Pauley, who has been in the role for five years and was previously managing editor of the Financial Times, is staying on in London to oversee a handover of his responsibilities but hopes to be in Brussels by the beginning of the new year.
He is already devoting one day a week a to his EU position.
‘BT has taken the view that the EU is now a much larger market and has a greater impact on international companies. We want to raise our profile at a senior policy level, increase our influence and participate in policy discussions,’ said Pauley, whose new job title and has yet to be decided.
The group comms role oversees 85 staff in public affairs, media relations, CSR and social policy, internal communications, strategic communications and industry analyst relations.
BT has around 12 people working on regulation, public affairs and media relations in Brussels.