About the job

Job summary

Do you offer excellent diary management and administrative skills, along with a positive attitude, confidence and the ability to build great relationships with senior stakeholders?

Are you ready to take the next step in your career in a fast-paced and stimulating environment?

If you excel at providing high-level executive support, this is an exciting opportunity to join a world leading organisation as an Executive Assistant to the Chair at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

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.

You can read more about working at the CMA in our candidate pack.

Job description

Working as a member of the CEO and Chair’s Private Office team, you will support the delivery of the Chair's vision for the CMA.

You will be responsible for providing proactive support to prioritise their time and tasks effectively. This will include efficient diary management, planning meetings, providing advice and delivering an effective organisational and logistical service.

You will be the Chair's key contact, monitoring their inbox, managing correspondence, and informing colleagues of upcoming issues and meeting conflicts. Utilising your sound judgment, you will identify upcoming risks and challenges, resolving issues as they arise and implementing effective solutions.

In addition to this, you will also work as part of the wider Executive Office team, supporting our Board, Executive Committees and Non-Executive Board members.

Person specification

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application. For tips on how to make the most your application, please have a look at our guidance document.

Essential:

• Highly experienced in organisation and administrative skills including complex diary management through Outlook and excellent knowledge of the Microsoft suite of packages including Word, Outlook, Powerpoint, Excel, OneNote, MS Teams and SharePoint. (Lead criteria)
• Demonstrable evidence of leadership and communication skills including communicating in a succinct, engaging manner through appropriate channels, acting as a key point of contact, representing senior leadership appropriately and professionally, standing ground when needed and dealing with conflict effectively. (Lead criteria)
• Proven ability to work autonomously, be self-starting and proactive and able to manage multiple tasks at pace whilst maintaining standards of excellence. Able to support senior stakeholders in a fast-paced environment with high attention to detail and with the proven ability to act in a highly confidential manner. (Lead criteria)
• Experience of delivering high-quality executive-level support being able to think ahead and being alert to emerging issues of note for the Chair and wider Exec Office team.
• Able to build positive professional relationships with both internal and external stakeholders, in particular the private offices of Government departments and regulators, delivering business objectives through effective teamwork with Executive Office colleagues, and fostering an inclusive environment.

If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to SC level and possibly DV level.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,000, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £12,420 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.

The selection process will comprise of the sift (CV & application review) and interview.

 An initial sift based on lead criteria 1, 2 and 3 may be held if a large number of applications are received.

If your application then progresses to a full sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification of the role profile will then be considered.

The sift will take place week commencing Monday 15th July 2024.

If your application is successful, you will be invited to attend an interview.

This will be a 45-60 minute panel interview, where you will be asked behaviour-based questions based on the behaviours, experience and values specified in the role profile.

Please note that interviews will be held in person at the London office.

The first part of interview will comprise of a presentation or written assessment, the topic of which will be shared with you should you be selected for an interview and advance preparation may be required.

You will be notified via email to log-in to your Civil Service Account to book your interview slot. You will then be sent an email with full details of your arrangements for interview.

Interviews are expected to be held week commencing Monday 29th July 2024.

Reasonable adjustments:

In order for a person with disabilities not to be put at a disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

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 instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you are deaf, a Language Service Professional.

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.