Head of Legal (Competition) (PO)

Competition and Consumer Protection Commission

Dublin

About the CCPC

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“CCPC”) is the statutory body responsible for enforcing competition and consumer protection law in Ireland. The CCPC plays a vital role in ensuring that markets work better for Irish consumers.

We are currently governed by an Executive Chairperson and three Commission Members (“the Commission”). The Commission is responsible for the strategic and operational management of the organisation to deliver on our mission and meet our regulatory objectives.

Each Division of the CCPC is overseen by a Member of the Commission, led by a Divisional Director and managed by a senior management team from within the Division. We are staffed with people from a wide range of technical backgrounds, including economists, lawyers, digital forensic specialists, investigators, communications professionals and more.

You can read our strategy statement which outlines the vision, mission, values and goals of the CCPC. Further information on the work of the CCPC to be found at www.ccpc.ie.

Role Summary

The CCPC is seeking to recruit a Head of Legal to lead Legal Services in relation to the CCPC’s competition law functions. This is an opportunity for an experienced lawyer, with excellent strategic leadership skills, to take on a senior management role overseeing the delivery of legal services in a dynamic and fast-paced public sector organisation.

The Head of Legal (Competition) will be responsible for leading a team of specialist lawyers in providing high-quality, solution-focused legal advice and support on all aspects of the CCPC’s competition functions. The CCPC has two in-house legal teams, supplemented by external legal consultants when additional resources are required. Where appropriate, the CCPC also engages external barristers and solicitors to advise on a variety of legal matters. The two teams are (i) Legal Services – Competition, led by the Head of Legal (Competition); and (ii) Legal Services - Consumer Protection, Product Safety & Digital, led by the Head of Legal (Consumer Protection, Product Safety & Digital) and General Counsel.

The successful applicant will have a critical leadership role in delivering legal services relating to the CCPC’s competition enforcement and mergers functions to a high standard in a challenging regulatory and enforcement environment. The post holder will be self-driven and results-oriented with experience of providing strategic advice on complex legal matters and the ability to motivate a team to meet ambitious targets and strict deadlines. A key requirement for the position is the ability to anticipate and identify legal issues of wider strategic importance and put in place plans to proactively deal with them.

Reporting to a Member of the Commission, the Head of Legal (Competition) will work closely with the wider Senior Management team in the CCPC (and in particular with the Head of Legal (Consumer, Product Safety & Digital) and General Counsel and will contribute to the development of the organisation through initiating, and constructive engagement in, cross-Divisional and organisation-wide projects.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and drive the work of the Legal (Competition) team, provide strategic leadership to the team and pro-actively contribute to the CCPC achieving its strategic objectives.
• Lead and manage an expanding team to ensure its operational effectiveness, setting high standards and implementing strategies to drive team performance. Develop capability and capacity across the team through effective delegation, coaching and mentoring.
• In the context of the CCPC’s competition and merger control functions (and in line with the enforcement priorities set by the CCPC’s Commission), ensure the provision of proactive, solution-focused and timely legal advice and support to merger teams, investigation teams and the effective management of all civil and criminal litigation in which the CCPC is involved (in conjunction with the Director of the relevant enforcement division).
• Oversee the procurement of external legal services and ensure the effective management and oversight of external legal services providers.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with the Members of the CCPC, other legal teams, Divisional Directors and staff, and key external stakeholders including government officials, other relevant regulatory and enforcement agencies, and the European Commission.
• Represent the CCPC at national and international fora, meetings and conferences.
• Provide strategic legal advice on policy and legislative matters relating to the CCPC’s competition functions. Proactively identify areas of legislative reform to assist in the performance of the CCPC’s competition functions and oversee the drafting of proposals or recommendations to Government Departments in relation to same.
• Promote the Mission, Vision and Values of the organisation though self-management and team management.

For further information on this role and how to apply, please visit CCPC careers page