Darlington, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Wolverhampton
Job Summary
The People Capability & Change (PC&C) Directorate provides direction, drives change and delivers support on the Department’s people issues. We are an exciting, fast-paced place to work and we operate as a single team, working flexibly across themes as required, to use our combined knowledge and expertise in the most effective and efficient way.
We expect our people to be curious and engage positively with other Government departments and external stakeholders across the public and private sectors to understand the wider context of our work and to identify current and emergent best practice. We promote closer working across Government to meet the challenges of the future and we invest in our continued professional development.
The Head of Resourcing & Onboarding is a key leadership role within the HR Operations team. We are seeking a dynamic and strategic leader who will drive our end-to-end resourcing and onboarding function. This pivotal role ensures the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government attracts, selects, and onboards colleagues efficiently and inclusively.
Job Description
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and deliver a forward-thinking resourcing and onboarding strategy aligned with organisational goals and strategic workforce planning priorities. Lead and inspire a high-performing Resourcing and Onboarding team to deliver the full resourcing and onboarding lifecycle. As team leader, you will have strategic oversight and ownership of the full spectrum of resourcing – recruitment, redeployment, contingent labour. As the team leader, you will set direction, manage competing priorities and support an excellent team. Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across all recruitment and onboarding practices.
- Operational Excellence: Drive a culture of creative recruitment practices and embed continuous improvement in recruitment and onboarding processes, policies, and metrics – whilst maintaining compliance with CSC principles, Leading and delivering creative recruitment design for specific skill sets. Collaborate with hiring managers and senior leaders to forecast talent needs and build talent pipelines – collaborating closely with the Strategic Workforce Planning and Capabilities team.
- Digital services and change management: Align resourcing processes with the Government Shared Services model, ensuring compliance with centralised standards and frameworks. Lead a review of the resourcing and onboarding services and technology systems – working with colleagues across Government to align and manage the business change. Lead our commercial engagement and budget management for the resourcing and onboarding team. Lead and own the resourcing and onboarding aspects of the Government Shared Services agenda – providing expert subject matter expertise to the Unity cluster and leading the Departmental change to the “to be” model.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders. Build strong relationships with the Civil Service Commission and Public Sector Resourcing colleagues – ensuring that our approach complies with the recruitment principles and IR35 legislation. Represent the organisation in cross-government resourcing forums and working groups. Provide expert advice and insights to senior leadership on talent acquisition trends and innovations.
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and deliver a forward-thinking resourcing and onboarding strategy aligned with organisational goals and strategic workforce planning priorities. Lead and inspire a high-performing Resourcing and Onboarding team to deliver the full resourcing and onboarding lifecycle. As team leader, you will have strategic oversight and ownership of the full spectrum of resourcing – recruitment, redeployment, contingent labour. As the team leader, you will set direction, manage competing priorities and support an excellent team. Champion diversity, equity, and inclusion across all recruitment and onboarding practices.
- Operational Excellence: Drive a culture of creative recruitment practices and embed continuous improvement in recruitment and onboarding processes, policies, and metrics – whilst maintaining compliance with CSC principles, Leading and delivering creative recruitment design for specific skill sets. Collaborate with hiring managers and senior leaders to forecast talent needs and build talent pipelines – collaborating closely with the Strategic Workforce Planning and Capabilities team.
- Digital services and change management: Align resourcing processes with the Government Shared Services model, ensuring compliance with centralised standards and frameworks. Lead a review of the resourcing and onboarding services and technology systems – working with colleagues across Government to align and manage the business change. Lead our commercial engagement and budget management for the resourcing and onboarding team. Lead and own the resourcing and onboarding aspects of the Government Shared Services agenda – providing expert subject matter expertise to the Unity cluster and leading the Departmental change to the “to be” model.
- Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders. Build strong relationships with the Civil Service Commission and Public Sector Resourcing colleagues – ensuring that our approach complies with the recruitment principles and IR35 legislation. Represent the organisation in cross-government resourcing forums and working groups. Provide expert advice and insights to senior leadership on talent acquisition trends and innovations.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Experienced HR leader with a people focused and inclusive leadership style – with ability to motivate and lead a team effectively through change.
- Experience of working creatively and autonomously within a recruitment delivery or talent acquisition role and understanding of Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
- Experience of delivering significant digital changes to support service delivery and improvement.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills. An ability to use organisational insight and data to drive continuous improvement, quality services and innovative solutions.
- Excellent in managing priorities and your own time in a fast-paced environment, with an ability to plan and collaborate to achieve sometimes challenging deadlines.
- Driven, with strong judgement, a hands-on attitude and flexible but strategic approach.
- Strong team player, adaptable and flexible, adjusting to the requirements and priorities of the team and wider HR function as required.
- CIPD qualified or willingness to work towards this.
Alongside your salary of £56,167, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £16,271 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.
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
Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:
Behaviours , Experience , Strengths , Technical
Stage 1: Sift
- Experience: Describe your experience of leading creative recruitment strategies and summarise the impact.
- Behaviour: Leadership
- Behaviour: Changing and Improving
There is a 250-word limit per question.
When Writing Your Application, Remember
- the assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially
- do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers
- if talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!)
Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors.
In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead behaviour listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview.
If you run into any technical problems when applying through Be Applied (for example, trouble logging in or submitting your application), their support team can help. Please contact them at
hello@beapplied.com.
Stage 2: Interview
- Behaviours: Leadership, Changing and Improving
- Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
- Technical: We will test technical knowledge, through an exercise/presentation. At the start of your interview time, you will be sent a short hypothetical "problem statement" and have 30 minutes to prepare your response. After 30 minutes preparatory time, you will then join the interview panel and you'll be given 5 minutes to tell the panel how you'd tackle the problem. You should be prepared to answer follow up questions.
- Strengths: The strength-based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.
Sift and Interview Dates
Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 16th February 2026.
Interviews are envisaged to take place the week commencing 2nd March 2026 and are currently being held remotely via videocall. This could be subject to change.
How We Recruit
Find out more about our recruitment processes here.
- Applying
- Sifting
- Interview
- Interview Results & Feedback
- Reserve List
- Near Miss
- Civil Service Grades
- We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer
- Reasonable Adjustments
How To Apply
Find out everything you need to know before applying here.
You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.
- Security Clearance Requirements
- Civil Service Nationality Requirements
- Right to Work
- Artificial Intelligence
- Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles
- CV Declaration
- Sponsorships
- Salary and Grade
- Existing Civil Servants
- Conflict of Interest
- Location and Flexible Working
- Fixed Term Contracts
- Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register
- Appeals and Complaints
- Conflict of Interest
Security Clearance Requirements
National Office: BPSS + CTC
London Office: BPSS + CTC
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups
- UK nationals
- nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
- nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
- Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
- Name : Jennifer Cowing
- Email : Jennifer.Cowing@communities.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk
Further information
About
If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:
a procedural irregularity
an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy
exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.
It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.
If the MHCLG Resourcing Hub is unable to satisfactorily resolve your complaint, you may contact put your complaint in writing to the Civil Service Commission, Room G8,1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ or by email to: info@csc.gov.uk.
