Senior Strategy Advisor

Job summary

About us

At the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, we make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the National Health Service in England. We use what we learn from complaints to drive improvements in public services, helping organisations deliver better outcomes for the people who rely on them.

Our new five-year strategy focuses on delivering fair and impartial justice for individuals and using our insight to create wider improvements across public services. To achieve this, we bring together evidence, expertise and collaboration to identify opportunities for change and maximise our impact.

We are an open, friendly and supportive organisation where people are trusted to do their best work. We listen, learn and work together to solve complex challenges, treating everyone with dignity and respect. Inclusion and wellbeing are important to us, and we want every colleague to feel valued, supported and able to thrive.

We work in a modern, flexible way built on trust and autonomy. You will split your time between working from home and spending around 40% of your week in our Manchester city centre or central London office, where collaboration and connection with your team are an important part of how we work.

Job description

The role

We are looking for a Senior Strategy Advisor to help shape and deliver our organisational strategy, ensuring that our work has the greatest possible impact for people who use public services.

You will play an important role in developing strategic plans, building relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders and leading work that strengthens our ability to learn from complaints and engagement activity. You will work closely with colleagues across policy, communications, engagement and research, as well as senior leaders, government departments and the NHS.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys working with complexity, influencing others and helping organisations think about the future. If you are comfortable working in an evolving environment, can communicate complex ideas clearly and are motivated by improving public services, we would like to hear from you.

Person specification

What we are looking for

• experience of contributing to strategy development in the public or charity sector and helping to deliver strategic outcomes
• ability to analyse complex issues, use evidence and insight to inform decisions, and develop practical solutions
• understanding of how work contributes to wider organisational priorities, with the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and competing demands
• strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, with experience of building effective relationships and bringing together different perspectives
• excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to translate complex information into clear, accessible messages for different audiences.

Applicants from the Civil Service or accredited Non-Departmental Public Bodies are welcome to apply.

We are open to considering this role on a loan or secondment basis. If you are applying on this basis, you must have agreement in principle from your current employer before submitting your application.

We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,325, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman contributes £14,289 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).

• Civil Service Pension scheme
• 325 days annual leave (plus bank holidays on top)
• hybrid working, 40% office based
• flexible working
• access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
• comprehensive learning and development programme
• employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
• bicycle loan scheme
• season ticket loan
• gym membership subsidy
• paid for professional memberships
• eye test reimbursement.

Things you need to know

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

How to apply (and how to do well)

You will answer three scored questions at application stage. We use these to shortlist, so your answers matter.

• choose real examples (from professional settings)
• focus on what you did, not what “we” did as a group
• explain your thinking: what you looked at, what you decided, and why
• keep it clear and specific, avoid generic statements

Please do not use AI to write your answers. We need to assess your skills, and applications may be rejected if answers appear AI-generated.

If your examples are very short, mostly opinion-based, or don’t describe a specific situation and outcome, you are unlikely to score well.

Inclusion & Wellbeing

Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.

Actions we take to embed this include:

• an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
• monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
• providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
• creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
• part of the disability confident scheme
• providing reasonable adjustments
• engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.

We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:

• Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
• disabled
• LGBTQ.

Contact and important information

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Jennifer Bealt, Head of Strategy and Research, [email removed]

• Interviews: held onsite
• Feedback: we do not offer feedback at application stage
• Right to work: we can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK.