Senior Policy Adviser - Competition and Markets

Job summary

The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade is a great place to work, with wide ranging responsibilities across the economy that provide the opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives and the prosperity of the UK.

The Consumer & Competition Policy Directorate has just over 100 people, with the majority based in London and a small and growing number of colleagues based around the country. We are a welcoming and diverse directorate which exists to promote competition to drive growth and benefit consumers. We strive to deliver high-quality and evidence driven policy and we value and invest in the expertise of our staff and our relationships with partner organisations, companies and other key stakeholders. If you are successful, you’ll join a team of professional, expert and committed people motivated by public service and working collaboratively.

We strongly welcome applications from candidates from all backgrounds, with different experiences and perspectives.

Job Summary

This role would suit someone with the ambition to work in policy and a desire to make a positive impact. It provides an excellent opportunity to gain several core policy experiences. This includes leading on the design of policies right through to implementation, working with a wide range of stakeholders and helping to deliver a Bill through Parliament.

You would join the Markets Team which works to ensure markets deliver for consumers and businesses. We have two key work areas you would play a significant part in. First, we work with other departments to design and implement policies that will increase competition and improve outcomes for consumers. Second, we will be making reforms to the UK’s Competition Regime through a Bill in the coming months.

Job description

Key responsibilities include:

• Leading on certain reforms to the Competition Regime, including finalising policy positions and parliamentary products. Once the Bill has been introduced you will act as a Bill Lead, steering the passage of your reforms through parliamentary processes. You may have the opportunity to support Ministers in Parliament.
• Designing and delivering pro-competitive policies. You will analyse a range of information and weigh up competing priorities to design and deliver the best solutions to problems. You will need to build good working relationships and collaborate with departments across government. You will be expected to operate with a considerable level of autonomy and take decisions using personal judgement.
• Managing cross-departmental projects. One of the ways we support other departments is by establishing and maintaining project processes. This involves organising meetings, coordinating activities across departments and keeping track of progress to ensure timely delivery.
• Leading for the team on responding to correspondence, briefing requests and other written products.

Person specification

The below criteria are essential and will be assessed at application stage;

• Sound judgement and strong analytical skills. You will need to demonstrate an ability to effectively make the right decision after considering a wide range of information, views, priorities and other considerations.
• The ability to understand how strategic priorities affect your work and adapt accordingly.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders
• Strong communication skills and the ability to influence stakeholders.
• Strong drafting skills, including the ability to tailor your approach to the product and audience.
• Organisation skills with the ability to effectively manage and deliver multiple competing priorities.

Desirable criteria

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates;

• Experience of policy design and delivery
• Experience of competition policy and / or law
• Experience of project management

Personal attributes and skills

The below is a list of characteristics which may be helpful in this role. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process but are laid out to help candidates understand more about the role.

This role would generally suit someone who:

• Is comfortable working through uncertainty independently.
• Can make links with a wide range of priorities when making decisions.
• Demonstrates a strong interest in policy development and delivery.
• Is a team player and who is willing to contribute to the positive culture of the team.
• Who is committed to continuous development and learning would be an asset.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,391, Department for Business and Trade contributes £12,280 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully
committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups, including ethnic minorities, people with a disability, and people with gender diverse identities.

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.

Interviews for this vacancy will be conducted virtually. We will, however, consider in-person interviews by exception.

Please ensure that you check your emails regularly as all updates from us will be sent to you this way.

To apply for this post, you will be asked to complete the following as part of the online application:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements that relate to the essential criteria listed in this advert. Any gaps in employment history within the last