Data Protection & Privacy Specialist

Vsidxb123@@; Dubai; On-site; AED 180,000 - 300,000; Full time

Job summary

Vsidxb123@@ is hiring a Data Protection & Privacy Specialist to bridge privacy technology platforms with regulatory and business stakeholders in a UAE banking environment. You will combine hands-on privacy tool administration with advisory engagements on governance, reporting, and data protection compliance.

Role requires 4–8 years in data privacy, experience with BigID/Securiti AI/OneTrust, and a track record in regulated industries.

Qualifications

• Engineering or post-graduate degree with 4–8 years in Data Privacy/Protection.
• Experience with a Big4 or consulting advisory environment is highly preferred.
• Hands-on experience configuring and administering at least one enterprise privacy platform (BigID/Securiti AI/OneTrust).
• Ability to operate at both technical (tool configuration, DSAR automation) and advisory levels (policies, reporting).

Responsibilities

• Implement, configure, and maintain privacy tooling aligned with client architecture.
• Maintain RO/PA data inventories and privacy data processing activities.
• Ensure ongoing UAE privacy compliance (CBUAE, PDPL) and global regs.
• Lead cross-functional privacy initiatives with IT, Legal, Compliance, and Risk.
• Identify control gaps and drive remediation plans to closure.
• Produce regulatory and management dashboards on privacy posture and DSAR metrics.
• Support roadmap for privacy tool adoption as platforms rollout expands.

Skills

Stakeholder engagement

Regulatory knowledge

Privacy risk assessment

DSAR workflows

Education

Engineering or post-graduate degree

Tools

BigID

Securiti AI

OneTrust

Job description

Role Overview

We are hiring a Data Protection & Privacy Specialist to act as a techno-functional bridge between privacy technology platforms (BigID / Securiti AI / OneTrust) and regulatory / business stakeholders within a banking environment in the UAE. The role combines hands-on technical implementation and administration of privacy tools with advisory-level engagement on data protection compliance, governance, and reporting — supporting the client's ongoing and future rollout of these platforms.

Minimum Qualifications & Experience

• Engineering or Post-Graduate Degree with 4–8 years of overall experience in Data Privacy / Data Protection, ideally within BFSI or another regulated industry.
• Prior experience with a Big 4 / consulting firm or similar advisory environment is highly preferred, demonstrating exposure to client-facing, techno-functional delivery.
• Hands-on, working-level experience configuring and administering at least one enterprise privacy platform — BigID, Securiti AI, or OneTrust — is mandatory (not purely functional/advisory exposure).
• Demonstrated ability to operate at both a technical level (tool configuration, data discovery/classification, DSAR workflow automation) and a functional/advisory level (policy interpretation, stakeholder guidance, gap assessments, reporting).

Skills

Regulatory & Domain Knowledge

• Strong working knowledge of CBUAE Consumer Data Protection requirements and UAE Privacy Laws.
• Familiarity with global and regional data protection regulations (GDPR, KSA PDPL, Qatar PDPPL, CCPA/CPRA or similar).
• Solid understanding of Information Security fundamentals, data privacy frameworks, and the end-to-end IT data lifecycle.
• Preferred certifications: CIPP/E, CIPM, CIPT, CDPO, or equivalent BigID / Securiti / OneTrust product certifications.

Technical Skills (Hands-On)

• Privacy Platform Administration: BigID and/or Securiti AI and/or OneTrust — modules such as Sensitive Data Intelligence (SDI), Data Subject Rights (DSR/DSAR), RoPA, Assessments (DPIA/PIA), Consent & Preference Centre.
• Data Discovery & Classification: configuring scanning profiles, classification schemas, and sensitive/PII data detection tuning across structured, semi-structured, and unstructured sources.
• Platform Integration: onboarding data sources (databases, cloud, file shares, SharePoint, Exchange, Teams) and integrating with SIEM / DAM / DSPM tooling.
• Working familiarity with adjacent data security tooling (e.g., IBM Guardium, Imperva, Thales, CyberArk) is an advantage.
• Reporting & Dashboards: building compliance and governance dashboards/KPIs (Power BI, Tableau, or SSRS) for regulatory and management reporting.

Functional / Advisory Skills

• Advise business and technology teams on privacy-by-design, data protection requirements, and regulatory obligations.
• Draft and maintain RoPA, DPIA/PIA templates, and privacy assessment frameworks.
• Conduct privacy monitoring, gap assessments, audits, and compliance testing; drive remediation of identified gaps.
• Design and support operating models (BAU, RACI) that embed privacy into day-to-day business processes.
• Coordinate with third-party vendors to ensure compliance with privacy and data protection requirements.
• Deliver training and awareness sessions to internal teams and support knowledge transfer to operations/BAU teams.
• Support auditors and external assessors during regulatory reviews and assessments.

Key Responsibilities

• Implement, configure, and maintain data protection tooling (BigID / Securiti AI / OneTrust) in line with client architecture (e.g., Kubernetes/OpenShift environments).
• Maintain an accurate inventory of personal data and data processing activities (RoPA) across the organization.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with UAE data protection laws (CBUAE, PDPL) and applicable global privacy regulations.
• Lead and coordinate cross-functional data protection initiatives spanning IT, Legal, Compliance, and Risk.
• Identify control gaps in current privacy/data protection frameworks and drive remediation plans to closure.
• Produce regulatory and management dashboards/reports on privacy compliance posture, DSAR turnaround, and risk metrics.
• Support the client's roadmap for expanding privacy tool adoption, given the anticipated future rollout of these platforms.

What Makes a Strong Fit

• Someone who has personally configured/administered a privacy platform (not only used it as an end-user or advised on it from a policy perspective).
• Comfortable moving between a technical conversation with platform/IT teams and an advisory conversation with compliance/business stakeholders in the same day.
• Prior exposure to banking/BFSI clients in the GCC region is a strong plus.