About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to use your competition enforcement/legal expertise to make a positive impact on the UK economy and society.

Join the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and play a pivotal role at the forefront of tackling businesses participating in cartels.

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, ambitious and often new and challenging.

The role

You will play a key role working  in tackling illegal anti-competitive agreements. You will play a leading role in the investigation of one or more suspected cartels, helping ensure the team delivers high quality outcomes, on time, within budget and achieves the aims set out for the project.

You will achieve this by:

• Helping set the direction and strategy for investigations, taking into account the bigger picture
• Analysing and co-ordinating the analysis of factual, economic and legal evidence
• Co-ordinating and participating in key investigatory steps (including inspections, witness interviews and written requests for information)
• Leading on drafting the investigation decision documents (such as Statements of Objections) and ensuring they are well reasoned and analytically robust
• Communicating with internal and external stakeholders, including the parties under investigation and their advisers, as well as coordinating with other agencies in the UK and internationally
• Ensuring cases are robustly planned

Our end-to-end approach to cartel enforcement means that, in addition to progressing a major investigation, you may help to develop intelligence leads, apply for a search warrant for an on-site inspection, or devise a media campaign to amplify the CMA’s deterrence message.

You will also have the opportunity to get involved in the development of cartel policy at a national and international level and to represent the CMA externally.

What you will need

A proven track record of working as a competition lawyer or enforcer, or as a lawyer, litigator or adviser with experience of complex contentious, enforcement or regulatory cases is essential.

You will need the ability to draft a range of documents, including technical reports and documents for publication, for a wide variety of audiences. You will also need a proven track record of undertaking complex analytical work, including experience of gathering, analysing and managing evidence.

Excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to lead, influence and motivate people and build rapport with senior decision makers and key internal and external stakeholders is equally important.

To find out more about the CMA please click below:

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

Further information on the CMA can be found on the our YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter pages.

Closing date for applications: Monday 29th January 2024

Job description

Delivery

• Support the Project Director in defining the intellectual and strategic direction of a project, both at the start and as the project progresses, taking account of the market issues, the CMA’s strategic objectives, identified risks and resourcing implications.
• Ensure that the project is driven forward according to an efficient project plan and liaise with colleagues to ensure adherence to the timetable and budget at each stage.
• Take the lead on individual workstreams, including carrying out complex drafting analysis, ensuring that they are delivered to a high quality, to time and within budget.
• Ensure that decisions on the project are based on clear, accurate, well-reasoned and evidence-based analysis.
• Draft a wide range of internal and external documents, including formal information requests, correspondence with parties to the investigation, decision documents, internal papers and submissions; reviewing project papers for quality, coherence, accuracy and confidentiality.
• Lead, motivate and manage multi-disciplinary teams, including setting and reviewing stretching but achievable deadlines and priorities and fostering effective team working, ensuring that team members understand the intellectual and strategic direction of the project and how their individual workstreams fit with that direction.
• Lead contributions to, and as appropriate, chair internal and external meetings.
• Identify and proactively manage risks, establishing a risk framework, monitoring risks, taking action where necessary and escalating as appropriate, so that procedures and procedural safeguards are complied with to ensure decisions are legally robust.

Substantive analysis 

• Reviewing and analysing complex evidence from a variety of sources to identify relevant materials, make appropriate connections and arrive at well-reasoned, analytically and legally robust conclusions. 
• Ensuring that decisions on the investigation are based on clear, accurate, well-reasoned, researched, and evidence-based analysis, working with members of the CMA’s specialist legal service, economists and other case team members as appropriate. 

Leading and Managing

• Manage the allocation of work to team members through delegation in a way that makes the most of their specialist skills, knowledge and ability, including setting the parameters of their work and day to day supervision and reviewing contributions to ensure quality and consistency. Providing feedback to staff managers for relevant staff.
• Be a staff manager, supporting colleagues to develop their careers and fostering talent including liaising with work managers to monitor and manage performance and assisting in development through performance management and by identifying training needs.
• Contribute to the overall leadership and management of the wider enforcement community, including:
  • on corporate and policy projects;
  • by coaching and mentoring staff; and
  • by capturing and sharing best practice across the CMA.

CMA corporate projects

• Ensure that projects apply, capture and share best practice and lessons learnt on particular inquiries and on wider policy and strategic work.
• Lead on projects which will contribute to the achievement of the CMA’s broader objectives and initiatives through greater efficiency.

Stakeholder management

• Develop and maintain fair, open, professional and proactive engagement with parties and other stakeholders, including national and international partners, often at very senior levels.
• Represent the CMA externally, including by delivering presentations at, for example, industry conferences, and internationally through bilateral and multilateral engagement with other competition authorities.

Person specification

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

• A proven track record of working in as a competition lawyer or enforcer, or as a lawyer, litigator or adviser with experience of complex contentious, enforcement or regulatory cases. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including an ability to draft a range of documents including technical reports and documents for publication, for a wide variety of audiences (Lead criteria)
• A proven track record of undertaking complex analytical work including experience of gathering, analysing and managing evidence and complex information from a variety of sources and presenting information to an audience. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to lead, influence and motivate people and build rapport with senior decision makers and key internal and external stakeholders.

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 and Experience.

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 virtually, by Microsoft Teams.

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

• A proven track record of working in as a competition lawyer or enforcer, or as a lawyer, litigator or adviser with experience of complex contentious, enforcement or regulatory cases. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including an ability to draft a range of documents including technical reports and documents for publication, for a wide variety of audiences (Lead criteria)
• A proven track record of undertaking complex analytical work including experience of gathering, analysing and managing evidence and complex information from a variety of sources and presenting information to an audience. (Lead criteria)
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with an ability to lead, influence and motivate people and build rapport with senior decision makers and key internal and external stakeholders.

An initial sift based on criteria 1, 2 and 3 (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 (above and in the attached candidate pack) will then be considered.

The sift will take place week commencing 29th January 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 will be held week commencing 12th February 2024.

The first part of the interview will comprise of a 45 minute in-tray exercise for which no preparation is required. The second part of the interview will be a 45-60 minute panel interview in which you will be asked questions based on the Behaviours and Experience outlined in the role profile and asked to deliver a pre-prepared 5 minute presentation. Details for the presentation will be provided before interview.

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. 

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.