Principal, Online Safety Policy; Trust & Safety

Closing Date:

04/03/2026

Group:

Online Safety Group

Management Level:

Principal

Job Type:

Permanent

Job Description:

Please note that this role will close at 00:01 on Wednesday 25 March, and therefore we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Tuesday 24 March.

The Online Safety Group’s purpose is to ensure UK citizens have a safer life online by implementing and overseeing the requirements under the Online Safety Act 2023. The Group is responsible for delivering online safety policy, supervising online services and building technical expertise to meet the regime’s aims.

This role is within the Online Safety Policy Development team, which works at the centre of the Online Safety Group. The Policy Development team lead the development of Ofcom’s online safety policies which establish steps services should take to make users safer online. They are policy experts in online harms, mitigations and are responsible for implementing our policy codes and guidance.

This team works closely with cross functional colleagues from other teams in the organisation to use their skills and experience to develop robust policy. These include legal experts, technologists, economists, and research specialists amongst others.

As a Principal in the Policy Development team, the successful candidate will work as part of a multi‑disciplinary project team that includes policy specialists, researchers, technologists, economists and lawyers. They will also bring experience leading and delivering complex work programmes, working effectively through others, and managing a broad range of stakeholder relationships.

This principal role will lead Ofcom’s Trust & Safety policy outputs across Online Safety regulation. The role will develop and iterate regulatory measures through codes of practice and guidance under the Online Safety Act, shaping how industry implements its regulatory duties, providing expert policy input into compliance drives and enforcement cases, and supporting the development of transparency notices. This is a pivotal role in shaping how online safety regulation is implemented in practice, influencing how major online services assess and mitigate risks to users in the UK.

The successful candidate will be responsible for all policy work streams related to Terms of Service, Content Moderation, Proactive Technology, Reporting & Complaints, and Search, managing a team working across these work streams, and providing expertise across the Online Safety Group on a range of other related trust and safety policy areas.

We are looking for candidates with experience working in online services’ trust and safety or integrity functions—such as content moderation, content policy, operations, investigations and incident management. This is a key role in establishing and implementing the online safety policy regime.

This role will involve the following key responsibilities:

• Leading delivery of complex policy and regulatory outputs including drafting of and future updates to codes of practice and guidance,—owning outcomes, timelines, and risk across multiple
• Exercising senior judgement and constructive challenge, identifying risks, trade-offs, and unintended consequences, and advising on proportionate, evidence-based solutions
• Representing Ofcom externally, engaging with service providers, civil society, experts, and other regulators to test thinking, learn from best practice, and ensure our regulatory approach is credible, robust, and well-informed
• Contributing to leadership of the team and wider Online Safety Group, shaping strategic direction, supporting colleague wellbeing and development, and advancing broader leadership priorities across the organisation.
• Providing expert input into and supporting compliance and enforcement work, ensuring regulated services understand their expectations and supporting internal teams to drive safety outcomes for users.

The list above is not exhaustive, and the role will evolve in response to organisational and legislative priorities.