Investment Specialist

Do you have the judgement and financial expertise to review complex transactions, assess risk to government and shape major investment decisions?

Are you motivated by the opportunity to influence how public and private capital can be deployed to unlock housing, regeneration and infrastructure at scale?

If so, we have an exciting opportunity for an Investment Specialist / Senior Investment Manager (Structured Finance, Risk and Housing Investment) to join our team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and we’d love to hear from you.

This is a senior specialist role with impact across some of MHCLG’s highest-profile investment and policy priorities. You will provide expert advice on complex transactions and financial structures, helping the department assess risk, structure interventions and develop approaches that unlock investment into housing, land and infrastructure. The role spans three core areas: housing guarantees and credit risk/deal assurance, considering potential investor appetite and structuring for institutional investments into housing schemes - with a particular focus on affordable housing, and considering financial investment, risk mitigation and approaches to raising finance following Spending Review decisions.

You will operate across a varied and strategically significant portfolio. Working within the Guarantees team, where MHCLG is the final decision-maker on individual guarantee cases and needs strong financial and banking judgement for the most complex transactions, and are also responsible for guarantee models, where ministers are interested in increasing housing delivery while lowering fiscal impact.

You will also have a broader responsibility to work across the Regeneration and Housing Group to provide expert analysis on policy proposals as they are developed – assessing the commercial and financial implications of innovative delivery models, supporting the provision of high quality advice to Ministers, and then working with delivery partners – such as the National Housing Bank – to support implementation of those models.

This role is intended to strengthen long-term in-house capability in a highly specialist area where external support has often been required. It will suit someone able to move confidently between complex priorities, provide clear advice to senior non-specialists and bring deep expertise from banking, investment, structured finance or a similarly commercial environment.

As the Investment Specialist / Senior Investment Manager (Structured Finance, Risk and Housing Investment) your responsibilities will include:

• Leading the review of complex transactions and investment proposals, assessing deal structures and quantifying the level of risk to HMG.
• Providing expert advice on guarantees, credit risk and deal assurance, including reviewing transactions where advanced financial judgement is needed.
• Developing and interrogating financial models, including scenario analysis and risk sensitivities, to support decision-making and value for money assessments.
• Advising on investor appetite and structuring, including institutional investment options to bring additional private capital into affordable housing.
• Supporting policy development on development finance and stewardship models, including mapping financial flows, dependencies and relevant legal and financial structures.
• Explaining complex financial and technical issues clearly to non-specialists, including senior leaders and Ministers, to support high-quality decision-making.
• Working across teams and with external partners, including Homes England and financial institutions, to strengthen MHCLG’s investment capability and reduce reliance on consultancy support.

Person specification

To be successful in this role, you will need to combine strong technical finance capability with the leadership, judgement and influencing skills expected of a senior specialist at G6 level.

You will have a proven ability to review complex deals and assess risk, bringing a strong credit mindset and the confidence to challenge assumptions, test downside scenarios and provide balanced advice on risk exposure and value for money.

You will also have strong financial modelling capability, including experience building or interrogating models to assess scenarios, sensitivities and financial risk. Alongside this, you will bring knowledge of financial structuring, including areas such as guarantees, debt, covenants, security arrangements and cashflow waterfalls.

A critical requirement is the ability to communicate complex finance to non-specialists. You will be able to translate technical analysis into clear, practical advice for senior stakeholders, helping others understand the key risks, trade-offs and implications of different options.

We are particularly interested in candidates with significant relevant experience, likely gained in a bank, financial institution or similarly commercial environment, who have worked closely on investment transactions and have experience quantifying risk and reviewing the financial products or proposals of others.

It would also be beneficial if you bring housing or land-specific domain knowledge, familiarity with the government accounting or HMT framework, or infrastructure finance experience. However, these are not essential where candidates can demonstrate strong transferable expertise in structured finance, investment and risk.

This is a rare opportunity to apply specialist financial expertise to issues of major national significance. You will work on complex and high-value investment questions that directly support the delivery of homes, regeneration and infrastructure, while shaping how government works with private capital to achieve public outcomes.

MHCLG also offers a strong overall employment proposition:

• Meaningful impact – your work will influence major decisions, high-profile programmes and ministerial priorities.
• Excellent pension – the Civil Service pension provides a highly competitive and valuable long-term benefit.
• Work-life balance – this is an opportunity to work on complex and strategic issues in an environment that supports flexibility and a more sustainable balance than many comparable private sector roles.
• Breadth and visibility – you will work across guarantees, affordable housing, land policy and new towns, engaging with senior leaders, delivery partners and external institutions.