DIO Head of Housing Policy

Do you want to work on one or the most exciting transformation projects in the public sector? The Defence Housing Strategy set out the MOD’s plan to refurbish or replace nine in ten Defence family homes, backed by £9bn in funding and the creation of a new Defence Housing Service to drive this change. Currently part of the Defence Infrastructure Organisation, the Defence housing team is responsible for almost 50,000 Defence family homes – making it one of the biggest landlords in the country.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation responds to the evolving needs of our military personnel, and the ways in which they live and work. We are proud to be the expert partner Defence needs for all their infrastructure requirements. From large scale infrastructure projects to homes for our Service families, our activities focus relentlessly on our customers. We deliver value for money and consistently innovate to find proactive solutions to meet their needs.

About the Defence Housing Service

The Defence Housing Service (DHS) is being created through the Armed Forces Bill to deliver a step-change in housing for the UK’s Armed Forces and their families following the publication of the Defence Housing Strategy on 3 November 2025, which marked the most significant change to Armed Forces housing in over 50 years. DHS will bring a dedicated focus to improving the homes, communities and lived experience of Service personnel, placing families firmly at the heart of everything it does.

This is one of the most ambitious housing transformation programmes in the UK today. Backed by a £9 billion investment, DHS will modernise tens of thousands of homes, introduce a more proactive and customer-focused approach to maintenance, and unlock new opportunities to develop housing on Defence land.

DHS will have the focus and agility to deliver change at pace, combining public service values with greater flexibility to build the skills, systems and partnerships needed for the future.

This is a rare opportunity to be part of shaping its culture, influencing how it works, and helping deliver lasting improvements for Service families across the UK.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

This is a unique opportunity to play a leading role in shaping accommodation policy across one of the UK’s largest and most high-profile housing portfolios.

As Head of Housing Policy, you will lead a substantial programme of policy development within Defence housing, with a focus on standards, allocations, and wider landlord policy. You will ensure policy is coherent, deliverable, legally robust and financially sustainable, supporting the Defence Housing Strategy’s ambition to provide safe, high-quality homes for Service personnel and their families.

Reporting at a senior level, you will provide authoritative advice to Ministers and senior leaders, shaping how accommodation policy evolves as the Defence Housing Service is established. You will lead policy reform, embed a family-centred approach, and ensure alignment with statutory and regulatory requirements.

As a senior leader, you will also build and lead a high-performing policy team, foster cross-government collaboration, and represent Defence at key governance forums and external engagements.

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Lead the development and implementation of accommodation and landlord policy, including standards, allocations, estate management, repairs and maintenance, and tenancy frameworks
• Provide expert advice and briefing to senior leaders and Ministers on complex, high-profile policy issues and risks
• Drive reform and modernisation of accommodation policy through cross-MOD collaboration, including oversight of impact assessments and regulatory considerations
• Shape the transition of policy into the future Defence Housing Service, ensuring clarity of roles, responsibilities, and compliance with statutory obligations
• Oversee policy assurance, compliance and performance, ensuring alignment with legal, safety and quality standards [
• Lead stakeholder engagement across MOD, Front Line Commands, families’ federations, and wider government, ensuring a family-centred approach to policy design
• Build and lead a high-performing team, promoting evidence-based policymaking, continuous improvement, and strong delivery culture

The future delivery model for this team is currently under review and may change as part of potential organisational developments. This could include the team or function transferring to a different employer or organisational structure in the future. Should activities transfer out of the Ministry of Defence existing employees transferring with those activities will maintain the same or substantially the same terms and conditions of employment.

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)

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

At sift, you will be assessed against the following:

• Candidates will be required to provide work history (CV of no more than 3 pages) highlighting relevant roles and responsibilities aligned to the essential criteria stated above.
• Personal Statement (750 Words) answering the following question "Describe one policy or service improvement you would prioritise to improve the housing experience of residents and their families.” You may draw on experience from any housing or other relevant organisation, or on ideas in the Defence Housing Strategy 2025. Please explain:
• Why you would prioritise this change;
• The benefits it would deliver for resident;
• The challenges you might face in implementing it; and
• How you would address those challenges.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, a sift will be conducted on your Personal Statement only.

At interview, you will be assessed against the following behaviours:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Interviews will be conducted in person at MoD Main Building, London, SW1A 2HB

Near Miss Clause

We want to offer opportunities to all who are successful at interview for our roles, but this isn't always possible, so we do hold candidates on an active reserve list for 12 months. It is also possible that we may offer similar lower graded role/s to reserve candidates or, if no reserves are appointed, candidates that meet the lower grade criteria in merit order.

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.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.