International Policy Advisor

Closing Date: 07/06/2023 Group: Strategy and Research Group Management Level: Associate Job Type: Permanent Job Description: Please note: The role will close at 00.01 on the 7th of June so please make your application on or before the 6th of June. 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. Team Overview This role sits within Ofcom’s International Policy Team. Our objective is two-fold: to ensure Ofcom can positively contribute to the international regulatory conversations, and to ensure that Ofcom’s domestic approach is informed by international best practices, all of which in turn should help Ofcom to meet its online safety objectives. Purpose of the Role The International Policy Advisor role will sit within the International team’s online safety cluster. Working within a team of four, the roleholder will help deliver Ofcom’s international online safety strategy and support the delivery of our programmatic work across a number of workstreams. Key responsibilities

• To support Ofcom’s involvement in international regulatory networks and its bilateral regulatory relationships.
  • This involves working alongside colleagues to support Ofcom’s participation in international regulatory networks such as the Global Online Safety Regulators Network and the International Working Group on Age Verification, as well as our relationships with counterpart regulators around the world.
  • Activities will include supporting the organisation and execution of meetings and events; preparing briefings and monitoring network developments; and coordinating the engagement of internal Ofcom stakeholders.
• To monitor international policy developments and to support internal Ofcom teams in understanding the international developments that are relevant to their work.
  • This involves tracking new legislative proposals, debates and regulatory activities in other countries on online safety topics, and sharing updates with the team and colleagues across Ofcom, as needed.
• To support the development of international policy outputs (e.g. responses to international consultations) and contribute to internal briefings for senior stakeholders.
  • This will involve monitoring and engaging with specific international multilateral and multistakeholder policy processes (e.g. the UN Global Digital Compact, the UNESCO Internet for Trust initiative) to identify areas of interest for Ofcom and coordinate Ofcom’s contributions to these workstreams as necessary.
  • It will also involve coordinating and contributing international input to briefings and preparatory materials in support of external engagements by senior Ofcom colleagues.

Skills, Knowledge and experience

• Ability to manage and prioritise a variety of tasks and administrative responsibilities.
• Proactive, enthusiastic and willing to embrace challenges.
• Comfortable in dealing with a reasonable amount of unpredictability in workflows.
• Ability to problem-solve and work with a considerable degree of autonomy.
• Ability to produce clear and easy to understand written outputs at speed.
• Experience of interacting with different types of stakeholders and good people skills.
• Basic understanding of the UK Online Safety Bill and comparable regulation globally.
• Basic understanding of where Ofcom’s work fits into the international context, and the role of international collaboration in achieving online safety objectives.
• Willingness to travel.

Ofcom is a forward-thinking, inclusive employer and recognises the value of diversity to truly “make communications work for everyone”. Here at Ofcom, our vision is to ensure people are part of an environment when they can truly strive and be themselves, therefore we aim to recruit from the widest pool of candidates possible – irrespective of social background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. We are an organisation that strives to be truly representative of the whole of the UK and our aim is to be an employer of choice for everyone. We champion flexible working and so wherever possible we support flexible working patterns including job shares.
As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview disabled applicants who meets the minimum selection criteria of the role as outlined in the job specification, if applicants would like to be considered under this scheme. We pride ourselves on ensuring all candidates are treated fairly throughout the application and selection process including making our process as accessible as possible. You can find more information on the scheme here. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/jobs/disability-confident-scheme

Should you require any adjustments to be made, please do contact us directly at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378