Public Policy Associate

Closing Date:

28/02/2025

Group:

Corporate Group

Management Level:

Associate

Job Type:

Permanent

Job Description:

Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Friday 28 February and therefore we advise getting your application by no later than midnight on Thursday 27 February.
 

About the Team

This is an exciting opportunity to join Ofcom's Public Policy team working on wide portfolio of issues. The Public Policy team sits at the centre of Ofcom. We act as the bridge between Ofcom's work as an independent body and the wider public policy, political and regulatory developments that affect the sectors we regulate. We work with teams across Ofcom to ensure that the wider public policy context is properly considered in Ofcom’s work. We co-ordinate and lead Ofcom’s engagement with Government and Parliament.

The team’s role is to support the Board, senior management and the wider organisation to ensure Ofcom acts as an effective regulator which fully understands and participates in public debates about how best to make communications work for consumers.

The work of the public policy team is fast paced, collaborative and blends both internal and external stakeholder engagement. Working here offers an excellent opportunity to develop a broad understanding of some of Ofcom’s top priorities.

Purpose of the Role
 

You will help shape the work of our team under our Broadcasting and Media Portfolio. Ideally, you will have experience of working in or closely with Government or Parliament or a Regulatory body, but most importantly you will have an understanding of UK Government and the policy making process, be able to work independently and at pace, and be accomplished at building strong collaborative relationships quickly.

The portfolio the post will cover includes broadcasting standards, broadcast advertising, licensing and radio. We engage directly with stakeholders in Government and Parliament and contribute to internal policy discussions. Your role will see you become the public policy expert on a discrete range of topics, helping policy teams to plan and execute Government and Parliament relationships in a way that helps Ofcom fulfil its independent regulatory role and provide expert input to policymakers, while appropriately demonstrating accountability.

You will work within a friendly and tight-knit branch of four people.

Your key responsibilities
 

You will:
 

• Work with Public Policy colleagues and other Ofcom teams, including our offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to co-ordinate UK Government and Parliamentary engagement across different policy issues

• Engage directly and confidently with officials in Government and Parliamentarians and be a key point of contact for UK Government departments on work relating to your portfolio, including on policy queries and Parliamentary Questions, working with internal teams to ensure responses are accurate, high-quality and well communicated

• Provide accurate and plain English written materials and briefings to senior internal stakeholders to support their public policy engagement.

• Manage correspondence with MPs ensuring that it is of a consistently high standard.

• Work with Public Policy Managers and other Ofcom teams to co-ordinate UK Government and Parliamentary engagement across different policy issues.

• Contribute to the effective management of Ofcom’s relationship with Parliament by monitoring Parliamentary business, identifying opportunities for engagement with MPs and Peers and recording/reporting on that engagement.

• Contribute to the Ofcom policy-making process by making policy teams aware of relevant external policy developments through regular monitoring, as well as by scanning ahead and spotting opportunities.

• Proactively seek to make connections between areas within and beyond your portfolio, seeking to build your expertise and knowledge and sharing it with the wider team.

The skills, knowledge and experience you will need for success
 

• Forming Relationship: Experience of reaching out to build collaborative relationships with others, including more senior colleagues and external stakeholders.

• Articulating Ideas: Excellent Written and oral communication skills, including the ability to get complex information across clearly and concisely.

• Executing Plans: An ability to juggle a diverse workload and respond to changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Experience in or n interest in politics and/or policy-making and skilled at cutting through to the essentials on complex policy issues.

• An interest in learning about the regulatory work that Ofcom does, as well as the sectors we regulate.

Ofcom has a clear mission: to make communications work for everyone.  To be able to deliver on this, we want our organisation to reflect the diversity of background, experience, upbringing and thought that exists across the UK.  We aim to recruit from the widest pool of candidates possible – no matter your social background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. 

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, we champion flexible work arrangements to accommodate individual needs.

We also warmly welcome applicants who are returning to the workforce after a break – for whatever reason. If you have taken time away and are ready to rejoin, we look forward to reviewing your application.

Our recruitment processes prioritise accessibility and inclusivity. If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team at [email protected] or call 0330 912 1378.

As a Disability Confident employer, we offer interviews to disabled applicants who meet essential criteria for advertised roles. Learn more about this scheme here.  https://careers.ofcom.org.uk/careers/how-we-hire/