Associate, Policy

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Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Friday 31 July, and therefore we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Thursday 30 July.

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

This role is part of our Infrastructure & Connectivity Group. Our mission is to advance a better-connected UK so people and businesses can participate in and benefit from a digital society. We do this by promoting competition and investment in the industries we oversee and helping make sure that communications networks are secure and resilient. Our work helps drive innovation, deliver consumer choice and value, and makes sure people and businesses get the services they need. Technology in our sectors changes fast and there are always new and exciting issues to explore. In a time of significant digital disruption, we support economic growth by ensuring that our communications infrastructure meets the country’s needs and enables a wide range of digital services.

The Infrastructure & Connectivity Group is organised, for operational purposes, into a number of sub-teams we call portfolios. These either focus on a particular sector, e.g. post, or types of issues e.g. retail consumer or competition issues. You will be assigned to a home portfolio, but you may be asked to work in others. 

The purpose and scope of the role

This is an important role developing and implementing policy to help promote the interests of consumers using post, broadband, mobile and other digital communications services. When you join us, depending on your skills and experience you will have the opportunity to help to manage key policy projects and programmes, analysing and solving complex problems, working closely with specialists such as economists, lawyers and technology experts.

Some of our policy projects across our different policy portfolios for 2026/27 include:

• Post: We oversee the postal sector to support affordable and resilient services for consumers. Current priorities include: ensuring that universal postal services continue to be affordable; the ongoing monitoring of Royal Mail’s Quality of Service performance and its implementation of reforms to its Universal Service Obligation.

• Competition and markets: We promote competition in telecoms markets to deliver investment, innovation and choice through effective regulation of firms with market power as markets and technologies transition. Current priorities include: establishing a new competition supervision function to support more investment in fibre and stronger competition; refining our approach to distressed provider scenarios to mitigate consumer and critical-national infrastructure service loss risks; and progressing the transition from legacy copper networks.

• Consumer and retail markets: We ensure that consumers are informed, empowered and protected, particularly through cost-of-living challenges, and market and technology changes. Current priorities include: developing an enhanced consumer supervision function to drive more consistent compliance with our rules; supporting technology transitions (such as landline migration and 2G switch off) for the benefit of consumers and citizens; and using various tools to help consumers be more informed and empowered to choose the right services.

• Telecoms fraud and scams: We aim to significantly reduce the number of fraudulent calls and mobile messages that people receive. Current priorities include: measures to stop scam mobile messages; improving our fraud harms data; helping to set up a fraud supervision function; and monitoring AI’s impact on telecoms fraud.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Aligned to a specific portfolio you will work as part of different project teams, leading the delivery of a workstream or an aspect of the project as well as supporting policy leads in driving overall progress of the project.

• Gather and analyse evidence, engaging with stakeholders to understand their views and summarise for colleagues.

• Contribute to policy development and group discussions, presenting your analysis and collaborating with specialist colleagues to develop policy options.

• Produce internal documents to support our policymaking process and draft parts of our published documents. This will require you to produce high quality written material tailored to different audiences appropriately, as well as collating information from a range of different sources and communicating legal, economic and technical information clearly.

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

Our Policy Advisors in the Infrastructure and Connectivity Group come from a variety of different career and academic backgrounds and have developed their skills in many different roles, industries and sectors.
The essential requirements for the role are:

• Some experience of policy or strategy development, including gathering and analysing information from a range of sources, drafting clear policy documents or recommendations, assessing options and impacts, and using evidence to support decision making. This experience could be in a regulated industry, in government or another policy-focused organisation.

• Articulating Ideas - ability to convey information clearly and concisely both verbally and in writing. This includes active listening, contributing to team discussions and ensuring your messages are understood. You will also have experience of, and a willingness to develop your skills in, producing well-presented written documents and other materials in plain English (including correspondence).

• Evaluating Problems - the ability to gather and interpret qualitative and quantitative information from a range of sources, using logical approaches to evidence-gathering and analysis, responding to new information, considering different angles and generating options. 

• Executing Plans - the ability to take ownership of and manage your own work, planning and organising tasks, producing workplans, assisting with managing internal governance, and managing input from other colleagues to deliver outputs on time.

• Forming Relationships - ability to build and manage constructive working relationships with diverse teams and stakeholders, contributing to a positive and inclusive working environment.

A willingness to understand and keep up to date with the industries Ofcom regulates (including awareness of the relevant market dynamics and consumer needs) would be desirable.

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.