Chief Economic Adviser

Salary: £140,000 to £160,000 per annum
Contract : Permanent
Hours: Full time / Part time / Flexible
Location: Belfast, Cardiff, Darlington, Edinburgh, London or Manchester with regular travel

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is the UK’s principal competition and consumer protection authority. We promote competition and protect consumers with a clear end goal in mind: to drive economic growth and improve household prosperity. The CMA has a wide range of powers, which it uses to undertake a wide variety of cutting‑edge, high‑profile and complex work, spanning merger and market inquiries, competition and consumer law enforcement, subsidy advice and internal market advice.

If you are a highly influential senior leader motivated to shape the CMA’s essential work in the public interest, playing a pivotal role in the leadership of our economists and related teams, then this could be the ideal role for you.

As Chief Economic Adviser, you will have direct accountability for the quality of economic work carried out by the CMA and strategic leadership of the Economist profession.

You will be an advisor to the CMA Board and a member of the Senior Executive Team, contributing to the development and implementation of organisational strategy and the delivery of a positive, respectful and inclusive culture. You will provide expert advice and guidance to ensure the CMA’s approach to analytics and economics is robust and best in class across all its tools and functions.

This is an exceptional opportunity to play a unique strategic and operational leadership role in an ambitious and purpose driven organisation, and to continue to take the CMA forward as the volume, breadth, complexity and importance of the work we undertake extends to new frontiers.

You will bring to the role exceptional experience of working as a senior economist on competition law cases with a proven strong track record of taking strategic decisions and providing high quality and impactful economic advice. You will have strong inclusive leadership skills gained in organisations of similar size and complexity and your communication and influencing skills will equip you to manage complex, high-level stakeholder relationships.

Your benefits package will include a competitive contributory pension scheme and generous annual leave, plus opportunities for flexible and hybrid working. The package also includes childcare benefits, and season ticket and bicycle loans. The Civil Service is committed to becoming the most inclusive employer in the UK and we want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us.

In return for your dedication, you will enjoy our commitment to your career and development.

Applications for this post are only accepted online. You’ll need to provide a CV and a tailored statement of suitability for the role, and to complete a diversity questionnaire. To discover more about this opportunity and make your application, please review the candidate pack and make an application via Chief Economic Adviser - Civil Service Jobs - .

Closing date: 9 February 2026.