The Competition Commission is committed to providing equal opportunities for all and to the principle of public appointments on merit with independent assessments, openness and transparency of process.The Competition Commission is an independent statutory body conducting in - depth inquiries into mergers and markets in response to references made to it, mainly by the Office of Fair Trading, and regulatory inquiries relating to decisions by sectoral regulators.

The Chief Economist ensures that the economic analysis carried out by the Commission is consistently top class and is appropriately communicated to both specialist and other audiences. The role holder leads and manages the economics staff of the Competition Commission in their work on mergers inquiries, market investigations and regulatory appeals. The role holder also plays an active role in the management of the Commission, as a member of the Senior Management Team.

Candidates will need to have a post-graduate degree in economics, preferably with an industrial organisation or applied microeconometrics specialisation and at least eight years experience as a professional economist. A good working knowledge of competition and regulatory economics and experience of guiding and delivering high quality empirical economic analysis will also be needed. He or she will need to be an effective leader and communicator with the ability to work with a wide range of people and also be practical in applying economics to real-world problems.

The appointment is full-time and is offered on a permanent basis, although the Competition Commission is expected to merge with part of the Office of Fair Trading in April 2014 to establish a new Competition and Markets Authority, and there is no guarantee that the post holder will be able to transfer to the new organisation. A secondment or a fixed-term contract would also be considered. The annual salary will be c. £100,000 plus the opportunity to join a contributory pension scheme.

A candidate brief containing further information can be found by clicking on the ‘Apply’ button or contact Odgers Berndtson quoting reference number NAO/39859.
Closing date for applications is noon, Monday 20th August 2012.

The Competition Commission is committed to providing equal opportunities for all and to the principle of public appointments on merit with independent assessments, openness and transparency of process.