About the job

Job summary

Reporting to Legal Directors, and with direct engagement with Senior Legal Directors, the General Counsel and decision makers, your key focus will be to ensure that decisions taken by the CMA are legally robust, including by identifying legal risks early and ensuring that these are managed appropriately.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. Our work is wide ranging, high profile, continually evolving and intellectually stimulating with a regular presence in national media and of interest around the world. 

With the UK's exit from the EU and rapidly evolving markets, the CMA has an exciting and challenging agenda, making it an interesting place for lawyers to define their careers.

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 while also having considerable flexibility when it comes to how and when you work. We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%, 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.

You can find more information about working for the CMA here.

To find out more about this opportunity please click on the APPLY button.

CMA – Working for the CMA , Civil Service Careers (civil-service-careers.gov.uk)

Or our LinkedIn page:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/competition-and-markets-authority/

The CMA will be hosting a virtual recruitment event on 6 March between 17.30 – 18.30. Candidates will have the opportunity to find out more about the organisation and the opportunities available. To register for the event, please visit: Legal Services Recruitment Event Tickets, Wed 6 Mar 2024 at 17:30 , Eventbrite

Closing date: 11:55pm on Monday 11 March 2024 

Job description

Responsibilities may include:

• Providing high quality, clear and timely legal advice in relation to casework, policy, and other projects, including by assisting with the development and application of theories of harm, analysis of potential legal breaches and concerns, providing advice with an appreciation of the context of relevant economic and financial analytical issues in the case and advising on the selection of proportionate and effective remedies.
• Leading in the day-to-day management of legal work streams, raising legal issues with the case team, the relevant Legal Director, and Senior Legal Director, as appropriate.
• Preparing or review documents for case delivery to achieve robust outcomes that are consistent with published CMA guidance, established practice of the CMA and best practice worldwide; and ensuring consistency, when appropriate, of analysis and process (both in respect of cases involving the exercise of the same functions and different functions).
• Minimising the risk of legal challenge by guiding project/case teams to conduct consistent investigations in accordance with CMA protocols, strategic objectives, guidance, and rules together with applicable public law considerations, providing potential workable solutions and escalating concerns to Legal Director or Senior Legal Director level as appropriate.
• Participating, as required, in any litigation challenges to the CMA’s work.
• Monitoring and assimilate developments in relevant legislation and case law and litigation practice and inform CMA staff of developments.
• Line manage, coach and motivate staff to address skill gaps, achieve aspirations, fulfil future CMA needs and offer support in developing innovative solutions to complex issues and recommending and implementing ‘Best Practices’.
• Liaise with Counsel and other stakeholders as necessary and support CMA colleagues in developing a flexible and highly effective legal team.
• Contribute to policy development (including best practices and analysis) relating to competition or consumer law enforcement, mergers, markets studies and investigations, digital regulation, the UK internal market, subsidy control, and sector regulation/regulatory appeals.
• Build and develop relationships within the CMA to embed and develop effective matrix working.
• Work in supportive partnership with colleagues/teams to fulfil individual and collective objectives.
• Work at pace to deliver projects within specified timetables, whilst managing conflicting deadlines and prioritising work to meet this.
• Represent the CMA when required at seminars, presentations and other speaking engagements.

Person specification

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

• Significant knowledge of and practical post-qualification experience in one or more of UK and EU competition law, consumer law, Subsidy Control, OIM or regulatory law casework (or analogous regimes) together with knowledge and appreciation of applicable public law (lead selection criteria).
• Fully qualified lawyer entitled to practise as a Solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (CILEx Fellow) in the UK. Applicants qualified in a jurisdiction outside the UK will be required to undertake the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) following appointment, to be completed within 3 years, and employment will be conditional upon the successful completion of the SQE within this time period (lead selection criteria).
• Excellent communication skills, with experience of dealing with internal and external stakeholders, and working with project delivery teams.
• Significant experience in managing, coaching and motivating staff including managing performance, development and overseeing delivery of work.
• Significant experience delivering high quality analysis, advising on decisions, writing reports, contributing to policy and working to set deadlines.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,512, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £19,848 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

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

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) and an interview. Arrangements for the interview will be enclosed in the invitation. Interviews will be conducted in-person at a CMA office. 

At sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification (above and in the attached role profile) will be considered.

The sift will take place week commencing 12 March 2024.

If your application is successful you will be invited to attend an interview. You will be notified via email to log-in to your Civil Service Account and book your interview slot. You will be sent an email with full details of your arrangements for interview.

Interviews are expected to be held w/c 8 April for for three weeks.

The first part of the interview will comprise a presentation details of which will be forwarded in advance of the interview. The second part of the interview will be a 45 minute -1 hour panel interview where you will be asked questions based on the Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills outlined in the role profile.  

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.

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.

Please note that for exceptional international candidates, we may be able to sponsor your right to work, subject to your eligibility to work for the Civil Service. Sponsorship will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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) (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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window). 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.