The job includes two components, each one 50% of the time.

As the Data Protection Officer, you'll play a pivotal role both in advising on data protection obligations, ensuring compliance with global regulations, and on spearheading strategic IT initiatives and making decisive, impactful choices. Responsibilities include monitoring compliance, advising on impact assessments, AI governance, IT strategy, managing external IT providers, and nurturing a robust data security culture. 

As a Project Leader in the Measurement, Evaluation and Digital practice, you’ll lead internal and external teams towards more effective public sector work – and greater impact for everyday people. DA PLs are senior professional services managers, simultaneously leading multiple projects or major workstreams, responsible for shaping the work we do and end-to-end management and training of the DA teams that deliver impact. PLs are responsible for maintaining and growing senior relationships (within client governments, with our philanthropic and public sector partners), while leading and coaching teams of experienced Delivery Leaders (most PLs have at least 5-8 years relevant experience and a master’s degree).

Key Responsibilities

As Data Protection Officer, you will be responsible for:

Compliance and Governance:

• Inform, advise, and monitor compliance with data protection regulations across diverse global jurisdictions.
• Lead data protection impact assessments, ensuring alignment with evolving compliance standards.
• Collaborate with supervisory authorities, serving as the primary contact point to ensure regulatory adherence.

Strategic IT Leadership:

• Collaborate on IT strategy development, aligning technology initiatives with business objectives for innovation and efficiency.
• Identify gaps in systems and consult with stakeholders to enhance IT provisions in alignment with robust data security.
• Oversee the external IT provider's work, conducting audits, training, and ensuring service quality for the business.

Data Literacy and Governance:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of data landscapes, navigating complexities across various jurisdictions to ensure compliance.
• Implement effective data governance policies to ensure secure data storage and accessibility.
• Exercise autonomy in decision-making, liaising closely with the Board for critical data security choices.

As Project Leader, you will be responsible for:

• Build relationships: Earn trust and influence among senior-level stakeholders. PLs know when to bend and when to push back, leading clients towards better outcomes.
• Communicate clearly: Turn complex problems or insights into clear memos and well-structured slides, sometimes on a tight timeline.  
• Develop and manage work plans: Bring clear structure and prioritization frameworks to large-scale projects and individual team members, often across countries.
• Analyze data: Distill data into actionable insights and recommendations.
• Model data to identify patterns and forecast future trends: Utilize advanced analytical techniques and tools to reveal relationships within datasets, enabling prediction of outcomes and informed decision-making.
• Solve problems: Break down problems across a wide range of areas, identifying root causes before developing hypotheses and solutions that work, often at a local or country level scale
• Lead with focus and empathy: Give skillful and effective feedback that helps people master our methodology, sharpen their acumen, and grow in their careers. 

Mindset

We work well with people are are:

• Adaptable: Public sector work is dynamic. Our people are, too.
• Analytical: We identify, dissect, and solve complex problems.
• Accountable: We are a remote team. We work collaboratively but self-sufficiently; oversight is often minimal.
• Driven: Our work is important, so it’s important we do it well. 
• Curious: We never stop learning from our clients, colleagues, and partners. 

Growth Pathway 

This role presents a strategic pathway for ambitious individuals aspiring to grow within the organization. It offers opportunities to contribute strategically, aligning IT initiatives with overall business strategies to drive innovation, efficiency, and competitive advantage.

This role will also have the opportunity to shape a practice that is growing +50% a year, advising on new ways to use evidence and tech to drive impact, identifying new markets and opportunities, and driving the growth of the practice.

Role Specific Requirements

• Experience: Minimum 5 years of demonstrated experience in data protection, IT governance, or related roles.
• Leadership Skills: Proven ability to lead and collaborate effectively across diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Regulatory Knowledge: Understanding of global data protection regulations (e.g., GDPR, CCPA) and their application in various business contexts preferred.
• Quantitative analysis skills, understanding of econometrics and/or data sciences.  
• Experience using business intelligence, business analytics, visualization, and econometrics software preferred, as Tableau, Power BI, Stata and/or R.
• Knowledge of techniques and tools used for data mining, data collection and extraction, data cleaning and profiling preferred.

Reporting

This role reports directly to senior management with regular presentations to the Board of Directors. It involves a 50/50 split between internal responsibilities and client-facing interactions.

What We Offer

• Impactful Contribution: Opportunity to lead meaningful initiatives impacting global data security and privacy.
• Global Exposure: Connections across the globe fostering diverse collaboration and learning opportunities.
• Generous Benefits: Comprehensive benefits package and a supportive leave policy fostering work-life balance.