Senior Policy Advisor, BIST Burden Reduction

Job summary

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science & Trade’s Regulation Directorate (RD) is at the heart of the work in supporting the government’s growth mission and new Industrial Strategy. It aims to:

• Reform the stock of existing regulations to minimise bureaucracy and modernise regulation on the statute book
• Ensure the pipeline of regulation is necessary and proportionate, enabling analysis and scrutiny of new regulatory proposals from government departments, via the Better Regulation Framework.
• Ensure independent regulators deliver the right outcomes, with BIST driving a coordinated approach across government.
• Improve economic regulation by ensuring it supports growth and investment, promotes competition, works for consumers, and enables innovation.
• Deliver the Regulation Action Plan by cutting regulatory administrative burdens by 25% which will save businesses time and money, reduce friction for innovators, and help create a regulatory environment that is targeted, proportionate, transparent, and agile enough to support growth and keep pace with change.

Regulation and the work of regulators is vital for promoting growth. When designed well and carefully implemented, regulation can be essential for protecting consumers, supporting vulnerable communities, and providing the stability businesses need to thrive.

Job description

The Administrative Burden Reduction programme focuses on driving government activity, which reduces unnecessary time, effort and costs associated with complying with government requirements. This role focuses on identifying and driving delivery on practical reforms that reduce unnecessary burdens on business and make it easier for businesses to operate and grow. The role combines strategic thinking with delivering through others, offering the chance to influence policy development while driving tangible improvements for businesses.

This role will support delivery of BIST’s administrative burden reduction programme. You will lead working-level engagement across five key BIST policy areas: Product Safety, Company Law and Governance, Trade Group, ESTR Group and Business Group. You will work with policy teams and sponsored Arm’s Length Bodies to maintain oversight of delivery, identify opportunities to reduce burdens, support accurate reporting of savings, and escalate risks or blockers where needed.

The role’s key responsibilities are:

• Lead day-to-day engagement with policy teams across the five BIST areas, building effective relationships and maintaining a clear understanding of progress, risks and dependencies.

• Provide constructive support and challenge to teams, helping them identify regulatory burdens, develop credible savings estimates, and align activity with the wider programme.

• Support senior engagement at Director level by preparing clear briefings on progress, risks, issues and recommended next steps.

• Ensure relevant Arm’s Length Bodies sponsored by the five policy areas are kept informed and able to contribute to the programme where needed.

• Maintain oversight of delivery across the five areas, identifying cross-cutting issues, dependencies or blockages and working with teams to resolve or escalate them.

• Input into programme reporting, including maintaining dashboard information on progress, risks, mitigations and delivery confidence.

• Support annual reporting to No10 through the Annual Simplification Plan, helping ensure returns from the five areas are complete, accurate and evidence-based.

• Draft or contribute to submissions, ad hoc returns, board papers and briefings for the Regulation Action Plan Board and senior officials.

Person specification

Essential criteria

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage.

• Policy delivery: Experience of working in a policy or programme environment, with the ability to understand complex issues, assess options and develop practical recommendations that support delivery and senior decision-making.

• Stakeholder engagement and influencing: Strong relationship-building skills, with the ability to work across teams, provide constructive support and challenge, secure buy-in and maintain alignment with shared objectives.

• Communicating clearly: Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, concise and accurate briefings, submissions and updates for different audiences, including senior officials.

• Using evidence and data: Confidence working with evidence, including data, policy information and stakeholder insight, to assess progress, understand trade-offs, identify risks and support sound recommendations.

• Delivery grip and prioritisation: Ability to manage competing priorities, maintain oversight of several policy areas, track progress against milestones, and escalate risks, blockers or dependencies at the right time.

• Working collaboratively: Ability to work flexibly and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment, contributing to a positive team culture and supporting colleagues to deliver shared objectives.

Desirable criteria

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates;

• Experience of working on regulatory reform.

Personal attributes & skills

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

This role would generally suit someone who;

The ideal candidate would be a creative thinker, prepared to challenge the status quo on policy. They would also be comfortable working in a fast-paced environment and enjoy the pressure which comes from working on a major PM/Chancellor/BIST SoS priority. They would be collaborative but know how and when to leverage personal relationships. They would also be comfortable managing contractual arrangements with suppliers effectively, delivering great value for money.

Desirable past experience/skills:

Essential

• Experience leading and motivating a team.
• Experience developing and delivering high profile policy.

Desirable

Experience working on regulatory reform and/or innovation.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,913, Department for Business and Trade contributes £13,011 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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