Principal Adviser, Digital Markets

Details
Reference number

439320

Salary

£61,575 - £69,238

Applicants new to the Civil Service will be recruited at the minimum of the pay band for the grade of the position into which they are appointed. Only in exceptional circumstances will a salary above the minimum be considered, based on skills, knowledge, experience and qualifications demonstrated through the recruitment process, and also equity with staff internal to the CMA.

A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

Job grade

Grade 7

Grade 7 Competition Specialist

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Digital Markets Unit

Type of role

Digital

Policy

Project Delivery

Strategy

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

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

We're looking for someone to join us as digital markets continue to evolve at pace, including with the growth of AI. We are also navigating the role of promoting competition in digital markets within broader political and international debates. The new digital markets competition regime, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, came into force on 1 January 2025, and the DMU has since completed the first three Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigations – one into Google's search services, and one into each of Apple and Google's mobile platforms

We are recruiting a Principal Adviser to join the Digital Markets Unit (DMU).

Principal Advisers work across case teams and are instrumental in planning and coordinating activity across workstreams to support successful delivery of their projects.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

The CMA is an independent non-ministerial UK government department and is the UK's principal competition and consumer protection authority. We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour.

We provide the opportunity to work across all sectors of the UK economy, undertaking objective, evidence-based analysis that can have a direct and substantial impact on the economy and economic prosperity.

Open the role profile to learn more, and more about the CMA in our candidate pack.

Job description

The successful candidate will work at the heart of a case team and will be instrumental in planning and coordinating activity across workstreams to support successful delivery of the project.

Responsibilities may include:

• Leading and managing the day-to-day delivery of investigations. This includes planning and monitoring the progress of multidisciplinary workstreams to ensure quality and pace of the project, giving consideration to broader strategic objectives.
• Leading multidisciplinary workstreams that will support the development of our assessment of 'Strategic Market Status' and the regulatory rules to be placed on SMS firms to address market power and promote competition.
• Developing and maintaining positive relationships with colleagues across the CMA to support effective project delivery. This includes coordinating multi-disciplinary teams to ensure the timely preparation and drafting of key documents (including correspondence, requests for information, decision documents) and progressing these for sign-off.

To find out more, please review the role profile.

Person specification

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application. If you do not meet the lead selection criteria in your application, the panel will not be required to score your application against the remaining essential criteria of the role.

• Experience of successfully managing the delivery of projects to challenging timescales, providing strategic direction and keeping track of progress to ensure quality outcomes (Lead Criteria).
• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to develop strategic relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including those from other professional backgrounds.
• Strong communication skills and proven ability to influence and collaborate with colleagues and senior decision-makers, tailoring communications appropriately and securing buy-in to ideas.
• Experience of working with colleagues (eg economists, legal etc) to develop and draft recommendations, drawing on analysis of a wide range of information, evidence, and identifying and communicating key risks.

Behaviours

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

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £61,575, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £17,838 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
• 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 above.

Things you need to know
Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , 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 will comprise of the sift (CV & application review), task and an interview. Arrangements for the task 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.
• An initial sift based on the criteria points listed as 'Lead Criteria' may be held if a large number of applications are received. If your application progresses to a full sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification will then be considered. If you do not meet the lead selection criteria in your application, the panel will not be required to score your application against the remaining essential criteria of the role.
• 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 via Teams.

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 outlined in the advert and attached role profile.
• The first part of the interview will comprise of a presentation task, 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 where you will be asked questions based on the Behaviours and Experience skills (essential criteria) 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 Thursday 11 December :55). We are not able to accept late applications.
• The sift is scheduled to take place between 15th and 18th December 2025.
• Interviews will be held from the week commencing 5th January 2026. Interviews will be via Teams.

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. You can also email

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.

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. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

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)
• 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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code 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 .

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 and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans 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 : Marc Batt
• Email :

Recruitment team

• Email :

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 in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission

---