Data Protection Officer – Privacy Programme Management

1. Job Summary

Fresher Jobs Hub is seeking a detail-oriented, ethical, and proactive Data Protection Officer (DPO) – Privacy Programme Management to oversee data protection practices, strengthen privacy governance, and support the effective implementation of privacy programmes across the organisation. The successful candidate will help ensure that personal information is collected, processed, stored, shared, and retained in accordance with applicable data protection laws, regulatory requirements, and internal policies.

This role involves developing privacy frameworks, conducting risk assessments, monitoring compliance, advising business teams, and coordinating privacy-related initiatives across departments. The Data Protection Officer will work closely with legal, compliance, information security, IT, human resources, and business operations teams to identify privacy risks and establish practical solutions that protect personal data throughout its lifecycle.

The ideal candidate will have a strong understanding of privacy regulations, data governance, risk management, and programme coordination. They should be comfortable translating complex legal and technical requirements into clear business practices while promoting a culture of accountability, transparency, and responsible data handling.

This position is suitable for professionals with experience in data protection, privacy operations, regulatory compliance, information governance, or risk management who are interested in leading privacy programme activities and supporting continuous improvement.

2. Key Responsibilities

Privacy Programme Management

Develop, implement, and maintain the organisations privacy programme, ensuring alignment with business objectives and applicable regulatory obligations.

Establish privacy policies, procedures, standards, and operational guidelines for handling personal and sensitive information.

Create privacy programme roadmaps, implementation plans, milestones, and performance indicators.

Coordinate privacy initiatives across departments and monitor progress against established objectives.

Review programme effectiveness regularly and recommend improvements to strengthen privacy controls and governance.

Data Protection Compliance

Monitor applicable data protection requirements, including relevant provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Indias Digital Personal Data Protection Act and applicable rules, and other relevant privacy laws, as appropriate to the organisations operations.

Support compliance assessments, internal reviews, and regulatory readiness activities.

Maintain documentation demonstrating privacy compliance, including policies, assessment records, decision logs, and supporting evidence.

Assist in interpreting regulatory requirements and translating them into actionable business procedures.

Track regulatory developments and communicate relevant changes to stakeholders.

Privacy Risk Assessment and Mitigation

Conduct or coordinate Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and other privacy risk assessments where required.

Identify risks associated with personal data collection, processing, storage, transfers, and third-party access.

Work with information security and technology teams to assess privacy risks associated with new systems, applications, products, and business processes.

Recommend appropriate technical and organisational safeguards to reduce privacy risks.

Maintain privacy risk registers and track mitigation actions through completion.

Data Subject Rights and Privacy Requests

Oversee or coordinate processes for responding to requests involving access, correction, erasure, withdrawal of consent, and other applicable data protection rights.

Ensure privacy requests are routed to the appropriate teams and handled within applicable legal deadlines.

Maintain accurate records of requests, decisions, responses, and escalations.

Identify recurring issues and recommend process improvements to enhance response quality and efficiency.

Data Breach and Incident Management

Collaborate with security, legal, compliance, and operational teams to investigate suspected personal data breaches.

Support incident assessment, documentation, escalation, and remediation activities.

Help determine notification obligations and timelines under applicable laws, working with authorised legal and compliance stakeholders.

Coordinate corrective actions and follow-up reviews to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents.

Contribute to incident response procedures, tabletop exercises, and privacy-related business continuity planning.

Vendor and Third-Party Privacy Management

Review privacy-related aspects of vendor onboarding, procurement, and third-party service arrangements.

Coordinate assessments of vendors that process personal data on behalf of the organisation.

Support the review of data processing agreements, confidentiality provisions, and relevant contractual safeguards.

Monitor identified third-party privacy risks and follow up on remediation plans.

Collaborate with procurement, legal, and business owners to ensure privacy requirements are incorporated into supplier management processes.

Training and Awareness

Develop and coordinate privacy awareness programmes for employees, contractors, and relevant business partners.

Deliver training on data handling, confidentiality, consent, retention, and privacy incident reporting.

Create practical guidance and communication materials that help employees understand their responsibilities.

Monitor training completion and identify departments that require additional support.

Promote a culture in which privacy is considered during everyday decisions and business activities.

Stakeholder Engagement and Reporting

Serve as a key point of contact for privacy-related programme coordination and internal guidance.

Provide regular updates to senior management on programme progress, key risks, compliance gaps, and improvement initiatives.

Prepare dashboards, reports, risk summaries, and management presentations.

Coordinate with internal audit, legal, information security, HR, and IT teams to support consistent privacy practices.

Escalate significant risks and unresolved compliance issues through the appropriate governance channels.

3. Required Skills and Qualifications

Educational Qualifications

Bachelors degree in Law, Business Administration, Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or a related discipline.

A postgraduate qualification in data protection, privacy law, information security, risk management, or corporate governance is an advantage.

Relevant professional certifications, such as Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), or ISO/IEC 27701-related training, are desirable.

Technical and Professional Skills

Strong understanding of data protection principles, privacy governance, and personal information lifecycle management.

Familiarity with applicable privacy legislation and regulatory compliance requirements.

Experience with privacy impact assessments, risk registers, compliance monitoring, and remediation tracking.

Knowledge of data mapping, records of processing activities, data retention schedules, and consent management.

Understanding of data breach response, incident reporting, and escalation procedures.

Familiarity with vendor privacy assessments, contractual safeguards, and third-party risk management.

Ability to develop privacy policies, procedures, reports,