We are looking for:

This is an opportunity to play a senior leading role in the delivery of one of the government’s most important interventions in the housing market, the Help to Buy (HtB) programme. HtB currently has over £11.5Bn of 2nd charge equity loans outstanding and is forecast to increase considerably from this level over the coming years.

The jobholder is responsible for leading and developing a specialised risk team within Homes England, working with key stakeholders within the agency as well as with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and HM Treasury (HMT). This team provides governance, risk and assurance advice and support to the first line consumer business within Homes England. This is primarily focussed on HtB but encompasses all consumer facing interventions by the agency.

The job holder will be the “go to” Subject Matter Expert within our organisation and the most senior specifically consumer risk resource within the agency. They will need to have a wide range of relevant consumer risk knowledge and experience as well as excellent communication and management skills.

In addition to managing the Consumer Risk team within Homes England the jobholder has a key role to play in building knowledge, skills, capacity and a risk culture around consumer risk within the broader agency and government.

Our successful candidate will:

• Manage and lead the Consumer Risk team, reporting into the Deputy Chief Risk Officer, to ensure effective performance from the team in giving specialised advice and support to the front line delivery teams.
• Coordinate and lead the work of the Consumer Risk team in ensuring that we have an appropriate Consumer Risk Framework and that the delivery agents, both internal and external, are working within the framework.
• Ensure that the Risk Directorate are able to provide appropriate assurance to both the Homes England Board and MHCLG that the HtB programme is operating within board approved risk appetite. Lead and own the provision of Risk MI, both quantitative and qualitative, which informs this provision of assurance and which helps to identify risk issues within the portfolio which need to be addressed.
• Ensure that the portfolio strategies and processes are compliant with the appropriate regulations and regulatory guidance, working actively with Legal, MHCLG and other Risk teams to manage regulatory risks (both new and emerging), which could impact on the programme(s).
• Act as the Subject Matter Expert representing Risk Management on all areas of consumer policy including policy development, revision and new programme (product) development. Use expertise to develop processes and procedures and support colleagues across the organisation by adopting and championing consumer risk best practice.
• Maintain and develop the profile of the Risk Function by building relationships with key business stakeholders and ensuring that Risk is a standard agenda item within the first and second line governance framework.
•  Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, communicating to stakeholder in depth knowledge of Homes England consumer exposure and how it aligns to wider Homes England objectives.

The successful applicant will have:

• It is desirable that this post holder has a degree level qualification and/or holds appropriate professional qualifications/ membership from a related risk environment.
• Significant leadership experience in consumer credit risk management is mandatory. This should have been gained in a retail banking environment with a focus on secured mortgage lending.
• Solid understanding of wider consumer facing product considerations in relation to policy, strategy development and operational risk management is mandatory.
• Collaborative The ability to work with a range of different stakeholders with various priorities and goals to ensure that the end task is delivered on time, within budget and within the approved risk appetite.
• Creative Detailed-oriented, high level of intellectual curiosity and strong sense of ownership. Ability to drive improvement and change.

Homes England

Homes England is the Government’s housing accelerator, with the appetite, influence, expertise and resources to drive positive market change and meet the Government’s ambition to deliver 300,000 new homes a year. We are using our land, influence, funds and knowledge to increase the pace, scale and quality of new homes accelerating delivery in areas of greatest demand and helping create great places to live. Within the next few years, we will have invested over £27 billion across our programmes. To deliver against these aims we’re building a different kind of public service, join us in breaking new ground to make this happen.

How to Apply

For more information on the role, please see the attached Job Description/Person Specification.

To apply for the role please submit both a CV and Diversity Monitoring Form.  Please ensure that your CV is a reflection of the competencies required as shown in the Job Description/Person Spec as this is how your application will be assessed against the role requirements. Please name your CV and completed Diversity Monitoring Form using your name and document type, for example “Your name – CV, or Your name – Diversity Monitoring Form”.

Return both by e-mail with the Vacancy Title and six digit reference number in the subject line, for example “Team Coordinator (5P0376)” to recruitment@homesengland.gov.uk.

It is important that you include your contact details on the diversity monitoring form; if you are successful at short-listing stage these details will be used to provide information regarding the next stage of the process.

Successful applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application and interviews held as soon as practical after the closing date. The interview will consist of a range of questions around competencies, strengths/values and job specific questions. In terms of preparation, it is advised that you read and refer to the Job Description and Person specification. It is also valuable for you to spend some time reading our Strategic Plan which will give you an overview of the organisation and our values.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive we are regretfully unable to respond to every application individually. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the adverts closing date we will not be progressing with your application. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in this role.