Policy Adviser - Regulation, Competition and Markets

Policy Adviser - Regulation, Competition and Markets

• Salary: National: £44,600 - £47,906. If the successful candidate is a current Civil Servant joining on level transfer, HM Treasury will honour their current substantive salary if higher. This role typically attracts an accountancy allowance for eligible individuals. Confirmation of eligibility will be provided to the successful applicant on appointment.
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Working Pattern: Full Time, Part Time, Job Share (Flexible working hours can be accommodated)
• Location: Darlington (Feethams House)

Want to help shape competition and regulation at the heart of government? We’re looking for two Policy Advisers to join our Regulation, Competition and Markets team. You’ll work on high-profile, fast-moving issues that support economic growth, innovation and better outcomes for consumers, while working closely with Ministers, senior officials, regulators and partners across government. If you’re a motivated and collaborative policy professional who enjoys tackling complex issues and turning strategic thinking into practical solutions, we’d love to hear from you.

About the Team

The Regulation, Competition and Markets (RCM) Team supports HM Treasury’s (HMT) objective to enable a regulatory system that not only protects consumers and workers, and supports competition, but also encourages new investment, innovation, and growth.

We collaborate across HMT across sectors (e.g. energy, digital, water, financial services, health and life sciences, innovation), and we work with other government departments, regulators, consumer groups, think tanks and the private sector to ensure that HMT’s interests in shaping a regulatory and competition approach that enables growth and supports consumers is embedded in the government’s work.

About the Job

We are recruiting for two policy advisor roles across the Regulation, Competition and Markets team.

Policy Advisor - Competition

This role will sit within the teams competition branch, however, the postholder will be expected to work flexibly across the team’s priorities, touching upon a wide range of policy areas across competition and regulation. This role is an exciting opportunity to shape the way we deliver on the government’s competition and regulatory reform ambitions, working closely with HMT Ministers and senior officials across government and at the CMA.

You will focus on key high profile fast evolving competition strategy and policy issues, shaping and driving work to reflect the new Chancellor’s refreshed priorities and direction and forging a shared approach across government; and get firsthand experience of working with a regulator.

We are a relatively small (16 staff) and nimble team, who thrive on working flexibly and creatively so that everyone gets the most out of their roles and to support everyone’s work-life balance, so you should be happy working collaboratively with a tight-knit team, who can quickly adjust to new priorities; you will likely also work flexibly on other priorities such as regulatory reform, depending on ministers’ priorities.

The role will require big picture thinking, ability to translate strategic vision into pragmatic policy solutions and being comfortable working with economic policy and economic concepts. Key to success will be building strong and productive working relationships inside and outside government. You will be expected to develop in-depth knowledge of aspects of competition policy and the regulatory environment and to use this to generate and respond to ideas to use competition policy as a lever for growth and better consumer outcomes, and to improve the way that government regulates.

Key accountabilities include:

• Lead policy development and analysis on competition issues in digital markets, including monitoring emerging market trends, assessing regulatory interventions, and working with cross-government teams to support policy objectives in digital markets.
• Support the department's work on procurement and competition policy by providing analysis, coordinating stakeholder engagement, and contributing to cross-government initiatives that promote competitive and well-functioning public procurement markets.
• Support the team’s G7 economist on influencing research and developing a long term view for how competition policy supports growth and how to ensure our competition work is evidence based.
• Building effective relationships within HMT and with departments and work with them and with other partners (regulators, business) to develop new policy proposals, for example, how to boost competition in specific sectors of the economy, and how to define and tackle excess price gouging.
• Advising and briefing senior officials, Special Advisors and ministers on competition issues, in writing and verbally, including to support them with No10 and external stakeholder engagement.

We’re looking for a friendly, highly motivated self-starter, who can draw on a wide network and apply their insight and knowledge to drive progress in a fast-moving policy area with credibility and impact.

Policy Advisor – Regulation

This role presents an exciting opportunity to shape the next phase of the government’s regulation agenda, including looking ahead to the Spending Review and as the new Better Regulation Executive (BRE), announced at Budget, is established.

The role stream offers regular exposure to the HMT political team and senior officials across government. The postholder will be expected to work flexibly across the team and touch upon a wide range of policy areas, exercising subject matter and general project management leadership skills where appropriate, to drive action across HMT and wider government.

Key to success will be an ability to manage multiple priorities and work effectively at pace. The postholder will also be expected to build strong and productive working relationships inside and outside of government and take an entrepreneurial approach to translate strategic thinking into pragmatic policy and delivery solutions that match Ministers’ ambitions and provide good value for money.

Key accountabilities include:

• Work across HMT and with partners to develop policy proposals which contribute to the target to cut the administrative cost of regulation by 25% (£5.6bn) by the end of the Parliament, and deliver on wider economic growth priorities, such as unlocking innovation or rewiring the state.
• Advise and brief senior officials, ministers, SpAds and No.10 on key regulatory issues, and be the coordinating lead where appropriate. Recent examples that the previous postholder has taken the lead on include coordinating the cross-government response to a Public Accounts Committee report and shaping the outcomes of a Small Business Regulatory Taskforce.
• Build out a strategy for how the team engages externally with OGDs, regulators, industry, think tanks, academics and consumer groups to maintain a strategic view on the role of regulation in the economy and opportunities for reform.
• Help ensure that, as a central team on regulatory issues, the team communicates its strategy and plans across HMT and Whitehall, supporting a joined up strategic approach. This will require organising the team around central commissioning processes.

Applications which reflect external expertise and experience are encouraged.

About You

We want you to have the ability to make sense of and navigate competing strategic priorities and be able to analyse and accurately interpret data from various sources to support decisions, identifying risks and benefits to provide high-quality advice and recommendations even when there is incomplete evidence. We also want you to establish effective working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.

Some of the Benefits our people love!

• 25 days annual leave (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus 8 public holidays and the King’s birthday (unless you have a legacy arrangement as an existing Civil Servant). Additionally, we operate flexitime systems, allowing employees to take up to an additional 2 days off each month
• Flexible working patterns (part-time, job-share, condensed hours)
• Generous parental and adoption leave packages
• Access to a generous Defined Benefit pension scheme with employer contributions of 28%
• Access to a cycle-to-work salary sacrifice scheme and season ticket advances
• A range of active staff networks, based around interests (e.g. analysts, music society, sports and social club) and diversity

For more information about the role and how to apply, please follow the apply link.