Dir, Ops Innovation Leader

Job Function

Legal & Compliance

Enterprise Compliance

Professional

Allschwil, Switzerland, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States of America, Turnhout, Antwerp, Belgium

The Director, Privacy Operations Innovation is a senior leader within the Global Privacy Office responsible for shaping and advancing enterprise‑scale innovation and capability development across privacy operations. This role leads the identification, incubation, validation and transition of innovative solutions that strengthen GPO services, enhance operational effectiveness, and enable responsible data use at scale across the enterprise.

Operating at the intersection of privacy, technology and business transformation, the Director translates emerging regulatory requirements, business needs and technological opportunities into strategically prioritised initiatives with measurable enterprise impact. The role partners closely with GPO leadership, GLO STORM, business functions and technology teams to ensure innovation efforts align with global privacy strategy, regulatory expectations and long‑term capability roadmaps.

• Lead a structured and continuous discovery process to identify high‑impact innovation opportunities across GPO services and enterprise privacy capabilities.
• Use regulatory, technological and operational trends to inform innovation priorities and long‑term capability planning.
• Translate insights into a prioritized innovation portfolio aligned to Global Privacy Office strategy.
• Advise senior GPO leadership on opportunity trade‑offs, scalability considerations and risk implications.

• Design and apply evaluation frameworks to assess feasibility, compliance risk, enterprise value and operational scalability.
• Develop business cases and recommendations to support leadership decision‑making and resource allocation.
• Ensure disciplined innovation governance while maintaining speed, flexibility and responsible experimentation.

• Lead the design and execution of proof‑of‑concepts and pilot initiatives to test and validate innovative solutions.
• Partner with technology, data science, GLO, privacy operations and business teams to co‑develop and evaluate solutions in real operational contexts.
• Drive data‑informed decisions regarding advancement, iteration or retirement of initiatives.

• Oversee the structured transition of validated solutions to deployment and operational teams.
• Ensure readiness criteria are met, including documentation, controls, success metrics and change enablement.
• Provide strategic oversight during early deployment phases to support adoption and enterprise value realization.

• Serve as a senior thought leader on privacy operations innovation, governance and the impact of emerging technologies.
• Influence stakeholders at all levels, including senior executives, through clear, compelling and fact‑based communication.
• Foster a culture of curiosity, disciplined innovation and operational excellence consistent with Johnson & Johnson’s Credo.
• Coach and mentor leaders and teams on innovation approaches, change leadership and responsible experimentation.

• Minimum of 7+ years progressive experience in privacy, data protection, legal, compliance or data governance within a complex global organisation.
• Bachelor’s degree in law, business, technology, information systems, engineering or a related discipline.
• Deep expertise in global data protection and privacy frameworks (e.g. GDPR, LGPD, CCPA/CPRA).
• Demonstrated experience leading complex, enterprise‑level initiatives within large global matrixed organisations.
• Proven ability to influence senior leadership and shape strategic decisions across multiple functions.
• Strong understanding of privacy operations and data ecosystems across commercial, clinical, research and digital environments.

• Advanced degree (e.g. JD, MBA, MS or equivalent).
• Experienc…