Senior Associate, Online Safety Policy Development

Ofcom; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Ofcom is recruiting for a Senior Associate in the Online Safety Policy Development team. The role sits within the Online Safety Group and focuses on regulating online safety, tackling harmful content, and shaping policy codes.

You will collaborate with legal, technologists, economists, and researchers to drive robust policy in a dynamic environment. The role emphasizes analytical problem-solving, drafting clear policy documents, and engagement with senior stakeholders within Ofcom.

Qualifications

• Proven ability to develop online safety policy and guidance.
• Strong analytical skills to support complex policy problems.

Responsibilities

• Identifies and shapes how work supports Ofcom priorities and contributes significantly.
• Leads thinking, delivers outputs, influences colleagues, and shares knowledge at pace.
• Gathers information, conducts analysis, and distills findings to identify policy options.
• Ensures policy work is based on comprehensive research programmes.
• Drafts clear, ambitious guidance chapters and explains changes clearly.
• Oversees workload of junior and cross-functional colleagues and tests policy solutions with stakeholders.

Skills

Analytical skills

Policy development

Job description

Closing Date: 11/10/2026

Group: Online Safety Group

Management Level: Senior Associate

Job Type: Fixed Term (Fixed Term)

About Ofcom

As the UK's communications regulator, we're delivering vital work that helps keep the UK connected and shapes the future of how we'll stay connected with each other.Our work covers everything from phones and broadband, through to TV, radio, the postal service, and wireless devices. We're also taking on the challenge of making the online world a safer place. And we need people of all backgrounds, skill sets, and experiences to help us achieve our goal of making communications work for everyone.

About the Team

The Online Safety Group's purpose is to ensure UK citizens have a safer life online by implementing and overseeing the requirements under the Online Safety Act 2023. The Group is responsible for delivering online safety policy, supervising online services, and building technical expertise to meet the regime's aims.

This role is within the Online Safety Policy Development team, which works at the centre of the Online Safety Group. The Policy Development team lead the development of Ofcom's online safety policies which establish steps services should take to make users safer online. They are policy experts in online harms, mitigations and are responsible for implementing our policy codes and guidance.

This team works closely with cross functional colleagues from other teams in the organisation to use their skills and experience to develop robust policy. These include legal experts, technologists, economists, and research specialists amongst others.

Purpose of the Role

Sitting within the Online Safety Group (OSG), this role supports the development of Ofcom's approach to regulating online safety, including how we protect users from harmful and illegal content. You will work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment on some of the most complex and challenging issues facing society.

A key aspect of the role is understanding the challenges of regulation in a rapidly evolving digital and technological landscape. Collaboration with colleagues across OSG and the wider organisation will be integral to your success, and you will have opportunities to further develop your analytical, problem-solving and project management skills.

We are seeking policy management generalists with experience in policy development, strong analytical skills, and the ability to draft clear and effective policy documents. This work is central to the success of the Online Safety regime and to delivering improved outcomes for users online.

OSG operates a flexible resourcing model. While these roles are being recruited to support current policy development priorities, colleagues may work across a range of projects as organisational priorities evolve. This could include policy development, implementation, compliance initiatives, and other cross-cutting work needed to deliver the online safety regime effectively.

Current priority areas include, but are not limited to, Women and Girls' Online Safety, Age Assurance, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and the proposed social media ban.

Your key responsibilities

• Identifies and shapes how work supports and delivers Ofcom priorities, taking ownership and making a significant contribution
• Uses own expertise in area of specialism/work area to lead thinking, deliver, influence and challenge, sharing knowledge with others at pace
• Resolving complex policy problems by gathering information, conducting analysis, and distilling findings to identify options for improving policy;
• Ensure our policy work is based on a comprehensive programme of research;
• Drafting clear and ambitious guidance chapters, distilling technical information into a coherent and compelling narrative that makes the case for change;
• Overseeing and project manage the workload of junior and cross-functional colleagues and to identify policy solutions and test these with internal and external stakeholders
• Engaging with senior colleagues, including directors and the CEO of Ofcom to explain our policy work and support their external engagement with senior stakeholders;

This is a 12 month FTC.