About the job

Job summary

Are you looking for an opportunity where you can use your project management, research and analytical skills to make a positive impact on the UK economy and society?

Do you want to develop your leadership, management skills and understanding of consumer protection law, working for an organisation that is passionate about protecting consumers and keeping markets competitive?

Join the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Consumer Protection Group and play a key role supporting our work to make markets work well for consumers, businesses, and the economy.

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 Consumer Protection Group takes targeted enforcement action to protect consumers from unfair behaviour by businesses who are breaching consumer protection law and supports businesses with guidance on what they need to do to comply with the law.

Some of our recent investigations include reviewing the unit pricing practices of grocery retailers as part of a programme of work to tackle cost of living pressures; freeing people from costly ground rent lease clauses; tackling fake and misleading online reviews; and cracking down on companies that make misleading green claims.

As a Principal Case Officer, the key aspects of your role will vary from project to project and will depend on your skills and experience. You can expect your role to include:

• developing the analytical framework for investigations;
• gathering and analysing evidence from the businesses concerned, from other stakeholders and from other sources (such as desk based and online research);
• preparing evidence and arguments to support any allegations of breach of consumer protection law;
• managing the enforcement timetable;
• developing compliance programmes to drive improvements across markets; and
• working with colleagues from across the CMA to prepare for the new consumer enforcement powers under the DMCC Bill.

Joining the CMA is an opportunity to use your skills for the public good, helping an organisation passionate about protecting consumers and keeping markets competitive. 

Job description

As a Principal Case Officer, your role will vary from project to project and will depend on your relevant skills and experience. You can expect your role to include:

Consumer protection investigation

• Support the Project Director and Assistant Director in defining the direction and strategy for investigations, taking account of the relevant issues, the wider consumer policy context, and the resourcing implications.
• Manage investigations in line with the CMA’s project management framework, devising the project timetable and other project management materials, managing allocation of work, liaising with colleagues to ensure adherence to the timetable and budget at each stage and reporting on progress.
• Take the lead on individual workstreams, including carrying out complex analysis, and contribute to effective decisions on the project by ensuring that decisions and recommendations are based on clear, accurate, well-reasoned and evidence-based analysis.
• Draft and finalise a wide range of documents, including letters to parties, internal governance papers, reviewing project papers for quality, coherence, accuracy, and confidentiality.
• Identify and proactively manage risks through establishing a risk framework, monitoring risks, taking action where necessary and escalating as appropriate.

 

Communication

• Develop and maintain fair, open, professional, and proactive communication with the businesses under investigation.
• Build and maintain collaborative relationships with national governments, with UK and international consumer protection enforcement authorities and consumer representative organisations, often at very senior levels.

 

Leadership and management

• Manage staff, supporting colleagues to develop their careers, fostering talent, and carrying out performance reviews and other related tasks.
• Contribute to the wider Consumer Protection Group and the CMA, including:
• on corporate and policy projects;
• by coaching and mentoring staff; and
• by capturing and sharing best practice across the CMA.

 

Other opportunities

• Opportunities to undertake different types of learning and development e.g. applying to enrol on the Kings College, London Post Graduate Diploma in Consumer Law (subject to meeting entry requirements), and other formal leadership and management programmes e.g. the CMA Leadership Programme to support your leadership role as a CMA staff or work manager, and the CMA’s Aspire and Accelerate programmes to support individuals from under-represented and minority groups to navigate the next stages of their career.

•  While this role will be based in the Consumer Protection Group, you might on occasion also be asked to work on projects in other parts of the CMA (including market studies, competition enforcement, merger investigations and regulatory appeals) where, for example, there is a peak in investigatory or other work.

Person specification

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

• Experience of successfully delivering projects (or work streams within projects) on time and to budget (lead criteria).
• Experience of carrying out investigatory tasks or researching specific topics, gathering evidence, and undertaking complex analysis of the relevant issues (lead criteria).
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including ability to draft a range of documents including analysis for internal review and documents for publication for a wide variety of audiences (lead criteria).
• Experience of making effective decisions or appropriate recommendations to decision makers, using sound analysis and judgment, managing risk, and taking account of the wider context.
• Experience of working collaboratively, building effective and inclusive relationships with colleagues and with senior decision makers, and delivering in partnership with other organisations or departments with related goals or responsibilities.
• Experience of motivating and supporting colleagues to be fully engaged in their work, of taking charge of situations and tasks, and of seeking out and contributing to wider organisational opportunities.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £55,133, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £14,885 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), an assessment and an interview. Arrangements for the interview will be enclosed in the invitation.  Interviews will be conducted in-person in our London office, those applying from places outside London can attend on Microsoft Teams.

The sift will take place between 20 February to 23 February 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. 

Interviews will be held from 04 March 2024 onwards.

The first part of the interview will be a presentation, the topic of which shall be shared in advance. The second part of the interview will be a 1-hour panel interview where the 1st 5-10 mins you will be asked questions on the presentation followed by competency based questions on the Behaviours and Experience 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.

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.