Head of Competition

This role can be based at any of our office locations: London, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, York, Glasgow.

At ORR we have adopted hybrid working and are currently expected to work from a workplace location for a minimum of two days per week or 40%.

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the competition authority for the rail sector under the 1998 Competition Act, with powers concurrent with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Competition Team sits within the Economics, Finance and Markets (EFM) directorate, which leads on financial and economic analysis within ORR. We oversee the competitiveness of markets across the rail sector and its supply chain, and have broad statutory powers to intervene where necessary. We work on complex projects to promote and protect competition in rail markets, using our competition powers and policy tools to support the delivery of an efficient, high-performing rail service that provides value for money for passengers, freight customers, governments, and taxpayers.

Regional office salary range: £71,283 - £76,532 

London office salary range: £75,759 - £80,859 

Team information

The Office of Rail and Road (ORR) is the competition authority for the rail sector under the 1998 Competition Act, with powers concurrent with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Competition Team sits within the Economics, Finance and Markets (EFM) directorate, which leads on financial and economic analysis within ORR. We oversee the competitiveness of markets across the rail sector and its supply chain, and have broad statutory powers to intervene where necessary. We work on complex projects to promote and protect competition in rail markets, using our competition powers and policy tools to support the delivery of an efficient, high-performing rail service that provides value for money for passengers, freight customers, governments, and taxpayers. 

Job Purpose

Leading a dedicated and specialist team, responsible for ensuring fair and effective competition in rail markets, you will provide dynamic and strategic leadership in generating and driving forward a pipeline of competition work, including market studies, competition cases and the development of competition policy. You will engage with internal and external stakeholders to understand issues, and build and ensure the effective performance of a highly skilled team.

Key Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities, although not exhaustive, will include:

• Setting out our competition strategy, focusing on using competition to deliver benefits for the users and funders of the railway and on an integrated approach to the use of ORR’s competition and regulatory powers which demonstrates the interrelationship between competition policy, safety policy and economic regulation.
• Developing a programme of work for the Competition Team, working with internal and external stakeholders to build cases for action, prioritising action that will deliver the greatest benefit, maximise ORR’s positive impact with finite resource and ensure the team contributes to the wider objectives of ORR as a combined safety and economic regulator.
• Providing strategic and analytical leadership for the Competition Team in the delivery of complex projects including market studies and enforcement cases, ensuring the quality of the analysis and outputs.
• Anticipating the long-term impact of economic, political, environmental, social and technological developments, at both national and international levels on the markets that we oversee. Advise accordingly on recommended actions and strategies.
• Taking strategic decisions about large and complex cases, collaborating with ORR’s internal experts about the operation of the railway to ensure that our decisions take account of the practical and commercial realities of the railway, and managing input from external consultants where required.
• Leading engagement with the CMA and other concurrent regulators.
• Leading engagement with senior industry figures, including building ORR’s reputation as a competition regulator across industry.
• Managing governance to ensure effective decision-making, including interactions with executive committees and the Board.
• Building skills within the Competition Team and strengthening the organisation’s knowledge and capability in competition policy. 

Essential Criteria

When assessing your application, these are the criteria that you are assessed against:

Behaviours

• Leadership  
• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and influencing
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Developing Self and Others
• Leading complex competition or regulatory projects (such as enforcement of competition law, market studies, or sector-specific regulatory projects), including effective decision-making  
• Leading engagement with internal stakeholders, including governance committees
• Leading engagement, influencing and establishing credibility with industry stakeholders, government (UK and devolved), other regulators and the wider competition community
• Managing teams, including direct reports and cross-functional teams
• Working autonomously
• Familiarity with competition policy and its interrelationship with economic and other types of sector specific regulation
• Ability to analyse complex and voluminous evidence and materials
• Experience presenting clear advice on regulatory decisions
• Experience or knowledge of the UK rail sector is highly desirable

Experience

Technical

Mandatory Qualifications

A qualification in economics and/or competition and regulatory policy is desirable but not essential if candidates can demonstrate that they have relevant professional experience

This job description provides an overview of key duties and responsibilities and is not exhaustive. You may be expected to undertake other duties and responsibilities within the scope of your role and as appropriate for your grade.

How we will assess your application

At ORR, we use the Civil Service ‘Success Profiles’ framework for our recruitment.  Please refer to the Candidate Information Pack accompanying this advert for details. 

When completing your application form, please ensure you provide evidence of how you meet each of the essential criteria listed above for this post. 

1. Shortlisting

We will assess you against all of the essential criteria as listed above. If there are a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial pre-sift based on the lead criteria for this role which is leading complex competition or regulatory projects (such as enforcement of competition law, market studies, or sector-specific regulatory projects), including effective decision-making.  

Successful candidates at the pre-sifting stage will then progress to a full sift. 

2. Interview

During the interview, we will assess you against all essential criteria. 

A prepared exercise or presentation may be included as part of our assessment for the essential criteria. 

The selection process may include a video interview, and/or a second interview.

You will be informed by email within 14 days of the job advert closing whether or not you are being invited to attend an interview. Currently, and subject to confirmation, interviews are expected to take place in the week commencing [29/09/2025].

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.