Facebook head of communications and public policy Elliot Schrage said Thursday that he is stepping down after a decade at the social media company.

"After more than a decade at Facebook, I've decided it's time to start a new chapter in my life. Leading policy and communications for hyper growth technology companies is a joy — but it's also intense and leaves little room for much else," he wrote in a post on Facebook.

Schrage wrote that he has been discussing the decision "for a while" with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg. He will both lead the search for a new candidate and stay on during the transition. After he officially steps down, he will stay on as an advisor to help on particular projects, according to the post.

Schrage tagged Zuckerberg and Sandberg in the post. Both executives commented.

"Elliot – thank you for everything," Sandberg wrote in response to Schrage's resignation. "You've been instrumental in building our policy and communications teams as well as pushing many of our key initiatives – including the recent publication of our community standards, data about our effectiveness enforcing those standards and the creation of an independent election commission," Sandberg wrote.

"You've made an extraordinary contribution to Facebook -- dealing with some of our toughest challenges and helping enable some of our biggest opportunities," Zuckerberg wrote.

Both mentioned they looked forward to Schrage's "ongoing advice over the years ahead," a reference to Schrage's plans to stay on in an advisory role.

Facebook is still dealing with the fallout from reports of widespread data mishandling and abuse of sensitive user information, spurred by revelations that research firm Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed user information on as many as 87 million people.

Schrage was a key player in coordinating Facebook's response to the scandal, for which the company was initially criticized for reacting too slowly.

Facebook did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.

Read the full text of Schrage's resignation note: