Senior Associate, Technical Advisor

Ofcom; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Ofcom in the UK is seeking a Senior Age Assurance and Digital Identity Technology Advisor to provide expert guidance on Age Assurance and Digital Identity within online safety policy and enforcement. You will conduct desk research, lead projects with multidisciplinary teams, and translate technical concepts into practical recommendations for senior leaders and external stakeholders.

This role offers the opportunity to influence regulatory thinking and collaborate across policy and technology

Qualifications

• Experience in Age Assurance, Digital Identity or IAM concepts.
• Ability to articulate regulatory implications of technology.
• Experience in technical advisory role in a regulatory context desirable.
• Ability to translate complex technical concepts for non-technical audiences.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance on Age Assurance and Digital Identity to policy, supervision and enforcement teams.
• Advise on the technical feasibility and risks of proposed regulatory interventions.
• Translate complex Age Assurance, Digital Identity and wider technology concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leaders, policy experts, and external stakeholders.
• Have a good understanding of Ofcom guidance on Age Assurance and other areas where Age Assurance and Digital Identity are involved (e.g., ICO Age Appropriate Design Code).
• Lead research projects—ranging from literature reviews to experimental studies—on new capabilities, system performance, safety and effectiveness.

Skills

Age Assurance

Digital Identity

Identity and Access Management

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering or science subject

Job description

Please note that this advert will close at 00:01 on Thursday 8 October, so we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Wednesday 7 October.

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 you’ll be part of

The Online Safety Technology team (OS Tech) provides an advisory role supporting wider multi-disciplinary work areas and teams, comprising of policy specialists, technologists, economists, lawyers and others across Ofcom, working collaboratively on associated deliverables.

In addition, the OS Tech Team conducts research to build knowledge and understanding in subject areas fundamental to online safety. This includes, for example, age assurance, AI and machine learning, digital identity, privacy enhancing technologies, decentralisation, user experience, gaming, network infrastructure, and digital forensics.

The purpose and scope of the role

We are looking for a technically strong and strategically minded Senior Age Assurance and Digital Identity Technology Advisor to provide expert guidance on the technical aspects Age Assurance and Digital Identity as they relate to online safety.

The role holder will have an opportunity to work alongside existing team members, carrying out desk research and more technical work to ensure that the OS Tech Team has the most up to date technical knowledge of this fast moving and exciting area. The team work alongside other OSG areas to support the development of policy positions.

This role will be a great opportunity for someone with a technical aptitude and ideally a background in Digital Identity, Age Assurance or Identity and Access Management, to work in this key area but we are interested to hear from candidates with a wide range of knowledge and experience on technology related to the Online Safety context. This role would also suit some who has previous experience of providing technical advice in a regulatory context who is interested in this area of Online Safety.

Content information and safeguarding

Applicants should be aware that whilst these roles should not involve direct exposure to illegal content, they could include working time spent on distressing content, material, and themes. Ofcom is committed to safeguarding our colleagues who undertake this type of work and offers a range of tailored support options, including training, annual psychological assessments for those regularly doing this work and 24-hour access to counselling services.

Your Key Responsibilities

Technical Advisory & Policy Support

• Provide expert guidance on Age Assurance and Digital Identity technologies to policy, supervision and enforcement teams.
• Advise on the technical feasibility and risks of proposed regulatory interventions.
• Translate complex Age Assurance, Digital Identity and wider technology concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leaders, policy experts, and external stakeholders.
• Have a good understanding of the Ofcom guidance on Age Assurance and also other areas where Age Assurance and Digital Identity are involved e.g. ICO Age Appropriate Design Code

Research

• Independently lead research projects—ranging from literature reviews of publishable standard to experimental studies — on new capabilities, system performance, safety, and effectiveness, often in collaboration with multidisciplinary internal teams (e.g., lawyers, economists, data scientists).
• Explore novel and emerging Age Assurance developments that may impact online safety, such as decentralised ID, new and novel Age Assurance products, standards and political developments in this space e.g. Digital Verification Services Trust Framework.
• Develop an evidence base to inform policy decisions and support regulatory innovation.

Evaluation of Age Assurance and Digital ID Systems

• Support work to assess Age Assurance implementation in accordance with Ofcom HEAA Guidance, and Digital ID implementations relating to Ofcom’s regulatory duties.

Technical Communication & Engagement

• Prepare and present technical briefings, white papers, and demos to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Host internal knowledge-sharing sessions and represent Ofcom in external technical working groups and conferences.
• Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to influence regulatory thinking.

Horizon Scanning

• Monitor the Age Assurance, Digital Identity and wider technology landscape to identify emerging trends and anticipate regulatory challenges.
• Contribute thought leadership to ongoing debates around Age Assurance and Digital Identity and their use in online services.
• Maintain strong relationships with academia, industry, and public bodies to strengthen external research partnerships.

The skills, knowledge and experience you’ll need for success

To be successful in this role, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Practical or theoretical expertise in Age Assurance, Digital Identity or related areas e.g. Identity and Access Management. structured and evidence-based evaluations of the AA mechanisms. Or a demonstrable ability to research, understand and explain these technologies.
• The ability to understand and articulate the potential regulatory implications of technology.
• Experience working in a technical advisory role, in a regulatory context, is desirable.
• Articulating ideas: The ability to translate complex technical concepts into clear, actionable insights for non-technical audiences, including internal and external stakeholders, consumers, and policy areas.
• Harmonising work: The ability to work across organisational boundaries in multi-disciplinary project teams of policy professionals, technologists, data specialists and lawyers to understand requirements and their mapping to technical specifications and delivering business outcomes.
• Forming relationships: Strong interpersonal skills and evidence of an ability to interact effectively with, and influence, a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Scanning horizons: The ability to take a strategic view by identifying emerging trends, risks, and opportunities, and aligning decisions and actions with long-term goals to inform effective policy and delivery outcomes.

Qualifications

• Educated to at least degree level (or equivalent) in a relevant engineering or science subject but candidates with evidence of equivalent demonstrable skills and experience in required specialist knowledge areas will also be considered.

Inclusive hiring at Ofcom

At Ofcom, our mission is clear: to make communications work for everyone. To achieve that, our people must reflect the diversity of the UK, in background, identity and experience.

We believe innovation thrives when difference is valued and everyone feels empowered to contribute their ideas and perspectives. That’s why we welcome colleagues of all ethnicities and races, sexes, genders and gender identities, sexual orientations, ages, faiths and beliefs, and those with apparent and non‑apparent disabilities. We value socio‑economic diversity, life experience and neurodiversity too. Whether you’re a carer, a parent, a veteran, or re‑entering work after time away, your voice and perspective matter here.

Flexibility is at the heart of how we work because we want you to thrive in a way that suits you best. Most roles can therefore be adapted for part‑time hours, job shares, or other flexible arrangements. Learn more about our Rewards, Benefits and Wellbeing on our careers page.

As a proud Disability Confident Leader, we guarantee interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for a role. You can read more about this commitment here.

Whoever you are, whatever your story, you belong at Ofcom.