About the job

Job summary

If you offer expertise in consumer behaviour, technology, policy or legislation, this position presents an exciting opportunity to join the CMA’s Behavioural Hub and help address competition and consumer issues across UK markets.

About the 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.

Consumers are increasingly encountering misleading and manipulative business practices online. These practices are changing the face of regulation in the UK and around the world, and understanding the effects and potential harms on consumers is a crucial part of future consumer and competition policy.

The CMA’s Behavioural Hub aims to make UK markets fairer and better for people as they are, rather than as they should be. We are a team from a diverse range of disciplines and professional backgrounds and our expertise spans behavioural insights, research methods, economics and data analytics.

We champion a culture that respects your work-life balance and encourage flexible working patterns. If you share our passion for improving consumer outcomes and a fair deal for all we welcome your application. If your professional expertise sits outside of those disciplines mentioned but you think it would give you a valuable perspective, please apply.

Job description

As a Senior Behavioural Adviser, you will play a central role in designing, delivering and supporting projects that tackle market issues. This will involve leading on behavioural input for cases or projects, as well as overseeing behavioural research that provides evidence for CMA enforcement action and market studies.

You will work with internal and external experts including data scientists, technology insight specialists, economists and market researchers, contributing to cross-cutting projects and developing new ideas. You will also be expected to manage one or more Behavioural Advisers or interns, supervising their project work and providing coaching and advice.

This is an exciting time to join our team, as we seek to expand our capabilities at the intersection of behavioural science and other relevant fields, including user experience, AI, experimental methods, consumer psychology, technology, behavioural economics, consumer and competition law, data science, consumer policy, and more. 

Responsibilities

• Lead behavioural input for CMA cases or projects, including analysing and auditing consumer and firm behaviour; summarising relevant empirical evidence and literature; supporting information gathering; drafting high-quality outputs; presenting behavioural analysis in case team meetings; and advising on potential remedies and how to test them.
• Lead, support and co-design behavioural research to provide evidence for CMA enforcement action and market studies.
• Lead on and contribute to cross-cutting projects and publications on key behavioural themes in the CMA, working with internal and external experts.
• Work with CMA data scientists, technology insight specialists, economists and market researchers to develop pipeline ideas and joint projects.
• Develop and maintain an understanding of developments in relevant competition and consumer policy, research and empirical evidence.
• Build and maintain relationships with behavioural units in other government departments and regulators (both within the UK and internationally) for knowledge sharing and strategic alignment.
• Manage one or more Behavioural Advisers or interns, supervising their project work and providing coaching and advice.
• Contribute towards the Behavioural Hub’s capabilities and operations, including sharing knowledge; contribute towards learning and development initiatives; develop tools; improve ways of working; represent the CMA at public events; and contribute to future recruitment. 

Person specification

• Significant experience of developing and using insights about people’s behaviour to understand problems, develop solutions and achieve organisational objectives (eg in a commercial, policy, regulatory, or legal environment).
• Ability to communicate, present and influence non-technical audiences, both orally and in writing.
• Experience of building strong stakeholder relationships, working in multi-disciplinary teams and managing colleagues’ work to deliver projects.
• Experience of one or more of the following:

1. 1. conducting and/or using behavioural research to address problems, including for example: online experiments, lab experiments, field trials, A/B tests, user and concept testing, natural experiments, behavioural design, qualitative and quantitative methods;
   2. designing, analysing and/or testing user interfaces or consumer-facing technology; and/or
   3. developing and/or working with consumer- or competition-related policy, economic analysis or legislation.

To find out more about the CMA please click below:

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/

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £59,100, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £15,957 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 an online application form where you will be asked to answer some role related questions. Further details about application requirements are listed on the application form. 
 
The selection process will comprise of the sift (CV & application question review) and an interview. Interviews will be conducted virtually, by Microsoft Teams.

In the sift the role related questions you have answered in your application will be considered.

The sift will take place between 01 and 10 May 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 from week commencing 20 May 2024.

The first part of the interview will comprise of 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.

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.