Cma1982 Head of Devolved Nations, Advocacy, Nations

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 327173**Salary**:

- £66,705 - £73,441- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Grade 6**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- Strategy, Communications and Advocacy**Type of role**:

- Economist
- Policy
- Strategy**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Belfast, Cardiff, EdinburghAbout the job

**Job summary**:
Do you want to use your stakeholder engagement skills and expert knowledge of the policy and political environments and processes in the UK to benefit the public good?

Join the Advocacy, Nations and External Relations team and play a pivotal role strengthening the CMA’s relationships with stakeholders across the UK to promote competition in the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

**About the Competition and Markets Authority (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.

The Advocacy, Nations and External Relations team is the CMA’s centre for stakeholder engagement with governments and elected representatives in the four nations of the UK, as well as business and consumer groups.

The team’s work includes analysing and evaluating policy to advise and inform government, outreach and stakeholder management and working with the CMA’s enforcement teams to promote compliance with competition and consumer law with businesses.

**What we can offer you**

The CMA is a hugely diverse, rewarding and stimulating place to work - an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself in doing so. We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%, at least 25 days leave (increasing to 30 over five years), and generous maternity/paternity leave provision. You can also take advantage of interest-free season ticket loans, a cycle to work scheme, our employee assistance programme, and our extensive flexible working options.

**To find out more about this opportunity and about working for the CMA, please click on the APPLY button.**

**Job description**:
As Head of Devolved Nations, you will be responsible for developing and delivering the CMA’s approach to external relations and advocating to governments the benefits of promoting competition in the interests of consumers in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

This will involve promoting better policy making and regulation to governments through a range of approaches, such as committee submissions, public consultation responses and private discussions with policy officials. External relations will be shaped through designing and shaping engagement strategies and creating and maintaining productive relationships with key stakeholders.

You will lead CMA colleagues based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh and advise them on engaging with stakeholders across the devolved nations and ensure a well-co-ordinated approach to government engagement. You will also ensure senior CMA staff receive high quality advice, support and briefing materials for their engagement with key stakeholders.

Your key responsibilities will include:

- Leading ANER’s advocacy and external relations work across the devolved nations.
- Line management and development responsibility for three Grade 7 members of staff based in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh, and those that report into them.
- Promoting awareness of devolution and the devolved nations to teams across the CMA and contributing to the shape and scope of the CMA’s pipeline of casework.
- Identifying opportunities to deliver the CMA’s priorities in each of the nations and managing the resources needed to deliver those.
- Advising and supporting CMA case teams on engaging with stakeholders across the devolved nations.
- Working with colleagues in the Office for the Internal Market to ensure a well-co-ordinated approach to government engagement and stakeholder relationships.
- Ensuring senior CMA staff receive high quality advice, support and briefing materials for their engagement with key stakeholders.
- Supporting the delivery of the ANER team’s strategies across the whole UK.
- Monitoring and reviewing law and policy in the devolved nations to identify and take opportunities to advocate for pro-competition and pro-consumer policy.
- Responsibility for review of CMA submissions to devolved governments and legislatures and management of internal governance.

**Person specification**:

- Strong understanding of the policy and political environments and processes in the UK and the devolved nations. Including extensive knowledge of the institutional landscape in the devolved nations and the devolution settlements. (Lead Criteria)
- Exper