Director of Cartels

Please apply online via the link provided.

General Information:

Job Title:Director of Cartels

Grade:Principal Officer (PO)

*Starting Salary:€107,081

*Point of entry on this salary scale may differ from the minimum point of the scale if the successful candidate is a current public or civil servant.

Employing Authority:Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC)

Office Location:Bloom House, Railway Street, Dublin 1, D01 C576

Working Hours:35 hours per week

Hybrid / Agile / Remote You will be required to attend the office at least 40% of your time and can avail of remote working up to 60% of your time, this is subject to business requirements.

The CCPC generally operates on a fully remote basis during the month of August and fully remote over the Christmas period. This arrangement is subject to business requirements.

Closing Date:3.00pm, Wednesday, 20th May 2026

Annual Leave:30 days

Tenure:Wholetime, Permanent

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC):

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) is the statutory body responsible for enforcing competition and consumer protection law in Ireland. The CCPC’s broad mandate, covering all sectors of the economy, gives it a vital role in ensuring that markets work better for consumers.

We are governed by an Executive Chairperson and three Commission Members (“the Commission”).

The Commission is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the organisation to deliver on our mission and meet our regulatory objectives. The CCPC is overseen by the Commission, and our Senior Directors have responsibility for the organisation’s Divisions, and each Division is led by a Divisional Director and their senior management team. We are staffed with people from a wide range of technical backgrounds, including economists,lawyers, digital forensic specialists, investigators, communications professionals and more.

You can read our strategy statement which outlines the vision, mission, values and goals of the CCPC. Further information on the work of the CCPC to be found at www.ccpc.ie.

Equal Opportunities

The CCPC is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to championing an inclusive and diverse workforce that reflects modern Ireland and the people we serve. We strive to create a culture where everyone has equal access to opportunity and feels comfortable and confident to be themselves at work. Reasonable Accommodations will be provided, if required, during this process. To discuss and request reasonable accommodations in confidence please
contact recruit@ccpc.ie

Division Overview

The Cartels Division delivers the CCPC’s administrative competition enforcement function as it relates to horizontal breaches of competition law. The Division investigates suspected breaches of competition law relating to anti-competitive agreements between competitors (e.g. bid-rigging, price-fixing and market-sharing cartels and other forms of horizontal explicit and tacit collusion). These investigations are undertaken under the new administrative competition enforcement regime introduced by the Competition (Amendment) Act 2022. As a result of new powers conferred by that Act, the CCPC – through independent adjudication officers – can impose administrative financial sanctions (fines) on businesses found to have breached competition law. The Division also investigates criminal breaches of competition law and the offence of merger gun-jumping.

The Role:

The CCPC is seeking to appoint a Director of Cartels to lead its competition enforcement work in relation to anti-competitive agreements between competitors. This is a senior leadership opportunity for an experienced professional with strong strategic capability and a proven track record in enforcement. The successful candidate will oversee a high-performing team responsible for identifying and investigating potential breaches of EU and Irish competition law, and for referring cases for adjudication or to the Director of Public Prosecutions where appropriate. The Cartels Division currently comprises 18 staff, supported by internal legal experts and external providers as needed.

As Director, you will play a key role in promoting the CCPC’s vision, mission, and values while providing clear strategic direction and ensuring delivery of the division’s annual workplan. The role also offers opportunities to represent the organisation at national and international forums, including engagements with bodies such as the European Commission and OECD. Reporting to the Senior Director of Competition Enforcement, you will collaborate closely with the wider senior management team and contribute to organisational development through active involvement in cross-divisional initiatives and projects.

The Successful Candidate:

The successful applicant will have a critical leadership role in managing for results and delivering enforcement outcomes to a high standard in a challenging and dynamic environment. The post holder will be self-driven with experience of contributing effectively to the strategic direction of an organisation and the ability to motivate staff to meet ambitious goals.

They will have a proven record of strong leadership, people and case management experience, strong analytical skills and an ability to oversee multiple complex investigations/projects. They will have the ability to provide strong contributions and communicate publicly on emerging competition issues internally, nationally and internationally.

In addition to the immediate appointment from this campaign, an order of merit may be established. This may be used to fill any future vacancies at the same level within this or other Divisions of the CCPC where roles have similar responsibilities and/or similar skills are required.

Key Responsibilities:

• Develop and drive the strategy and workplan of the Cartels Division, providing strategic leadership and
guidance to the team, managing risk and pro-actively contributing to the CCPC achieving its strategic
objectives.
• Lead and manage the development of a strong case pipeline for investigations.
• Lead the Cartels Division in conducting administrative and criminal investigations into potential breaches of
EU and Irish competition law concerning anti-competitive horizontal agreements contrary to Section 4 of
the Competition Act 2002, as amended, and Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU.
• Lead and manage the Cartels Division to ensure its operational effectiveness, setting high standards and
implementing strategies to drive team performance, including implementation of project management
tools, appropriate resource allocation and robust and timely decision making to deliver successful outcomes
in investigations.
• Monitor and develop capability and capacity across the Cartels Division through effective delegation,
coaching and mentoring and identification of learning/development needs.
• Engage with internal and external stakeholders to advocate for necessary policy or legislative change to
support the delivery of the CCPC’s competition enforcement function.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with the Members of the CCPC, Senior Directors, other
Divisional Directors and staff, and key external stakeholders including government officials, other national
competition authorities, other regulatory and enforcement agencies, and the European Commission.
• Develop CCPC positions on competition policy and emerging issues and represent the CCPC at national and
international fora, conferences and media events.
• Promote the Mission, Vision and Values of the CCPC though self-management and team management and
contribute to the development and achievement of the strategic goals of the organisation generally by
participating in cross-divisional projects as and when required.

Essential:

Please note: In order to satisfy the shortlisting panel that you meet these criteria you must explicitly reference how you meet same in your CV. Failure to demonstrate these may prevent your application progressing to future shortlisting stages.

• A third level qualification (at Level 8 or above) in Law, Economics, Business or other related discipline.
• At least 4 years’ demonstrable experience of leading and managing teams in a legal, economic, regulatory, compliance, enforcement area and/or related discipline.
• Knowledge of or professional experience in the area of enforcement.
• Strong drafting skills including the ability to understand and analyse information and deliver clear, focused reports.
• Strong verbal communication skills including the ability to influence senior management and present complex information to multiple audiences with different backgrounds.
• Proven ability to lead and deliver on cases/projects within tight time frames.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of or professional experience in competition law.
• Knowledge of or professional experience in administrative enforcement regimes or administrative
• Qualifications and/or experience in procedural or administrative law.
• Professional experience in advising and managing litigation.
• Experience in leading a multidisciplinary team
• A post graduate qualification in Leadership and/or Management.
• Relevant qualifications and/or experience in law, enforcement, economics or business above the essential
• Experience of issues and challenges concerning Irish competition enforcement policy and the related legislative
• Relevant experience of implementation and/or knowledge of Irish and/or European legislation and policies.

Application Process:

To apply for this role, candidates must submit an up-to-date CV clearly demonstrating how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria. Additionally, please submit a cover letter explaining your motivation for applying for this position and what you would offer in the role (maximum 300 words). Applications should be sent to recruit@ccpc.ie Applicants should note that canvassing will result in your exclusion from the process.

Shortlisting:

Shortlisting of candidates will be based on the information provided in their application. In order to satisfy the shortlisting panel, you need to clearly highlight within your application how your skills and experience meet the essential criteria. If this is not clearly displayed, it may prevent your application progressing to the shortlisting stage.

Interview Process:

There will be two interviews for this role, the first-round interview will take place in early June. During the first-round interview, the CCPC will conduct competency style interviews based on the Principal Officer (PO) competencies below:

• Strategic Awareness
• Persuasive Communication
• Decision Making
• Resilience
• Leading People
• Result Orientation

Full details of these competencies can be found on the CCPC careers page under FAQ.

The second-round interview will take place in late June and will involve an assessment using practical methods such as presentation skills, writing assignments or role play.

To find out more about what it is like to work in the CCPC, FAQ’s, terms and conditions and the benefits on offer, please visit our CCPC careers page