CMA1982 Head of Devolved Nations

Do you want to use your stakeholder engagement skills and expert knowledge of the policy and political environments and processes in the UK to benefit the public good?

Join the Advocacy, Nations and External Relations team and play a pivotal role strengthening the CMA’s relationships with stakeholders across the UK to promote competition in the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (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.

The Advocacy, Nations and External Relations team is the CMA’s centre for stakeholder engagement with governments and elected representatives in the four nations of the UK, as well as business and consumer groups.

The team’s work includes analysing and evaluating policy to advise and inform government, outreach and stakeholder management and working with the CMA’s enforcement teams to promote compliance with competition and consumer law with businesses.

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, our employee assistance programme, and our extensive flexible working options.

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 Monday 11th December 2023.

As Head of Devolved Nations, you will be responsible for developing and delivering the CMA’s approach to external relations and advocating to governments the benefits of promoting competition in the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

This will involve promoting better policy making and regulation to governments through a range of approaches, such as committee submissions, public consultation responses and private discussions with policy officials. External relations will be shaped through designing and shaping engagement strategies and creating and maintaining productive relationships with key stakeholders.

You will lead CMA colleagues based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh and advise them on engaging with stakeholders across the devolved nations and ensure a well-co-ordinated approach to government engagement. You will also ensure senior CMA staff receive high quality advice, support and briefing materials for their engagement with key stakeholders.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading ANER’s advocacy and external relations work across the devolved nations.
• Line management and development responsibility for three Grade 7 members of staff based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, and those that report into them.
• Promoting awareness of devolution and the devolved nations to teams across the CMA and contributing to the shape and scope of the CMA’s pipeline of casework.
• Identifying opportunities to deliver the CMA’s priorities in each of the nations and managing the resources needed to deliver those.
• Advising and supporting CMA case teams on engaging with stakeholders across the devolved nations.
• Working with colleagues in the Office for the Internal Market to ensure a well-co-ordinated approach to government engagement and stakeholder relationships.
• Ensuring senior CMA staff receive high quality advice, support and briefing materials for their engagement with key stakeholders.
• Supporting the delivery of the ANER team’s strategies across the whole UK.
• Monitoring and reviewing law and policy in the devolved nations to identify and take opportunities to advocate for pro-competition and pro-consumer policy.
• Responsibility for review of CMA submissions to devolved governments and legislatures and management of internal governance.

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application:

• Strong understanding of the policy and political environments and processes in the UK and the devolved nations. Including extensive knowledge of the institutional landscape in the devolved nations and the devolution settlements. (Lead Criteria)
• Experience of designing and delivering engagement strategies and plans and amending these in light of continuous evaluation against outcomes and stakeholder engagement. (Lead Criteria)
• Ability to build and maintain strong and productive relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including senior decision-makers. Negotiating and influencing to secure buy-in.
• Experience in the economic analysis of markets or demonstrable understanding of the policy-making process and how this affects markets and consumers.
• A demonstrable ability to acquire, at speed, a detailed knowledge of unfamiliar markets or policy areas and to stay focused and deliver successful outcomes in an environment of uncertainty or through periods of change.
• Proven ability and experience of making effective decisions, using sound analysis and judgement, and managing risk, taking account of the wider context.
• Ability to successfully deliver projects working with multi-disciplinary teams and deliver results within challenging timescales, taking responsibility and accountability for quality outcomes.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to communicate complex technical issues clearly to non-technical audiences and secure buy-in to ideas. 

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

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

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

• Stakeholder engagement and understanding of the policy and political environments and processes in the UK and the devolved nations.

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 are 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, but not more than the advertised mid-point, 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.

The CMA are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. It is a priority to make our workforce as diverse as possible and 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.

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 : Marc Batt
• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk