What does a head of ethics do all day? OMG UK’s Alice Thwaite explains

My role as head of ethics is really one of transformation. Most organizations are involved in initiatives that showcase their values – whether that’s a commitment to DEI, net zero, child safety or conversations about democracy and human rights. It’s one thing to have policies surrounding these initiatives, but it’s another to have dedicated support and a head of ethics helps define these initiatives and bring them together into a coherent strategy.

In terms of how this specifically comes to fruition in my role as an in-house media agency group ethicist, I am on hand to talk through specific client case studies with the teams, provide insight, write documentation and help determine the right course of action for our clients. Underpinning this, it’s incredibly important that, while being in-house, I maintain my network that extends into civil society and academia to keep at the cutting edge of new developments and thinking.

At OMG, we work on a vast array of projects, encompassing transparency, mis/disinformation, anti-bias and discrimination, inclusion, trust, net zero and much more. Ethics requires a very specific skillset and, while it’s important that teams across the board approach their work ethically, it’s not something that can realistically be led from the sidelines as part of another job. My role as a dedicated person with expertise in ethics and knowledge of ethical methods, who all team members can come to for counsel and advice, is crucial in ensuring strategy is turned into action. The first step for OMG, when considering ethics, is to focus on individual clients who want specific guidance. It’s important to remember that there is no ‘one-size fits all’ approach; every client is different, which is why it’s key that there is a robust framework in place that can guide clients depending on their specific needs.

As I said, no day, week or month looks the same and the client projects I work across demand very different skill sets and timeframes. If I’m putting together the research and building a strategy for a client, this can take at least six months while operationalizing it takes longer. If I’m building a strategy, I might be reviewing internal client documents and interviewing stakeholders.

If I’m operationalizing strategy, I might be holding training workshops, building key initiatives and refining proposals. Fundamental to my role is also keeping up to date with the news and staying abreast of new policies, legislation and developments and I always dedicate a portion of my working week to reading ethics newsletters and listening to ethics podcasts.

My work also has a strong educational component. Recently, I’ve been running a webinar series on meaningful consent for OMG’s internal teams and clients. I’m a regular speaker at events and also serve as a mentor to those who want to become ethicists in the future or want to draw upon this thinking in their work for their clients.

What drives me is a passion for progress and to make things better. I want media agencies to have sustainable business practices that can add value to clients. I want clients to feel comforted knowing that although we live in very unstable times, with very complicated decisions to make, they have the best possible insight and guidance to make decisions that fit their values. I want stakeholders to have access to and understanding of the system so we can all make it work better for people and the planet. I like to think that, in an age of AI, where more repetitive tasks are being automated, the way for economies to grow is by leaning into more qualitative and human skillsets. I think this is the future of work and I like being part of that.

In terms of how I quantify success, as is often the case for ethics – quite a lot of my achievements are in the things we haven’t done, as well as the things that we have. More specifically, I’m really proud of being named in government strategy on data and innovation and that the methods foundational to ethics are making their way into the services an organization as large as Omnicom Media Group provides for its clients. In the longer term, I hope that we will get to the stage where a role like mine is seen as critical as a head of social or a head of digital. The benefits are numerous: it makes for better client relationships, it improves audience relationships and, ultimately, trust makes for better campaigns.

No one gets into ethics if they’re not passionate about it. I’m proud to be able to speak up for human rights and democracy within the organization, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly.