this period and should therefore seek approval from your line manager before applying.

Candidate Drop-In Session

The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session to give you greater insight about the role and HM Treasury, and ask any questions you might have. If you would like to join us, use the link below to join the call at the right time.

• Microsoft Teams meeting – Tuesday 6th October 12:30-13:15
• Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/324178110006956?p=ma3XmWcRJ46YLXJKMw
• Meeting ID: 324 178 110 006 956
• Passcode: Ck7zo3nm

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date, please contact Beth Timson (elizabeth.timson@hmtreasury.gov.uk)

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

Application Stage

Application Form

Applications should consist of a CV including your employment history, and a 250-word statement demonstrating evidence of each of the below shortlisting criteria. Your CV and employment history won’t be scored. It’s used to give context to your application and support discussions at interview.

The panel will review applications and invite those that best demonstrate evidence of the shortlisting criteria below for interview. Please keep this in mind when writing your application.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

• Seeing the Big Picture : The ability to understand the wider context in which decisions are made, using relevant external developments and evidence to shape priorities, while balancing detailed technical considerations with strategic objectives.
• Working Together: Ability to work collaboratively across teams, organisations or sectors, building trust and maintaining effective relationships while navigating competing priorities and challenging situations.
• Leadership: Strong leadership skills and a demonstrable commitment to the development of others and to promoting diversity, inclusion and wellbeing.

The lead criterion is: Seeing the Big Picture

If we receive a high volume of applications, we’ll first sift using the lead criterion only. Those meeting the minimum score will then be assessed against all remaining criteria.

Interview Stage

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed against the following criteria:

Strengths

Behaviours

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

Interview Task / Presentation

Prior to your interview, we will contact you about a task / presentation that the panel would like you to deliver as part of the assessment. Further details will be communicated to you nearer the time.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,690, HM Treasury contributes

£17,292 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus public holidays and the King’s birthday.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme - Defined Benefit pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Parental Leave Packages - Including 6 months’ occupational pay for maternity/adoption, shared parental leave options.
• Advance Schemes & Discounts - Rental deposit, cycle-to-work, SmartTech, season ticket loans, and access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal for a wide range of discounts.
• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Options include part-time, job-share, compressed hours, flexitime, and hybrid working.

Hybrid working: HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites. There is an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.

The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location. Some roles may not be suitable for hybrid working, it will be stated in the role profile if the role cannot accommodate this.

You can review HM Treasury’s full offer here .

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

The reference to Experience above is system generated. For this role, experience is not assessed at any stage. We will ask for some CV details in your application form, but this is for reference only and will not be scored.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 11th October 2026 before 23.55
• Shortlisting: w/c 12th October 2026
• Interviews: w/c 26th October and 2nd November 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The