Assistant Director, Competition Enforcement Project Lead (Fixed Term Contract – 06 months)

Job summary

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s principal competition and consumer protection authority. We promote competition and protect consumers with a clear end goal in mind: to drive economic growth and improve household prosperity. The CMA has a range of powers, which it uses to undertake a wide variety of cutting-edge, high profile and complex work, spanning merger and market inquiries, competition and consumer law enforcement, our role in the digital markets competition regime, subsidy advice, and internal market advice.

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

The CMA’s purpose is to promote competition and protect consumers with a clear end goal - to drive economic growth and improve household prosperity. The CMA’s Competition Enforcement Directorate (CED) plays a key role in achieving this purpose by detecting and enforcing against anti-competitive conduct including hardcore cartels, anti-competitive agreements and abuses of dominant positions. A particular focus of our competition enforcement work is tackling illegal bid-rigging in public procurement.

CED is also committed to building on the CMA’s transformative 4Ps work by improving and streamlining key elements of processes that help to detect and deter illegal activity. As part of this commitment, we are working together with the CMA’s Data Technology and Insights (DTI) Directorate on a project to produce and implement a digital-first redesign of end‑to‑end competition enforcement workflows to enable the delivery of bid-rigging cases at scale.

The postholder will lead CED’s day-to-day contribution to this project, working closely with CED and DTI colleagues to identify, design and implement improvements to workflows in competition enforcement cases.

The successful candidate will have significant practical knowledge of competition enforcement law, processes and procedures, and the ability to apply that knowledge to improve how enforcement work is delivered.

They will also need to be able to think creatively and strategically about process improvement, communicate complex issues clearly, and work effectively with specialist colleagues, particularly in DTI.

Job description

As the Project Lead, you will:

• Lead CED’s contribution to the project, ensuring the redesign supports faster, more efficient and strategically impactful case delivery while maintaining legal and reputational robustness.
• Use practical understanding of competition enforcement processes and procedures to map current workflows, identify barriers and opportunities, and develop improvements within applicable legal and procedural constraints.
• Work closely with CED, DTI and other CMA colleagues to identify where process change, digital tools or technical solutions could improve the efficiency and effectiveness of competition enforcement work (with a particular focus on bid-rigging).
• Manage day-to-day engagement with CED, DTI and senior decision-makers, ensuring input is coordinated, issues are escalated appropriately and decisions are clearly recorded.
• Support creative and strategic problem-solving, translating operational issues into practical options and recommendations.
• Manage CED’s project governance, reporting and planning requirements, including tracking progress, risks, dependencies and key decisions.

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 Criteria

Delivering work

• Significant knowledge of leading delivery-focused work and practical experience of competition enforcement processes, procedures, policy and legislation, ideally in cartel enforcement. (Lead criteria).

Sound analysis and judgment skills

• Sound judgement and the ability to interpret evidence, think creatively and strategically about process improvement, manage risk and deliver high quality outcomes at pace.

Communication skills

• Strong oral and written communication skills, including the ability to explain complex issues clearly, present objective and well-reasoned arguments, and influence a range of audiences through sound analytical judgement.

Collaborative working and relationship building skills

• Ability to build constructive working relationships, collaborate to achieve results, share information effectively, and challenge assumptions confidently and constructively.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £84,800, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £24,566 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

You’ll also get:

• 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
• Access to our benefits platform which includes retail discounts, cycle to work scheme and payroll giving. Employees can also sign up for season ticket loans.
• 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, flu vaccinations and eye tests. We also have flexible working options and family friendly policies.

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

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application and sift stage

• As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement, and an online application form. Further details about application requirements are listed on the application form.
• The selection process is noted below and will comprise of the sift (CV & application review), and interview. Arrangements for the interview will be enclosed in the invitation.
• Please note that it is essential that your personal statement is aligned to provide evidence that you have the knowledge and experience for each of the essential criteria (as included on the role profile attached and listed above under 'Person Specification') in your application. Your personal statement should be no more than 1250 words.
• In the event of receiving high volume of applications, we will score the lead criterion and only those scoring the minimum shall be scored in rest of the criteria. We may also raise the score required at sift stage to progress to interview if we receive a high number of applications and take through the highest performing candidates to the interview stage.
• Successful candidates at sift will be invited to an interview.

Interview stage

• At the CMA we apply a blended interview technique, allowing us to find out more about you and we use the Success Profiles framework assessing the Behaviours and Experience (essential criteria) listed in the advert and attached role profile.
• The interview will be a 45 minute - one hour panel interview in which you will be asked questions based on Behaviours and Experience outlined in the role profile.
• A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made for the same or similar roles.

Timeline (the dates outlined below are indicative and may be subject to change)

• The advert closing date is 26 July (23:55). We are not able to accept late applications.
• The sift is scheduled to take place between 27 July and 30 July 2026.
• Interviews will be held from the week commencing 10 August 2026.
• Interviews will be held on Microsoft Teams.

Reasonable adjustments

Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments to provide you with the opportunity and support to bring your best self to the recruitment process. This could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments, or receiving interview questions in advance. We will be happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments you’d like us to make to the process and you can contact us by emailing our dedicated mailbox at adjustments@cma.gov.uk

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 theCivil 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

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.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 : Vidya Krishnamoorthy
• Email : recruitment@cma.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@cma.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 Recruitment@cma.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

Role Profile_Assistant Director Opens in new window (pdf, 284kB)