Copy Editor – Protection of Children Team

Please note that this is a contract role from January 2025 to the end of March 2025.

The deadline for applications will be Wednesday 1 January 2025 and therefore we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Tuesday 31 December 2024.

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

Almost all of us use online services every day of our lives, enjoying the wide array of benefits that the internet has to offer – from the free flow of news and information, opportunities for self-expression and global community, to commercial opportunities for businesses. However, online services also have the power to lead to significant harm to users. Almost all of us have also experienced harmful content or behaviour online.

The Online Safety Act passed in October 2023, bringing Ofcom new powers to protect UK citizens from harm online. We have also published consultations on how to protect users from illegal content, and children from other harmful content, online. There has never been a more meaningful and exciting time to join Ofcom and help deliver one of the most rewarding programmes in the history of our organisation. 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.

This copy editor role sits in the Policy Development team within the Online Safety Group.

Purpose of the Role

In May we published our proposals on how we will protect children from harms online. This consultation set out our approach to implementing the children’s safety provisions in the new online safety regime and proposed steps that online services would need to take to keep children safer online, as part of their duties under the Online Safety Act.

We are looking for a copy editor who can review large policy documents as we prepare our policy statement on the above. This statement will set out our final decisions on our proposals after considering consultation responses from a wide range of stakeholders. Having particular sector knowledge or expertise is not crucial to this roles.

Requirements of the Role

• Review and edit large policy documents for clarity, coherence, and consistency.
• Ensure that documents adhere to Ofcom’s style guide and formatting standard.
• Correct grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
• Work closely with policy leads to understand the content and context of the documents.
• Manage multiple editing projects simultaneously and meet tight deadlines.
• Suggest improvements to enhance readability and engagement.
• Ensure that the tone and voice of the documents are appropriate for the target audience.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

The successful candidate can demonstrate:

• Excellent written communication skills – demonstrable ability to communicate complex concepts in simple and accessible terms for the regulatory documents you will be reviewing.
• Innovative and solutions-focused with the ability to work under pressure and to tight deadlines.
• Able to manage and handle competing demands within a varied and changing workload, using own initiative to plan, organise, prioritise, and recognise when to escalate risks.
• Have strong attention to detail and accuracy and take pride in making sure your work is of the appropriate quality.
• Able to work independently, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability and supporting a culture of collaboration and trust.
• Have strong interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse group of stakeholders and colleagues.
• Appreciation of and desire to promote Ofcom's values of excellence, agility, empowerment, collaboration, and respect.

Competencies

• Ability to draft in a clear and logical manner.
• Can communicate clearly and persuasively. Shows resilience in the face of challenge.
• Delivers as promised, on time - consistently delivers work to agreed expectations (e.g., time, quality)
• Proactive, creative, and flexible approach to identifying and taking forward opportunities, shaping new ideas and partnerships.

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 at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378.