9 HEO POLICY CIVIL SERVICE BEHAVIOUR STATEMENTS

HEO policy applications require clear evidence of ownership, sound judgement and confident communication. Your example must show what you personally did while staying within the responsibility expected at HEO level.

This guide gives you nine complete HEO Policy Officer behaviour statements, with one full 250-word example for every Civil Service behaviour.

Each example is built around a realistic policy challenge and shows the level of analysis, coordination and decision-making expected from a strong HEO candidate.

Who Is This Guide For?

This guide is designed for candidates applying for roles such as:

• HEO Policy Officer
• HEO Policy Adviser
• Policy and Strategy Adviser
• Similar policy roles assessed at HEO level

The examples cover different forms of policy work, allowing the guide to remain useful across government departments and policy areas.

What Is Included?

• Nine complete 250-word behaviour statements
• One example for every Civil Service behaviour
• Grade-specific guidance explaining what each behaviour looks like in HEO policy work
• A clear explanation of why every example works
• A full B-STAR breakdown for each statement
• A final quality checklist for reviewing your own application evidence

All Nine Civil Service Behaviours

1. Seeing the Big Picture
2. Changing and Improving
3. Making Effective Decisions
4. Leadership
5. Communicating and Influencing
6. Working Together
7. Developing Self and Others
8. Managing a Quality Service
9. Delivering at Pace

Built Around Realistic HEO Policy Work

The examples cover credible HEO policy situations, including:

• Reviewing a rural transport pilot to protect access in isolated areas
• Improving how statutory consultation responses are analysed and recorded
• Recommending targeted early access to an employment support pilot
• Leading a small workstream producing housing safety guidance
• Building agreement on safeguarding referral guidance for young carers
• Coordinating medication continuity guidance for people leaving custody
• Developing a new policy adviser through practical consultation work
• Improving consistency in animal import permit decisions
• Preparing urgent education support options after severe weather

See What Strong HEO Evidence Looks Like

Each chapter explains how the example demonstrates the behaviour, where the candidate shows HEO ownership and why the actions meet the expected level.

The examples show how an HEO candidate can:

• Connect defined policy work to wider public outcomes
• Analyse evidence and make clear recommendations
• Coordinate operational teams and specialist colleagues
• Lead tasks or small policy workstreams
• Manage deadlines, dependencies and delivery risks
• Escalate decisions when senior authority is required

Clear B-STAR Breakdowns

Every statement is followed by a breakdown showing how the evidence is structured through:

• Belief
• Situation
• Task
• Action
• Result

This allows you to compare your own evidence against a complete HEO example and understand where the strongest scoring material sits.

What You Receive

• One downloadable PDF guide
• Nine full HEO Policy Officer behaviour examples
• Immediate digital access after purchase
• No physical product will be posted