Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, London, Manchester About the job Job summary If you are a strong leader and can offer expertise in consumer behaviour, this position presents an exciting opportunity to join the CMAs 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. Advances in digital technologies have led to the growth of powerful platform businesses and substantial increases in the collection and use of data, machine learning and AI, as well as use of behavioural practices. These advances are reshaping our economy and society, and delivering substantial benefits to consumers, but are also raising new challenges, including for competition policy and consumer protection. The CMAs 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. You can read more about working at the CMA in our candidate pack Job description As an Assistant Director in the behavioural team, you will have a unique opportunity to lead cutting edge applied behavioural projects and research to address competition and consumer issues across UK markets. You will assemble and lead projects to drive new thinking and insights, working closely with consumer and markets experts as well as economists, lawyers and other professionals. You will work with internal and external (e.g. academics) experts to drive new thinking on how behavioural insights can inform the CMAs work. You will also provide oversight to and support the development of your people. You will drive how the CMA and others academics, other regulators, consumer organisations, the OECD think about the behavioural underpinnings for the regulation of markets. Person specification Experience of establishing and leading a broad programme of behavioural work, with a proven track record of leading teams to deliver high quality behavioural projects at pace. (Lead Criteria) A deep understanding of existing behavioural literature, and exceptional skills in distilling this to develop insights. (Lead Criteria) A strong leader who develops an inclusive culture leading multi-disciplinary cross-site teams, with a focus on development. Demonstrable experience in building close and productive stakeholder relationships to deliver behavioural projects. Ability to set strategic direction, managing competing priorities, and communicating decisions effectively. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, capable of explaining complex technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders. This includes reviewing the work of others and providing clear, balanced and actionable feedback. Experience using and conducting behavioural research to address problems, including for example: online experiments, lab experiments, field trials, natural experiments, behavioural design, qualitative and quantitative methods. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process: Communicating and Influencing Leadership Delivering at Pace Seeing the Big Picture Technical skills We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process: Behavioural Science and Insights Benefits Alongside your salary of £78,600, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £22,770 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Youll also get: 25 days leave (increasing to 30 days over five years), plus 8 public holidays and an additional day off for the Kings birthday. In addition, youll 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 You can read more about our benefits in our candidate pack. Our Values 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. You can read more about life at the CMA in our candidate pack. 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. You will also be assessed on the following Value - Evidence Based. As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and 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 either in person at the London office or 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 04 and 07 February 2025. 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 17 February 2025. The first part of the interview will comprise of a timed written task and 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. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Apply and further information Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job contact : Name : Serena Connor Email : recruitmentcma.gov.uk Recruitment team Email : recruitmentcma.gov.uk Further information If your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact Recruitmentcma.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk. Attachments BH G6 Role Profile Jan 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 194kB) Share this page Print Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn GMail