Economics Intern

Location: Edinburgh, London or Manchester

Salary: £25,300 – £26,600 pa

Hours: Full-time/Part-time/Flexible working

Contract: Fixed Term Contract, up to 12-months in length

The Competition and Markets Authority has a number of exciting Economic Intern opportunities for enthusiastic economics graduates and students who are keen to develop their knowledge, technical skills and experience within a diverse, inclusive and international organisation dedicated to promoting competition for the benefit of consumers. Learn more in our Candidate Information Pack.

Economics is at the heart of the CMA’s work and the work of our economists really matters and makes a difference to people’s everyday lives. Recent cases have included:

• Assessing the potential impact on consumers of high profile mergers such as Microsoft/Activision and Vodafone/3

• Taking action against drug companies accused of imposing unfair prices to the NHS

• Undertaking major market studies into the cloud services market and the market for housebuilding

• Investigating concerns over misleading green claims and pricing in the groceries sector.

CMA economists also ensure the competition implications of policies are considered through the work of functions including the Subsidy Advice Unit and the Office for the Internal Market. The CMA has also established the Microeconomics Unit, in Darlington, to lead economic research into competition, innovation, productivity and related issues.

A demonstrable interest in microeconomics, industrial organisation or competition economics will stand you in good stead to work on a variety of different cases and projects across the CMA. With the support of senior economists in their team, our Economics Interns have the opportunity to provide critical inputs for the CMA decision-making process by developing economic theories to assess competitive effects in markets, testing these theories through the analysis of a wide range of evidence and drawing conclusions from this analysis to present them to colleagues and decision-makers.

The CMA prides itself on being a great place to work and strives to ensure that staff have the opportunity to grow and expand their skills portfolio. Economics Interns are encouraged to take part in a wide range of learning and development opportunities available to the economics community, which includes training courses, lunchtime seminars and discussion groups on economics topics. We will also support you to develop your communication and drafting skills while at the CMA. This is a good opportunity to gain unique experience, giving Economics Interns useful tools to go on to apply for future permanent positions within the CMA, as has been the case for many Interns in the past.

We welcome applications from candidates that have or are in their final year on track to graduate with an upper second-class undergraduate degree with a strong microeconomics component or a postgraduate economics qualification, as well as students in the penultimate year of their undergraduate degree interested in a summer internship or placement as part of their sandwich course. In return 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 a range of flexible working options (including part-time and compressed hours) and, like many other organisations, operate a hybrid working model with a mix of office and home working. We believe this supports us to deliver our best work while allowing the flexibility to maintain balanced and healthy lives. The CMA also offers generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme, 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, and our employee assistance programme.

Information about the work of the CMA can also be found by visiting our economist LinkedIn page. Please also have a read of our blog to learn more about being an Economist at the CMA.

COMPETITION & MARKETS AUTHORITY jobs

Economics Intern