Head of Building Standards and Performance | Full Time | National | £81,000

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is recruiting for two senior Deputy Director roles. These posts sit within the Buildings, Fire and Resilience Group. The group leads key work on safer, better and more sustainable buildings.

These are high-profile roles. They will help shape national policy on Building Standards, building regulations and construction products. The work also supports housing growth, building safety reform and the move towards net zero. Both roles involve close work with ministers, regulators, industry leaders and teams across government.

The available roles are:

• Head of Building Standards and Performance Division: Leading work on building standards, building regulations and the move to a low-carbon built environment.
• Head of Construction Products Division: Leading the next stage of reform for the construction products regulatory regime.

Key Responsibilities

• Building Standards: Lead national work on building standards, building regulations and building performance.
• Building safety reform: Support work on the proportionality of the building safety regime.
• Policy delivery: Oversee policy sprints and support the Independent Review of building safety legislation and the wider regime.
• Net zero: Lead departmental work linked to the Future Homes Standard and low-carbon buildings.
• Energy performance: Work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on the built environment’s role in carbon budgets.
• Building regulations: Work with the Building Safety Regulator to keep building regulations up to date and proportionate.
• Grenfell response: Support the Government’s commitment to review building regulations following the Grenfell Inquiry.
• Construction products: Lead reform of the construction products regulatory regime.
• Legislation: Lead the design of primary legislation linked to construction products reform.
• Regulatory change: Support regulations that bring more construction products into the regulatory regime.
• Stakeholder engagement: Build strong relationships across government, regulators, industry and the construction sector.
• Leadership: Lead high-performing teams through change, reform and complex delivery.

About You

You should have:

• Senior leadership experience: Proven experience leading large-scale delivery, regulatory reform or service improvement.
• Strategic skills: The ability to set a clear vision and shape policy or organisational direction.
• Change leadership: Experience leading teams and stakeholders through major change.
• Innovation focus: The ability to improve services, challenge old ways of working and deliver better outcomes.
• Partnership skills: Strong experience influencing across government, regulators, industry and external partners.
• Team leadership: Experience leading and developing multidisciplinary teams.
• Inclusive leadership: A clear commitment to building an inclusive and high-performing team culture.
• Policy judgement: The ability to work in complex and politically sensitive environments.
• Building knowledge: Working knowledge of building regulations, building safety, construction products regulation or similar frameworks.
• Sector experience: Experience in building control, engineering, construction, housing, infrastructure or a related sector would be useful.

What Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Offers

MHCLG offers:

• Salary: £81,000 per year.
• Bonus: Bonus opportunity, subject to normal Senior Civil Service pay arrangements.
• Pension: Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension, with employer contribution stated as £23,465.
• Locations: Darlington, Leeds, London, Manchester or Wolverhampton.
• Flexible working: Flexible working options, where possible.
• Development: Tailored career pathways and learning opportunities.
• Benefits: Access to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme.
• Travel support: Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Inclusion: A culture that supports inclusion and diversity.
• Assignment duration: The role has a minimum expected assignment duration of 3 years.

How to Apply

You will need to submit:

• CV: Up to two pages, covering your career history, key duties and achievements.
• Statement of Suitability: A statement explaining how your skills and experience meet the role.

The closing date is 6 July 2026 at 11:55pm.

The expected recruitment timeline is:

• Drop-in session: 23 June 2026 at 1:30pm.
• Shortlisting: Week commencing 6 July 2026.
• Interviews: Week commencing 20 July 2026.

Shortlisted candidates may be invited to a Staff Engagement Panel. They may also meet a senior stakeholder. A short presentation or exercise may also form part of the interview process.

Application Tips

Before you apply, make sure your CV shows clear senior leadership, policy delivery and regulatory reform experience. Use your statement to show how you have led complex change, influenced senior stakeholders and delivered results in a high-profile setting. If you have experience in Building Standards, building regulations, building safety, construction products, housing, infrastructure or building control, place this clearly near the top of your application.