For someone interested in a profession in data privacy, there are many options. Both certified data privacy professionals and data protection specialists are in short supply. Approximately 169,000 “data privacy jobs” are open right now on LinkedIn. More than 105,000 job opportunities are listed on Glassdoor. As they advance in the profession, data privacy specialists have a variety of interesting employment options to select from.

What is a DPO ?

The position of data protection officer (DPO) is still relatively new for many firms. The tasks, responsibilities, and reporting structure of a DPO (GDPR) are in large part established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union (EU). On April 14, 2016, the GDPR was passed, and on May 25, 2018, it became law. It is important to keep in mind that, in addition to EU members, the regulation applies to any firm, regardless of location, that advertises goods or services to EU citizens.

The data protection officer is in charge of monitoring how companywide data privacy and protection policies are implemented. They are in charge of promoting a data protection culture throughout the company. They ensure compliance throughout the entire organisation. Many businesses that value privacy have had professional DPO positions for some time, but the GDPR implementation gave them international attention.

Tasks of the DPO

The DPO is responsible for ensuring compliance with data protection regulations with the data protection authority (EDPS in the case of EU institutions and organisations).

Make sure that controllers and data subjects are informed about their rights, obligations, and responsibilities with regard to data protection, and raise awareness of these issues within EU institutions and organisations.

Offer advice and support to the institution on how to understand or implement the data protection legislation.

Create a register of the institution’s processing activities and notify the EDPS of any that warrant special attention (also known as previous checks).

Make that her organisation abides by the laws governing data privacy, and help it keep itself accountable for doing so.

When the institution, the controller, a different person, or herself requests it, she must respond to questions or complaints.

collaborate with the EDPS (i.e., react to his inquiries regarding investigations, treatment of complaints, EDPS inspections, etc.).

Bring any infractions of the applicable data protection laws to the institution’s attention.

Starting off as a DPO Practitioner

You must have education and experience in order to work as a data protection officer. The following is an illustration of an often desired combination of education, employment history, career path, and professional certifications

Education: A bachelor’s or master’s degree in computer science, information security, or a related field; alternatively, a law degree or the equivalent professional experience in a relevant field, such as privacy, compliance, information security, auditing, etc.

Career path: Promotion to DPO can be lawfully sought after after 10+ years of experience in the many privacy sectors (such as privacy programme and policy, privacy law, information governance, incident response, information security, training, and awareness, etc.).

Professional certifications: You may be required to have one or more of the CIPP/E, CIPP/US, or CIPM certificates issued by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). Consider taking CT-DPO Practitioner course and obtaining CT-DPO Practitioner certification as well to strengthen your expertise in data privacy and protection.

Work experience: Positions in risk management with an emphasis on compliance and/or privacy are preferred. Other pertinent courses (such finance, business administration, information technology, etc.) will usually be granted consideration, as long as the candidate can demonstrate relevance to this information security-based role.

You can better prepare yourself to handle the difficulties of a DPO post and ensure data privacy and protection in your organisation by studying CT-DPO Practitioner training in addition to the other required credentials. The CT-DPO Practitioner course and certification will provide you with advanced skills and knowledge to excel in the data privacy field as a Data Protection Officer. Take this opportunity to enhance your expertise and contribute to the preservation of data privacy worldwide.