Associate, Online Safety Strategy

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Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Monday 19 October, and therefore we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Sunday 18 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 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 the technical expertise to ensure the aims of the regime are met.

The Strategy Delivery Team lies at the heart of the Online Safety Group. The team supports and enables the rest of the Group to deliver successfully. We do this by setting our Online Safety strategy and setting clear goals and timelines for the Online Safety regime. We help teams stay on track – including by managing timelines, budget, resources, corporate reporting and governance for the Online Safety Programme. The Strategy Delivery Team is also responsible for other cross-cutting operational activities, such as leading a triage function, managing stakeholder engagement, and ensuring operational readiness.

The purpose and scope of the role

The Strategy Advisor will support and contribute to projects across the Strategy Delivery team. They will use project management, problem-solving, communication, and stakeholder engagement skills to help ensure all our strategy and delivery work stays on track. Working with colleagues across the Online Safety Group and wider Ofcom, you’ll help ensure our ambitions for the Online Safety regime are focused in the right areas and stay on track. Our roles are diverse and appropriate for problem solvers, innovative thinkers, skilled project managers and/or people with a regulatory background. But we welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds.

OSG operates a flexible resourcing model and colleagues may work across a range of projects as organisational priorities evolve.

Your Key Responsibilities

This role is varied and will evolve over time in line with team priorities, allowing you to gain a broad range of opportunities and expertise to further your career at Ofcom. This could include: working across teams to refresh our priorities for the regime; contributing to operational projects for the successful implementation of the new regime (such as ICT and/or process mapping); working in our triage function; helping with our stakeholder engagement approach; supporting our risk and governance processes; and more.

Key responsibilities may include:

• Helping to develop cross-team workplans for projects across the programme, in collaboration with teams across Ofcom - to ensure we deliver our big goals.
• Supporting aspects of project management across the Online Safety programme.
• Supporting engagement with external stakeholders and developing stakeholder engagement strategies and materials.
• Contributing to the delivery of external publications, to ensure a consistent narrative across all of Ofcom’s OS documents.
• Working with Ofcom’s teams to bring together budget proposals for running the OS regime, alongside helping to keep in-year spending on track (working closely with Finance).
• Analysing new and emerging harms as part of the OS triage function and developing recommendations on what we do next – communicating to colleagues at all levels.
• Supporting development of core operational processes to ensure the effective and efficient running of our OS operations. 

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

We welcome people with a keen interest or practical knowledge of Online Safety regulation and our mission to create a safer life online for people in the UK. We are specifically looking for people with the ability to:

• Demonstrate within your application, your experience of at least one of the following: Managing complex budget planning processes, managing projects and expertise in operational process mapping    

• Evaluate Problems: Identify and solve issues by using well-thought-out strategies. Consider different angles and potential solutions to resolve concerns.
• Generate Insights: Use evidence-driven methods to gather insights, and make well-founded decisions based on thorough analysis.
• Trailblaze Ideas: Bring fresh perspectives through creative and original ideas that improve processes, policies, or services.
• Execute Plans: Organise tasks and set clear goals, while keeping an eye on process. Ability to organise work effectively.
• Articulate Ideas: Express your ideas, thoughts, and information in a clear and concise manner, ensuring messages are understood by everyone. Strong written drafting and Powerpoint skills.
• Form Relationships: Build and nurture positive and effective relationships with people inside and outside the organisation, sharing resources, and creating an honest team environment.
• Embrace Change: Remain flexible in the face of change, anticipating and adjusting to shifts.

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. 

Our recruitment process is intentionally designed to be open and accessible. If you need adjustments, information in a different format or an alternative way to apply, contact us at [email protected] or 0330 912 1378. 

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.