Research Team Lead - Online Child Safety

🔒 Confidential Employer
Posted 21 March 2026
LOCATION
UK
TYPE
Full-time
LEVEL
Mid-Senior level
CATEGORY
Technology
This employer holds a UK Home Office sponsor license — sponsorship for this specific role is at the employer’s discretion

SKILLS

Child Safety CSAM Grooming Trafficking Research Team Leadership OSINT Automation

FULL DESCRIPTION

Research Team Lead - Online Child Safety

[Employer hidden — view at passion-project.co.uk] is seeking a driven and compassionate leader to serve as Research Team Lead - Online Child Safety. In this vital role, you'll oversee a skilled team tackling online child exploitation, including CSAM, grooming, sextortion, trafficking and more. You’ll manage workflows, ensure exceptional delivery, and foster a culture of innovation. If you’re a motivated leader passionate about creating safer digital spaces, we encourage you to apply.

Description

[Employer hidden] is seeking a driven and compassionate leader to serve as Research Team Lead - Online Child Safety. In this vital role, you'll oversee a skilled team tackling online child exploitation, including CSAM, grooming, sextortion, trafficking and more. You’ll manage workflows, ensure exceptional delivery, and foster a culture of innovation. If you’re a motivated leader passionate about creating safer digital spaces, we encourage you to apply.

Requirements

Required Skills and Experience:

  • Minimum of 5 years' experience in the field of child safety, with a proven track record of addressing online harms such as CSAM, grooming, and trafficking.
  • At least 5 years' experience in research, holding a minimum of a master’s degree in criminology, sociology, or a related field; a PhD is an advantage.
  • At least 2 years of experience in team leadership.
  • Demonstrated leadership and research expertise, including managing large-scale initiatives, analyzing data, mentoring teams, and fostering collaboration.
  • Exceptional skills in analytical thinking, communication, and technical proficiency, with resilience to handle sensitive content and expertise in OSINT, automation, and database management.

About [Employer hidden]

THE CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY

One of the hardest parts of this role is that you’re both the visionary and the builder;  the one drawing the map and paving the road. That means switching between high-level strategy and hands-on experimentation daily, and doing it while bringing others along with you. There’s no playbook for this kind of work. You’re paving an unpaved road, one small experiment at a time.

ActiveFence is the leading provider of security and safety solutions for online experiences, safeguarding more than 3 billion users, top foundation models, and the world’s largest enterprises and tech platforms every day.  As a trusted ally to major technology firms and Fortune 500 brands that build user-generated and GenAI products, ActiveFence empowers security, AI, and policy teams with low-latency Real-Time Guardrails and a continuous Red Teaming program that pressure-tests systems with adversarial prompts and emerging threat techniques. Powered by deep threat intelligence, unmatched harmful-content detection, and coverage of 117+ languages, ActiveFence enables organizations to deliver engaging and trustworthy experiences at global scale while operating safely and responsibly across all threat landscapes.

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