Senior Associate, Technical Advisor

Ofcom; Manchester; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Ofcom in the United Kingdom is seeking a technically strong Senior Age Assurance and Digital Identity Technology Advisor to shape online safety policy through expert technical guidance.

You will conduct desk research, lead technical work across Age Assurance and Digital Identity, and translate complex concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leaders and regulators. Collaboration with lawyers, economists and technologists is expected.

Qualifications

• Technical knowledge in Age Assurance and Digital Identity.
• Experience advising on regulatory policy or regulatory technology preferred.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance on Age Assurance and Digital Identity technologies to policy, supervision and enforcement teams.
• Translate complex technical concepts into actionable recommendations for senior leaders and external stakeholders.
• Lead research projects on emerging Age Assurance developments and their regulatory implications.
• Prepare technical briefs, white papers, and demos for diverse audiences.

Job description

Closing Date: 08/10/2026

Group: Online Safety Group

Management Level: Senior Associate

Job Type: Permanent

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 iden