CMA2023 – Assistant Director, Digital Markets

Join us as an Assistant Director in the Digital Markets Unit and play a pivotal role in promoting greater competition and innovation in key digital markets, including online search, social media, app stores, and online marketplaces. These markets play a vital role in our everyday lives, and your work will positively impact and protect UK consumers and businesses.

About us

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is a world-leading government body, established to make sure competition works in people’s favour and businesses treat their customers fairly. We are expanding our presence in Manchester and the city will be an important hub for our growing Digital Markets Unit (DMU). The DMU will focus on some of the most important online markets used by consumers and businesses in the UK, including search, social media, app stores and online marketplaces.

It is an exciting time to join the CMA’s Digital Markets Unit – we are passionate about what we do and offer a supportive environment, with opportunities to be involved in a wide range of interesting work.

The role

As an Assistant Director, you will lead the Digital Markets Unit’s efforts in building and establishing its presence within the CMA. Your responsibilities will include developing and delivering strategies to address potential harms in digital markets, engaging in horizon scanning, and building relationships with key stakeholders. You will work closely with our Data and Technology Analytics unit to gain insights into evolving technologies, contributing to the DMU’s status as a centre of excellence in digital market regulation.

This role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of digital market regulation, addressing one of the most significant policy challenges globally. You will lead a team dedicated to ensuring competitive and innovative digital markets, benefiting UK consumers and businesses.

About you

We are seeking individuals with a variety of backgrounds and skills. Your experience could range from digital markets and technology to management, policy, government, regulatory, economics, or legal fields. The essential criteria for this role include significant experience in leading multi-disciplinary teams, making complex decisions, and developing strategic stakeholder relationships. Excellent communication skills and the ability to drive and influence change are also crucial.

What we can offer you

The CMA is a hugely diverse, rewarding and stimulating place to work – an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself in doing so. We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%, at least 25 days leave (increasing to 30 over five years), and generous maternity/paternity leave provision. You can also take advantage of interest-free season ticket loans, a cycle to work scheme, and our extensive flexible working options.

We actively promote mental and physical wellbeing with access to an employee assistance programme, a varied programme of wellbeing initiatives and a network of mental health first aiders.

The Digital Markets Team (DMU) will host a drop-in session for prospective candidates interested in working for the CMA. Candidates are invited to join a virtual session where the team will explain the work of the DMU and you can hear from existing team members about their experiences. Recruiting managers will be on hand to ask any questions you may have about the vacancies in team.  

We will run the session over Microsoft Teams from 17.30 to 18.30 on 15th January 2024, to register your interest please visit – Live Q&A Event: working in the CMA’s Digital Markets Unit Tickets, Mon 15 Jan 2024 at 17:30 , Eventbrite  

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

The closing date for applications is 11.55pm on 22nd January  2024.

We are looking for people with transferable skills and encourage applications from a diverse range of backgrounds. This may include, but is not limited to, people with experience working in:

• Digital Markets and using data and technology
• Management
• Delivery
• Analytical, research, policy
• Government
• Regulatory
• Economics
• Legal

The responsibilities may include: 

• Leading a team to develop and deliver work to establish the new DMU as a leading agency worldwide effective in promoting greater competition and innovation in digital markets, in the interests of consumers and citizens.
• Taking a leading role in delivering case and project work in digital markets, working closely with colleagues across the CMA, and using learnings from this work to inform the future work of the DMU.
• Leading our work to build the DMU’s horizon scanning and market insights function, working closely with colleagues in the CMA’s Data and Technology Analytics unit who lead on understanding technologies.
• Leading work to establish the DMU as a centre of excellence in digital markets regulation, engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and building knowledge and expertise.
• Leading our work with other regulators with responsibilities for digital markets, both domestically and internationally, to strengthen cooperation and deliver a more effective, coherent regulatory landscape.

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application. If you do not meet the lead selection criteria in your application, the panel will not be required to score your application against the remaining essential criteria of the role.

Essential:

• Significant experience leading multi-disciplinary teams to successfully deliver results, working within challenging timescales and taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes (lead criteria).
• Significant experience taking complex decisions, drawing on analysis of a wide range of information to support a broad understanding of the wider context, and balancing different views and perspectives (lead criteria).
• Significant experience leading the development of strategic relationships with key stakeholders, both internal and external, including those with competing agendas and priorities and from other professional backgrounds.  
• Ability to communicate clearly to a range of audiences and secure buy-in to ideas, including developing and delivering presentations and materials for external publication.

Desirable:

• Experience in one of the following fields: digital markets, using data and technology, management and delivery, analytical, research, policy, government, regulatory, economics, or legal.
• Experience of managing staff, acting as a role model to support effective working, addressing skills gaps and helping to achieve aspirations.

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace

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/.

Like many other organisations, we operate 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. We work at least 40% of our time from our office locations across the UK.

If you’re already a civil servant being appointed on level transfer, you’ll retain your existing terms, including annual leave. If you are being promoted you’ll receive either a 10% pay increase or the new grade minimum, whichever is the greater. Applicants new to the civil service can be considered for appointment at a salary higher than the starting point indicated above, but not more than the advertised mid-point, depending on skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications.

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. 

We are an accredited Disability Confident Employer and disabled applicants meeting the minimum criteria for the job will be given the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at an interview.

Our Values

The CMA delivers impactful outcomes for people, business and the UK economy.​ We are Ambitious and Evidence-based, and always strive for Excellence.​ We treat everyone with Respect, and are Collaborative and Inclusive.​

Everything we do is underpinned by the Civil Service values: Honesty, Integrity, Impartiality and Objectivity.

Job contact :

• Name : recruitment@cma.gov.uk
• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk
• Telephone : 020 3738 6808

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk