Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Thursday 6th June, and therefore we advise getting your application in no later than midnight on Wednesday 5th June.

How to Apply

To be considered you must submit your CV and a covering letter of no more than 2 pages detailing your relevant experience and interest in the role. Please note that you are able to upload multiple documents at the point where you upload your CV.

About Ofcom

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day. We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio.

Our culture is clear – we live by our values: Empowerment; Excellence; Collaboration; Agility and Respect. These define how we work to deliver our purpose, now and in the future. The behaviours which support these values set the path for a fully inclusive and innovative culture at Ofcom.

We focus not only on what we do, but how we do it. We pride ourselves on being an organisation of people who genuinely care about helping others.

About the Team

Almost every part of our lives is now online: we use online spaces to learn, play, make connections, do business and keep in touch. Alongside the many benefits, users face real risks from harmful or illegal content - from fraud, hate speech, bullying and harassment, child sexual exploitation, and more. Ofcom is the new regulator for online safety in the UK and there has never been a better time to join us on our mission to create a safer life online.  

Ofcom’s role will be to hold online services to account for the steps they take to protect their users from harmful content, in order to ensure a safer life online for UK internet users. These roles provide an opportunity to help create a safer online environment and leave a lasting legacy for future generations. 

This role will be part of Ofcom’s Online Safety Group, whose broader purpose is to lead our work in ensuring UK citizens have a safer life online. The Group consists of five teams – Policy Development, Supervision, Strategy Delivery, Tech Policy and Trust & Safety. This role sits within the Policy Development team, who are responsible for establishing and implementing our policy codes and guidance. The team is also responsible for building our Transparency function, which will use transparency reporting to empower users, hold platforms to account, and shine a light on good and poor practices. 

Purpose of the Role/key responsibilities

The UX Principal will lead Ofcom’s policy development work for all areas related to the user experience on online services, including user controls and empowerment tools, identity verification, service design choices, and ranking and recommender systems. This role will lead the development of a number of key regulatory deliverables related to these areas as part of the implementation of the Online Safety Act. The successful candidate will also work particularly closely with Ofcom’s Making Sense of Media (MSOM) to develop policy related to media literacy, the Behavioural Insights team, the Supervision and Tech and Tech Policy teams.  

This is a key role within our efforts to set up the online safety policy regime. Whilst the role sits within the online safety policy team, the successful candidate will work with a multi-disciplinary project team, comprising of policy specialists, researchers, technologists, economists, and lawyers, working on the associated deliverables. 

We are looking for candidates with experience of leading and implementing a complex work programme, trialling and implementing new processes, delivering effectively through others, developing and communicating strategy, producing clear accessible public documents, and effectively managing stakeholder relationships. 

A successful candidate will be able to: 

• Operate comfortably in ambiguity, with the ability to develop cohesive strategies and narratives across a number of disparate policy areas  
• Lead the development and delivery of a number of regulatory products, including codes of practice and guidance for user empowerment and identity verification. 
• Lead the policy development for all associated online safety mitigations across the Online Safety Act related to UX areas, such as user controls and verification 
• Coordinate policy development work with the media literacy teams.
• Manage a team including leading, coaching, motivating, and developing colleagues and building individual and team capabilities. 
• Work as part of the Policy Development Management Team, to provide team-wide leadership and strategic direction, as well as developing processes for working seamlessly between the various functions to deliver our strategic priorities. 
• Contribute to the ongoing development of the team and Ofcom as an excellent place to work. 

As the online safety regime is focused on assessing tech companies’ systems and processes, rather than adjudicating on individual pieces of content, we do not anticipate that colleagues working in the Policy Development team will be routinely exposed to harmful or distressing online content. At the same time, due to the nature of the harms covered by the online safety regime, some exposure to distressing content or themes may be unavoidable from time to time. We will offer support to colleagues to manage any such exposure, but candidates should be aware of this aspect of the role, alongside the need to ensure the right support is in place for their team.  

The skills, knowledge and experience you will need for success

Essential 

• Excellent written communication skills, with experience in overseeing production of large and complex publications, ensuring clear and coherent narrative flows. 
• Practical experience in online safety and/or subject matter expertise in one of the core UX policy areas  
• Experience working autonomously in ambiguous environments, with the ability to develop cohesive strategies across a number of disparate policy areas 
• Experience in setting and implementing programme-level strategy and delivery action plans, in line with broader organisational strategic priorities. 
• Experience of directing broad, complex projects, delivering the implementation through others, and working collaboratively with colleagues at all levels and across cross- functional teams.  
• Experience of leading or managing others, setting direction, and helping colleagues develop. 
• Experience weighing up complex arguments and making proportionate, evidence-based decisions.  

At Ofcom we prioritise inclusive and diverse recruitment in order to truly reflect the society we represent.

Where positions are listed as full time, we remain open to reduced hours, part-time arrangements, job shares and other flexible working options from day one of employment.  We warmly welcome applications from candidate returning to work after a break – for whatever reason.

As a disability confident employer, we offer interviews to any disabled applicant who meet essential criteria for advertised roles.  Learn more about the scheme here.

If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team.