About the job

Job summary

This is a unique and exciting opportunity to join the senior leadership of the Legal Service of one of the world’s top competition authorities.

The CMA has a wide and growing range of powers, which it uses to undertake a wide variety of cutting edge, high profile and complex work, spanning merger and market inquiries, competition and consumer law enforcement, subsidy advice and internal market advice. If you are motivated by a dynamic and challenging environment where you will be a highly influential senior leader shaping the CMA’s essential work in the public interest, playing a pivotal role in the leadership and management of CMA’s highly talented Legal Service comprising over 150 lawyers, then this could be the ideal role for you.

As a CMA Senior Legal Director, you will work closely with the CMA’s General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, and hold a pivotal position in fulfilling the CMA's mission. Your leadership and vision will guide legal teams, shape CMA strategy, and ensure the provision of top-tier legal advice and thorough analysis across all aspects of the CMA's casework. The legal teams, under the guidance of Senior Legal Directors, operate in close collaboration with project teams and decision-makers from the inception of an investigation to the final decisions and any ensuing litigation, fostering an integrated approach throughout the process.

We are recruiting two Senior Legal Directors to join this team as senior competition lawyers with established track records of delivering complex and strategic legal advice, a strong understanding of the policy challenges and opportunities facing the CMA and significant experience of leading and motivating professional teams. On appointment, you can expect to have a leading role, spearheading the provision of senior-level and strategic legal advice and overseeing balanced legal risk management across one or more CMA directorates, such as Mergers and Markets, Competition Enforcement, Consumer Enforcement, the Office of the Internal Market, Subsidy Advice, and/or the Digital Markets Unit.

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/

Closing date: 11:55pm on Monday 15 April 2024 

Job description

The roles will include primary leadership of legal input across a portfolio of CMA cases and shared leadership of the legal work supporting the establishment of the DMU and associated digital markets work. 

The roles will involve extensive senior engagement throughout the CMA and externally, working closely with, amongst others, the General Counsel, the Deputy General Counsel, and other Executive and Senior Directors and providing direct and final advice to individual case decision makers.

It may also be possible to assume senior leadership duties for overseeing the CMA's Policy & International Directorate. This division offers cohesive policy and international assistance across the CMA's competition and consumer sectors, entailing engagement with vital UK and international stakeholders and counterparts.

The post holder can be located in any of our locations, but a substantial amount of time will need to be spent in London. 

Senior Legal Directors have overall senior responsibility for the legal and policy input and analysis on the cases in their portfolio (akin to a partner in a law firm) and will lead and manage a team of Legal Directors and case lawyers.

Key responsibilities 

• To be accountable at senior level collaboratively for the quality and robustness of the legal advice and analysis underpinning the development of CMA investigations, provisional and final decisions, and related litigation ensuring that CMA lawyers have the capability to deliver high quality and robust legal support to case work and policy development.
• To ensure delivery of timely, strategic and authoritative legal analysis and policy advice in relation to the most analytically complex and important issues arising in relation to the CMA’s work, including advising the CMA Board, Executive Committee, Case and Policy Committee, other senior stakeholders and individual case decision makers and project teams.
• To provide a high degree of strategic insight, balanced risk management and expertise on key legal and policy issues as they arise, assimilating the wide body of case law, regime experience and wider CMA policy positions.
• To be a key member of the Legal Service Senior Leadership Team with shared responsibility for managing and developing the CMA’s legal function and for the professional development of CMA lawyers, including leading the development of best practice and shared learning.
• To manage the allocation of legal work and resource to ensure effective and robust delivery of the CMA’s case load and appropriate career development opportunities.
• To work closely with other Senior Legal Directors in the development and delivery of coordinated legal support across the CMA’s functions, including the promotion of working and learning across all areas of the CMA’s work.
• To form a highly effective working relationship with, amongst others, the Senior Legal Directors and the Executive and Senior Directors with shared responsibility for successful case outcomes, operating collectively to ensure that the CMA delivers robust and successful outcomes to defined timescales.
• To lead, motivate and manage a team of Legal Directors with collective responsibility for ensuring the quality and robustness of all legal aspects of case work and other projects, at all times demonstrating and delivering professional excellence.
• To develop the talents of the CMA’s lawyers and to contribute to developing an environment which inspires staff and enables innovative thinking and integrated working across the organisation.
• To lead and maintain open, professional and proactive engagement with external stakeholders.
• To promote an integrated approach to legal and policy analysis across cases and more generally across the CMA’s work, including leading engagement with key external stakeholders and international counterparts.

We are also advertising for a Senior Litigation Director position for which a separate application must be made if candidates are interested.

Person specification

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate evidence against the following essential criteria:

• Fully qualified lawyer entitled to practise as a solicitor, Barrister or Chartered Legal Executive (CILEx Fellow) in England and Wales or evidence of preparedness to undertake the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Scheme/SQE within 3 years of appointment and employment will be conditional upon the successful completion of the QLTS/SQE within this time period.
• A proven track record and extensive experience of strategic leadership relevant to competition law, merger control law, public law, consumer protection law, and/or the application of competition principles to markets with legislative underpinning within the UK or EC framework, with experience of leading, managing and delivering complex strategic legal advice within defined resources and tight timescales and a strong appreciation of the policy context in which the CMA operates.
• Strong appreciation of the legal and litigation expertise required to ensure the successful delivery of public enforcement outcomes by the CMA including ability to grasp new and complex concepts and areas of law quickly and accurately, including relevant competition, markets and consumer law and procedure and developments in CMA policy, and to identify links and synergies between discrete issues internally or externally.
• Strong track record of senior leadership, including management of large legal and multi-disciplinary teams and development of high performing legal staff in a complex and dynamic environment.
• Demonstrable ability to provide an authoritative view on complex competition, markets, consumer protection and public law questions, working effectively with senior counterparts from other disciplines.
• Demonstrable ability to influence colleagues at all levels, internally and externally, whether in business, national, regional or local Government and/or an enforcement arena and with international counterparts.
• Excellent leadership, people management and coaching skills, including the ability to develop, motivate, inspire and empower staff, to enhance performance and to promote a culture of respect, equality, diversity and inclusion.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £128,966, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £34,820 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

The CMA has retained Gatenby Sanderson to advise on this appointment. The closing date for applications is 23:55 on 15 April 2024. For further information about the position and additional details on qualifications, requirements, terms and conditions of service and how to apply and recruitment timeline, please review the attached candidate pack.

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process no later than the Advert Closing Date, which is 23:55 on 15 April 2024.  This can be accessed by www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe109425 and will involve uploading the documents outlined below:

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2. A Statement of Suitability (no longer than two pages), giving examples of how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification.
3. A completed Diversity Questionnaire. We’re committed to implementing and monitoring our equality and diversity policies with the aim of recruiting, retaining and promoting staff regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation.

All applications will be acknowledged. Please submit your full application via www.gatenbysanderson.com/job/GSe109425

Failure to submit both documents will mean the panel have only limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification. Please ensure that both documents contain your full name.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say', but this information is very important to the Civil Service as we seek to build organisations and develop policies that reflect our society. Any information you provide is confidential and will not be used during the selection process or to inform decision making.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application, or do not receive confirmation of its receipt by email within 24 hours, please get in touch with emma.clark@gatenbysanderson.com.

At the longlist meeting, applications will be sifted to select those candidates demonstrating the best fit with the posts.  Longlisted candidates will be invited to a preliminary interview with Gatenby Sanderson to discuss the role and their suitability in more detail. Following the preliminary interview, a panel shortlist meeting will take place where the results of the preliminary interviews will be discussed. Those candidates who demonstrate strongest suitability will be invited to final interview.

The timeline later in the attached pack indicates the date by which decisions are expected to be made, and all longlisted and shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments which could include psychometric tests and a staff engagement exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview.  You will also have the opportunity to speak to either Chris Prevett or Jessica Radke prior to the final interview to learn more about
the role and the organisation. Please note this is not part of the formal assessment process. We may take up references for shortlisted candidates prior to interview.

You will be asked to attend a panel interview in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. Interviews will consist of questions where candidates will be expected to build on the information provided in their personal statement and CV. Candidates may be asked to prepare a short presentation on a topic to be advised if/when invited to the interview stage. Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.