Strategic Business Adviser

Job summary

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) created a new Strategic Business Analysis function in September 2025. This team has been established to deepen our understanding of firms’ strategies and business models. Bringing the perspective of businesses and investors directly into our work is vital in helping to create the conditions for innovation, investment and growth across the UK.

To support the growth of the team, we are looking to hire one or more Strategic Business Advisers with the skills and drive to co-develop this capability and deliver our organisational ambition in this space. This is an exciting opportunity to join at the early stages of the establishment of an innovative new profession and shape our wider organisational thinking and approach.

About the CMA

It is a particularly exciting time to join the CMA. Business confidence, and the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for innovation and investment, plays an important role in the drive for economic growth. New technologies are also continuing to develop at pace, and recent legislation enacted by Parliament provides the CMA with the potential to unlock enormous opportunities in digital markets, and to deliver a step-change in more direct, impactful consumer protection.

Reflecting these changes, the CMA has received a strategic steer from the government that reinforces the importance of a strong, independent competition and consumer protection regime, whilst at the same time recognising the importance of economic growth.

Whilst the CMA’s purpose remains constant, the work we do and, crucially, the way we go about it, must reflect these priorities. It must also serve all relevant constituencies, including businesses and investors, who must have confidence that they will be competing on a level playing-field, in a regulatory environment conducive to growth.

The growth of the Strategic Business Analysis team is an important element of our wider build out of a world-leading strategic insight and analytics capability within a regulatory body. This has already involved establishing an Executive Directorate for Data, Technology and Insight (DTI), which brings together an exciting mix of complementary skills and expertise in areas such as strategic analysis, data analytics, and artificial intelligence.

Job description

Bringing an entrepreneurial mindset, you will support the build out of our capability in strategic analysis, leveraging your prior experience in strategy consulting or equivalent, a sophisticated understanding of how markets, businesses and investors operate, and an ambition to develop cutting-edge interdisciplinary approaches to deliver robust analysis at pace.

Your input will shape the CMA’s work and thinking through proactive research as well as on a wide range of live cases and investigations, covering a broad cross-section of industries, including complex digital cases.

You will play a key role in continuing to grow our Strategic Business Analysis team within the existing Strategic, Business, and Financial Analysis (SBFA) unit in DTI, ensuring we continue to grow our expertise and capability in this discipline.

Working closely with other frontline colleagues and subject matter experts from a range of disciplines, you will amplify our impact through enhanced, forward-looking insight in relation to firms’ strategies and business models across complex markets, including both company and market-level developments and actual and potential impacts of new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.

Together with colleagues from other analytical areas including behavioural science, technology insights, data science and financial analysis, you will draw out insights and implications related to businesses, consumers, competition, innovation, investment and growth.

Responsibilities will vary across projects and cases, with your core discipline and expertise relating to the development of our understanding of how firms and markets currently operate and how this could evolve in the future. You will gather and analyse relevant information to advise upon the implications of a broad range of strategic and business issues related to companies and markets that are important to the UK economy. This may include a range of the following:

• Understanding how firms currently operate and how this could evolve in the future leveraging a strategy consulting toolkit and frameworks:
  • Understanding markets/ecosystems: trends/disruptive forces, systems thinking, full potential analysis, value chain and profit pools
  • Strategic and business/commercial insights: business models, strategies, sources of competitive advantage, incentives, funding models
  • Forward-looking analysis: strategic options, industry scenarios and drivers

• Problem scoping and solving: Using a hypothesis-driven approach, sound analytical skills and good judgement to identify and deliver impactful strategic insight and analysis in complex ecosystems
• Communicating effectively: Using presentations and written reports to communicate analytical findings and to clearly articulate the implications for a project or case. Audiences will include senior decision-makers, other colleagues and a wide range of external stakeholders and experts
• Team working: You will be a committed member of multi-disciplinary project teams, working collaboratively and contributing to wider work and discussions to help inform conclusions beyond your own analysis
• Helping to build a new function entrepreneurially: Supporting the creation of a world-leading function specialising in strategic analysis and business/commercial insights; engaging colleagues and stakeholders effectively; and identifying scope to generate value through impactful strategic insights and analysis across all areas of CMA work, from horizon scanning through to live cases and investigations across a wide range of industries

You will also be involved in leading corporate contributions such as providing input to or delivering projects that seek to improve the CMA’s impact (e.g. risk monitoring, improving processes, promoting inclusion and diversity).

Working at the CMA, you will have the opportunity to work amongst interdisciplinary teams in a dynamic and collegiate environment. You will have the opportunity to directly contribute to projects and cases which have direct impacts on the UK economy and consumers.

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.

If you do not meet the lead selection criteria in your application, we will not be required to score your application against the remaining criteria of the role.

• Demonstrable relevant strategic analytical experience and expertise: Experience in analysing strategies and business models in complex industries and dynamic markets. This could include 3-5 years’ experience in strategy consulting, in-house strategy, or other similar roles/qualifications. Alongside this experience, a high level of proficiency with the Microsoft Office software suite, and specifically a high level of proficiency with Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel is required. (Lead Criterion)
• Effective problem-solving, analytical, and decision-making skills: The ability to frame and structure problems, identify the information required to robustly test hypotheses, and deliver an answer effectively. (Lead Criterion)
• Strong communication and presentation skills (oral and written): Ability to effectively and concisely convey key takeaways and messaging to a variety of audiences in both written and oral presentations, resulting in objective, well-reasoned, persuasive arguments.
• Ability to operate in a multi-stakeholder team: Building effective relationships with colleagues to achieve results through collaborative work and problem-solving; supporting and sharing relevant insight to contribute to team discussions and conclusions beyond your own discipline.
• Growth mindset: Curiosity and commitment to continuous improvement for yourself, others and the organisation, contributing to a culture of continuous improvement. Being open to developing one's own knowledge and skill set, as well as investing in the capabilities of others by giving clear, honest feedback.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Developing Self and Others

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,400, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £14,311 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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), presentation and interview. Arrangements for the presentation and 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. You will first be sifted on the first two criteria points (Lead Criteria). If your application progresses to a full sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification will then be considered.
• We may 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 which will be conducted in person at the CMA London office in Canary Wharf.

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 first part of the interview you will be asked to prepare and discuss a short piece of work based on the Experience outlined in the role profile, details of which you will sent with your interview invitation.
• The second part of the interview will be a 45 minute -one hour panel interview in which you will be asked questions based on the Behaviours and Experience outlined in the role profile.
• Interviews will be held in person at the CMA London office in Canary Wharf.
• 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 Monday 18th May 2026 (23:55). We are not able to accept late applications.
• The sift is scheduled to take place between 19th - 22nd May 2026.
• Interviews will be held from the week commencing 1st June 2026.

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 : Tom Skidmore
• 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 - Strategic Business Adviser Opens in new window (pdf, 240kB)