CMA1950 Assistant Economist

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is one of the world’s top competition and consumer agencies. With markets changing fast and with our responsibilities expanding, we are currently undergoing rapid business expansion, presenting new opportunities for skilled Assistant Economists.

Economics is at the heart of the CMA’s work. We have a number of exciting opportunities that call for enthusiastic economists keen to work on large-scale and high-profile investigations within a diverse, inclusive and international organisation dedicated to promoting competition for the benefit of consumers.

As an Assistant Economist, you will have the opportunity to work on diverse cases across the full range of projects the CMA undertakes. Such cases have recently included:

• Assessing the potential impact on consumers of high profile mergers such as Microsoft/Activision and Facebook/Giphy;
• Taking action against drug companies accused of over-charging the NHS;
• Undertaking major market studies into the mobile ecosystems market and the children’s social care market;
• Investigating concerns over fake and misleading online reviews on certain websites.

The CMA’s responsibilities are rapidly expanding. The CMA is home to the Digital Markets Unit; a new body established by the UK government to promote greater competition and innovation in fast-moving digital markets. CMA economists also ensure the competition implications of policies are considered through the work of the Subsidy Advice Unit and the Office for the Internal Market. The CMA has also recently established the Microeconomics Unit, located at the Darlington Economic Campus, to lead economic research into competition, innovation, productivity and related issues. Economist positions in the Microeconomics Unit will be advertised separately.

You will join a committed community of economists, working in a collaborative, collegiate atmosphere. We are a very diverse team; our economists have a range of backgrounds and nationalities. You will work in agile, dedicated teams undertaking economic analysis to assess competitive effects in markets; you will be provided with structured training opportunities covering both technical, economic skills and more general training; you will also be expected to contribute to the intellectual development of the team of professional economists.

You will be ideally placed to identify and benefit from opportunities for career progression across the organisation and you will discover a working environment where there is real emphasis on working together and developing each other to deliver to high standards.

Our structured training programme, as well as the wider Civil Service training programme, provides a range of opportunities for continuous improvement and learning to develop your economic expertise including training courses, lunchtime seminars and discussion groups on economics topics. We will also support and encourage you to develop your wider skills – including communication, drafting, management skills and project management.

CMA prides itself on being a great place to work and strives to ensure that staff have the opportunity to grow and expand their skills portfolio. As well as being a hugely rewarding, diverse and stimulating place to work, you will have an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself while doing so.

To find out more about this opportunity and about working for the CMA, please see below and click on the APPLY button.

Further details on the CMA can be found on the CMA’s YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter pages.

Application closing date: 11.55pm on Monday 25th September 2023.

Key responsibilities will include the following:

• Engage with senior economists to develop the economic analysis in their projects, including developing economic theories to explain how competition can be affected, gathering appropriate evidence (for example, drafting data or other information requests and survey questionnaires), and identifying how the economic analysis contributes to the CMA’s projects.
• Deliver high quality and timely economic analysis under the guidance of more senior economists. Responsibilities may include carrying out industry research, compiling datasets and analysing them; critically assessing and interpreting evidence and submissions; identifying relevant academic papers or other sources of publicly available information; and forming judgments as to how the analysis can be used in an investigation.
• Communicate clearly and accurately, both orally and in writing, in particular by drafting substantial sections of working papers and published reports. This includes presentation of economic analysis to both technical and non-technical audiences (economists and non-economists).
• Manage own time effectively to ensure work is delivered to the agreed timescale, ensuring managers are kept informed of relevant analysis and potential risks or limitations.
• Establish effective working relationships with colleagues across different professions in the CMA and with external stakeholders (such as parties to the investigation/inquiry).
• Proactively develop own skills, knowledge and career in the CMA in conjunction with line manager. The CMA provides a structured training programme covering technical, economic training and more general training.
• Whilst the role holder will typically not have staff or work management responsibility, they may, on occasion, manage Economic Interns.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Microeconomics

As well as the interesting and varied work you’ll do to contribute to effective competition in the UK, and to ensure consumers get a good deal when buying goods and services, you’ll also benefit from:

• An exceptionally generous pension scheme with a significant employer contribution and range of options, including a tax-free lump sum at the point of retirement and injury, ill-health and life assurance benefits
• 25 days leave (increasing to 30 days over five years), plus 8 public holidays and an additional day off for the King’s birthday. In addition, you’ll be able to access a wide range of other types of leave as and when you need it, including generous maternity, paternity, shared parental leave and adoption options, as well as paid special leave for volunteering
• Season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, flu vaccinations and eye tests
• Access to the Civil Service Sports & Leisure, giving discounted gym membership, high street discounts, free access to UK wide attractions and a free Tastecard
• A range of wellbeing benefits, including an employee assistance programme, flexible working options and family friendly policies, regular networking events and professional learning opportunities at work.

Any move to the CMA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/ .

If you’re already a civil servant being appointed on level transfer, you’ll retain your existing terms, including annual leave. Where you’re being promoted, however, you’ll receive the greater of a 10% pay increase or the new grade minimum. Applicants new to the civil service may be considered for appointment at a salary higher than the starting point indicated above (depending on skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications).

The CMA, like many other organisations, have moved to a hybrid working model with a mix of office and home working. We believe this supports us to deliver our best work while allowing the flexibility to maintain balanced and healthy lives. Our staff work at least 40% of their time from their office location.

We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We want a diverse workforce that reflects the consumers we serve. We welcome applications from under-represented groups, including ethnically diverse people, people with a disability, people with diverse gender identities and from people of different ages.

The CMA is an accredited Disability Confident Employer. Disabled applicants meeting the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.

Job contact :

• Name : CMA Recruitment Team
• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk
• Telephone : 0208 738 6808

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk