A lobbyist at a company with close connections to the Conservative party will help select the next chair of the media regulator, it has been announced, after ministers cleared the former Daily Mail editor to apply for the job for a second time.

Michael Prescott, a former political editor of the Sunday Times, has been unveiled as the senior external interviewer who will work with the veteran civil servant Sue Gray to decide which candidates should be approved.

Prescott is currently a senior executive at Hanover Communications, a company founded by John Major’s former director of communications which is regularly used as a recruiting ground for Conservative special advisers.

His appointment was confirmed as ministers relaunched the recruitment process for a new individual to oversee Ofcom – but only after tweaking the job description to favour a more confrontational candidate.

Paul Dacre has been Downing Street’s preferred choice to oversee Ofcom since last summer but unexpectedly flunked his interview on the first attempt in May. The original panel believed he did not fulfil the required criteria for the £142,500 a year, three-day-a-week role running the board of the media regulator.

Rather than accept a different candidate who did pass the vetting process, ministers instead decided to rerun the entire recruitment process to give Dacre a second shot. Five months later, after struggling to find people to help run the interview process, ministers have finally readvertised the role.

The new job description for Ofcom chair has been amended to describe a more confrontational candidate. Originally the successful applicant for the role was required to prove their commitment to working “collegiately” with fellow board members and show they could build a “positive relationship” with the Ofcom chief executive, Melanie Dawes.

This time around, the successful applicant only has to commit to working “effectively” with fellow board members and show they could have a “productive relationship” with the chief executive.

The requirement for the Ofcom chair to “support the chief executive” has also been replaced with the lesser requirement to “challenge” the chief executive and only give them “appropriate support”.

The new job advert has removed a requirement for the successful candidate to “be the most senior representative and ambassador of Ofcom”. In addition, the need for first-hand “familiarity” with the world of regulation has also been replaced with a requirement for a lesser “understanding” of regulation.

Ministers will have the final say on who gets to oversee Ofcom, with the final candidate required to attend a hearing of the House of Commons culture select committee before the appointment is confirmed. That committee is led by Julian Knight, who has previously said Dacre should not be allowed to reapply for the job after failing on the first attempt.

Any member of the public can apply for the position of Ofcom chair if they think they meet the criteria, although the last time it was advertised only nine people put their names forward after it was made clear the government wanted Dacre.

Prescott was approach for comment and a government spokesperson responded on his behalf. They said: “The recruitment process for the Ofcom chair is fair and open and there are no conflicts of interest. Mr Prescott’s role on the panel has been approved by the independent Commissioner for Public Appointments.”