Data Protection Manager

Unite Students is seeking to use data more to drive the organisation, and our ability to manage data protection risks and demonstrate compliance is vital to our continued success.

The Data Protection Manager is responsible for managing data protection activities, leading the Data Protection team and fostering a culture of privacy within Unite as well as compliance with data protection and privacy laws, policies, and good practice.

In this role you will be part of a team where its success will depend on building trust and being a `critical friend` to the wider business, collaborating with teams to ensure Unite meets its data protection obligations when collecting and processing personal data.

This is a senior, wide-ranging role and it includes collaborating with all internal stakeholders. You will work across all initiatives to deliver the data protection strategy and improve Unite’s data protection maturity.

Relationship building with colleagues across Unite, including senior management and external stakeholders, is key to this role and you will have the experience, confidence and credibility to do this. Some specific responsibilities are set out below:

• Stakeholder management:
  Working with multiple teams across Unite to ensure data protection and privacy is at the heart of our systems and processes, including delivering suitable training and awareness
• Data protection strategy:
  Leading on and developing our response to challenges in the data protection landscape, collaborating with Data Governance and Info Sec teams to ensure we have a consistent approach
• Data Protection Compliance:
  Ensure that Unite complies with relevant data protection laws and regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Data Protection Act 2018 in the UK; have sufficient knowledge of overseas jurisdictions laws to ensure Unite manages its risk exposure. Notable laws include China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL).
• Privacy Policy development:
  Develop, implement, and maintain Unite’s data protection and privacy policies and procedures to align with changing legal requirements and industry standards. Ensure that Unite can demonstrate knowledge of, and adherence to, its policies by all relevant staff.
• Privacy notices:
  Develop, implement, and maintain Unite’s data privacy notices to align with changing legal requirements and industry standards associated with our data processing activities.
• Data sharing:
  Work with key stakeholders (internal and external) to ensure we have adequate data sharing agreements in place where there is a need to share personal data.
• Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs):
  Conduct or oversee DPIAs to assess and mitigate the data protection risks associated with new projects, systems, or data processing activities. Ensuring that residual risks associated with the product or process are understood and that mitigations are in place where needed.
• Data Breach Management:
  Ensure our data breach response plan is optimised, including notifying relevant authorities and affected individuals in compliance with legal requirements, as well as undertaking lessons learnt reviews to ensure continuous improvement.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills for educating and influencing stakeholders
• Excellent project management skills to oversee privacy initiatives and compliance activities
• Proactive attitude, with a willingness to support all data protection initiatives
• Excellent communication and presentation skills and the ability to influence decisions at executive management level
• CIPP/E and/or CIP/M certification
• Strong understanding of the UK GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018; sufficient knowledge of PIPL to maintain compliance and/or understand the risks associated with overseas jurisdictions.
• Analytical and problem-solving skills to assess risks and develop mitigation strategies
• Team orientated and able to collaborate with other colleagues to deliver results
• Excellent people management skills with experience of managing a team as well as self-sufficient and able to prioritise own tasks
• Management of a complex and diverse workload and the…