Supervision Senior Associate

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 

This role sits within Ofcom’s Supervision Team. The Supervision Team will provide close, structured engagement with certain services in scope of the online safety regime, alongside an approach to promote compliance across the many thousands of services that need to comply with these new rules. The team will lead and deliver our supervision strategy and aims in collaboration and coordination with other specialist teams in Ofcom. 

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.  

Purpose of the Role 

We are recruiting up to six Supervision Senior Associates to support Ofcom in regulating online services, helping to protect users from harmful and illegal content. These roles will be on the frontline of supervision, directly supervising services to understand, assess and, where necessary, drive improvements to the measures that services take to protect users and meet their obligations.  

You will be working as part of a team to supervise a portfolio of key services. You will develop engagement strategies for each service and report on progress against them to the wider Online Safety Group. You will be Ofcom's main point of contact for your services, ensuring that all of Ofcom’s engagement and request for information meet Ofcom’s strategic aims while balancing proportionality.  

Working with others is also a key skill for success. You will work closely with other members of the Supervision team and the Online Safety Group and can expect to present the results of your supervision to senior colleagues regularly. You will also work with Ofcom’s Enforcement Team on matters of compliance, as well as bringing in experts from across Ofcom including economists, lawyers and technologists. 

Ofcom strives to ensure we reflect the stakeholders and sectors we serve, so we particularly encourage applications from candidates from under-represented demographics. If you’d prefer to work part-time or as a job-share, we’ll facilitate this wherever we can – whether to help you meet other commitments or to help you strike a great work-life balance. 

Key Responsibilities 

• Build and maintain strong relationships with relevant online services. 
• Understand, assess and, where necessary, drive improvements protections offered to users and other obligations under the Online Safety Act. 
• Oversee and manage the workload of junior and cross-functional colleagues as needed to ensure we deliver against our strategic priorities. 
• Identify and drive research, information gathering and analysis about the services you supervise and ensure analysis and outputs are drawn together for the wider team. 
• Ensure the delivery of clear, concise and focused documents, such as briefings and research reports, for internal use or external publication. 
• Build and maintain effective relationships with teams across Ofcom that work with us, ensuring they are updated, included and feel heard. 
• Ensure clear communication and information sharing at all levels with the rest of the Supervision team and deliver clear updates on the services you supervise when requested. 
• Develop and foster online expertise across Ofcom’s online safety and VSP programme and keep across online trends and technological developments. 
• Keep abreast of the public policy landscape in relation to online regulation. 

Skills, Knowledge and Experience 

Essential:

• Experience in managing external relationships, including the ability to engage with senior counterparts and manage challenging conversations. 
• Strong interpersonal and communications skills, including experience in confidently presenting complicated issues to non-specialist audiences. 
• Experience in research and analysis into complicated issues and drawing out key points for colleagues to help solve problems. 
• Strong written drafting skills, with a focus on producing clear, concise documents for internal use or external publication. 

Desirable: 

• Keen interest and/or practical knowledge of emerging online safety regulation in the UK and beyond – and Ofcom’s mission to create a safer life online. 
• Experience of supervisory activity in another regulated sector. 
• Experience of managing and/or coaching colleagues, setting direction, providing ongoing feedback, and delivering through others. 
• Experience of working within a project environment with multiple internal and external stakeholders – including using excellent project management and planning skills. 

Qualifications 

No specific qualifications are required for this role. 

Applying for the role 

If you’d like to apply, please submit your CV and a covering letter (up to two pages), explaining why you are interested in this role and what positive skills and experience you’d bring. Please let us know if you’d like to submit your application in another format.