Job Description

Details

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Reference number

438821

Salary

104,365 - 111,100
SCS Pay Band 1 Competition Specialist




Applicants new to the Civil Service will be recruited at the minimum of the pay band for the grade of the position into which they are appointed. Only in exceptional circumstances will a salary above the minimum be considered, based on skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications demonstrated through the recruitment process, and also equity with staff internal to the CMA.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

SCS Pay Band 1

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Office of the Chief Economic Adviser

Type of role

Analytical


Economist

Project Delivery

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Belfast, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London, Manchester

About the job

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Job summary

Are you an economist with significant casework experience in enforcement, merger review or market studies and investigations, or significant experience in applying empirical Industrial Organisation?


if you want to work in a fast-changing and challenging environment doing important work in the public interest, then this could be the ideal role for you.


We are recruiting a

Director of Economics

to join the Office for the Chief Economic Adviser (OCEA).


As senior members of the Office of the Chief Economic Adviser, Economic Directors play a pivotal role in achieving the CMA's mission by bringing leadership and vision to the economist team and ensuring the delivery of high-quality economic analysis across the CMA's case work, working closely and collaboratively with project teams.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

The CMA is an independent non-ministerial UK government department and is the UK's principal competition and consumer protection authority. We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour.


We provide the opportunity to work across all sectors of the UK economy, undertaking objective, evidence-based analysis that can have a direct and substantial impact on the economy and economic prosperity.


Open the role profile to learn more, and more about the CMA in our candidate pack.

Job description

To be accountable

for the quality of economics work on cases across the range of the CMA's work through leading, challenging and reviewing the work of the case teams and to ensure the effective and robust delivery of economic analysis on CMA cases.

To provide strategic direction, advice and quality assurance

to economists on inquiries, including participating directly in more complex inquiries.

Alongside other Economics Directors, to support the Chief Economic Adviser

in providing professional leadership for economics work at the CMA and ensuring that the economic work is of consistently high quality, represents state-of-the-art thinking and is appropriately communicated to specialist and other audiences.

To be a key member of the OCEA's Leadership Team

with shared responsibility for managing and developing economists, driving forward talent management, and improving staff capability through recruitment, coaching, mentoring and staff and work management.

In return the CMA is a hugely diverse, rewarding and stimulating place to work - an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself in doing so. We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme, at least 25 days leave (increasing to 30 over five years), and generous maternity/paternity leave provision. You can also take advantage of interest-free season ticket loans, a cycle to work scheme, our employee assistance programme and flexible working options.


To find out more, please review the role profile.

Person specification

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application:


Essential:

Senior level experience of leading and delivering complex projects involving technical economic analysis, within defined resources and tight timescales (

Lead Criteria

); Evidence of an excellent knowledge and experience of competition economics and understanding of current competition, consumer and regulatory issues (

Lead Criteria

); Experience of effective and inclusive leadership and strong team working skills with demonstrable ability to inspire, manage and develop high-calibre economists to work effectively with other professional groups (

Lead Criteria

); Excellent communication skills, with the ability to communicate and explain complex issues with clarity, simplicity and precision to both specialist and non-specialist audiences both orally and in writing; Evidence of excellent interpersonal and representation skills and experience of engaging with and influencing senior decision makers.

Essential Qualifications:

Post-graduate degree in Economics (

Lead Criteria

)

Qualifications

Postgraduate degree in Economics

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:


Leadership Seeing the Big Picture Delivering at Pace Making Effective Decisions Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:


Competition Economics

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 104,365, Competition & Markets Authority contributes 30,234 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
You'll also get:

25 days leave (increasing to 30 days over five years), plus 8 public holidays and an additional day off for the King's birthday. In addition, you'll be able to access a wide range of other types of leave as and when you need it, including generous maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and adoption options, as well as paid special leave for volunteering Season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, flu vaccinations and eye tests Access to the Civil Service Sports & Leisure, giving discounted gym membership, high street discounts, free access to UK wide attractions and a free Tastecard A range of wellbeing benefits, including an employee assistance programme, flexible working options and family friendly policies, regular networking events and professional learning opportunities at work

You can read more about our benefits in our candidate pack.

Our Values

We are Ambitious and Evidence-based, and always strive for Excellence. We treat everyone with Respect and are Collaborative and Inclusive.


Everything we do is underpinned by the Civil Service values: Honesty, Integrity, Impartiality and Objectivity.


You can read more about life at the CMA in our candidate pack above.

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application and sift stage

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and an online application form. Further details about application requirements are listed on the application form. The selection process will comprise of the sift (CV & application review), task and an interview. Arrangements for the task and interview will be enclosed in the invitation. Please note that it is essential that your personal statement is aligned to provide evidence that you have the knowledge and experience for each of the essential criteria (as included on the role profile attached and listed above under 'Person Specification') in your application. Your personal statement should be no more than 1250 words. An initial sift based on the first four criteria points (Lead Criteria) may be held if a large number of applications are received. If your application progresses to a full sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification will then be considered. If you do not meet the lead selection criteria in your application, the panel will not be required to score your application against the remaining essential criteria of the role. We may raise the score required at sift stage to progress to interview if we receive a high number of applications and take through the highest performing candidates to the interview stage. Successful candidates at sift will be invited to an interview which will be conducted either in person or via Teams.

Interview stage

At the CMA we apply a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you and we use the Success Profiles framework assessing the Behaviours, Technical Skills and experience outlined in the advert and attached role profile. The first part of the interview will comprise of a task, details of which you will sent with your interview invitation. The second part of the interview will be a 45 minute - one hour panel interview where you will be asked questions based on the Behaviours and Experience skills (essential criteria) outlined in the role profile. A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

Timeline (the dates outlined below are indicative and may be subject to change)

The advert closing date is 8 December 2025 (23:55). We are not able to accept late applications. The sift is scheduled to take place between 9th and 18th December 2025. Successful candidates at the shortlisting stage will be asked to participate in an Individual Leadership Assessment (ILA) which is a one-to-one psychological assessment of candidates in recruitment and selection for Senior Civil Service (SCS) roles. Candidates will complete a range of questionnaires on-line, the outputs of which are explored during a structured interview of approximately 1-2 hours with an assessor. The ILA must occur prior to interviews taking place. The assessment does not lead to a pass or fail decision; rather, it is intended to highlight areas of strength and possible concerns which the panel can probe at interview. The ILA Assessments have been scheduled to take place from 5th - 16th January 2026. (Please note that where an individual has been assessed for an individual leadership assessment via Civil Service Resourcing and applies for another SCS post at the same pay band within a two year period, it is now policy to automatically re-use the original report). Interviews will be held from the week commencing 19th January 2026. Interviews will be in-person or via Teams. In-person interviews will take place in the London CMA office in Canary Wharf and will be confirmed at the time of interview booking.

Reasonable adjustments

We want to make sure no one is at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.



If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should complete the "Assistance required" section in the "Additional requirements" page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process. You can also email recruitment@cma.gov.uk.


For example, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you are deaf, a Language Service Professional. You might also require additional time to complete a timed assessment or a sign language interpreter to support with the relaying of information.

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. Please see our

candidate guidance

for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 10 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.




As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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) 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
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Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Marc Batt Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk
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Recruitment team

Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk

Further information

If your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact Recruitment@cma.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.