Data Privacy Specialist

IKEA; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

IKEA Australia & New Zealand is seeking a Data Privacy Specialist to embed Privacy by Design, strengthen privacy practices and foster a culture of trust across our region.

In this Country Data Privacy Leader role you will partner with stakeholders, conduct privacy assessments, manage notifiable breaches, run awareness training, and help embed privacy in day-to-day decisions while keeping current with local legislation.

Qualifications

• Experience in privacy, risk, compliance, governance, or related field.
• Ability to lead change and influence stakeholders across a complex organisation.
• Knowledge of Australian and New Zealand privacy legislation and practical application.

Responsibilities

• Guides and executes operational requirements and activities essential for upholding our data privacy strategy.
• Conducts privacy assessments to identify requirements for new and existing solutions, processes, and data management activities.
• Manages local suppliers to ensure adherence to data privacy standards.
• Leads collaborative efforts with business partners to strengthen data privacy governance.
• Provides guidance on daily privacy issues and regulatory compliance across Australia & New Zealand.
• Develops and facilitates engaging data privacy awareness and training sessions.
• Proactively manages notifiable data privacy breaches and communications with regulators.
• Maintains and improves privacy processes and frameworks to strengthen compliance and outcomes.
• Stays current with emerging privacy trends and legislation and adapts local approaches.

Job description

Are you passionate about data privacy and keen to make a real impact in a global organisation? As our Data Privacy Specialist, you'll partner with stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand to embed Privacy by Design, strengthen privacy practices, and support a culture of trust and accountability. If you enjoy influencing outcomes, driving continuous improvement, and helping teams make informed decisions, we'd love to hear from you.

Our team within IKEA

At IKEA, our Business Risk & Compliance team sits within our CFO function and acts as a strategic partner focused on enabling sustainable growth, delivering customer value, and supporting better business decisions. We empower the organisation to proactively seize opportunities while managing risk responsibly, combining strong financial stewardship, governance, compliance, and business insight. Together, we safeguard our people, customers, assets, and the IKEA brand, creating a secure and compliant environment where IKEA can continue to grow and thrive.

About this work area

As the Country Data Privacy Specialist for IKEA Australia & New Zealand, you'll help bring our data privacy strategy to life across the business. This includes driving compliance with relevant internal steering documents and regulatory requirements in Data Privacy to protect the brand. Working closely with stakeholders across multiple functions, you'll secure the delivery of privacy initiatives, help embed Privacy by Design principles, and contribute to a culture where privacy is considered in everyday decision‑making. Your responsibilities will include, but not limited to:

• Guides and executes operational requirements and activities essential for upholding our data privacy strategy.
• Conducts thorough privacy assessments to identify requirements for new and existing solutions, processes, and data management activities, ensuring alignment with our security and privacy goals.
• Manages local suppliers through their full lifecycle, from selection to ongoing monitoring, ensuring their adherence to data privacy standards.
• Leads collaborative efforts with business partners to foster a robust data privacy maturity and governance framework across the organisation.
• Provides expert guidance on daily data privacy issues, enabling successful navigation and compliance with our steering documents and local Data Privacy legislation (Australia & New Zealand).
• Develop and facilitate engaging data privacy awareness and training sessions across the organisation.
• Pro-active management of notifiable data privacy breaches and communication with regulators.
• Maintain and continuously improve established privacy processes, systems, and frameworks in an innovative way to strengthen compliance and business outcomes.
• Self-driven to stay current with emerging trends and changes in data privacy legislation, proactively adapting local approaches.

You are passionate about creating a secure digital experience, bringing a proactive approach to data privacy. You bring experience in privacy, risk, compliance, governance, and enjoy partnering with stakeholders to embed privacy into everyday business decisions. Curious and solutions-focused, you can communicate complex concepts in a clear and practical way, helping others understand privacy requirements and make informed decisions. You are comfortable identifying risks, driving privacy initiatives, and interpreting risk, compliance, or audit findings to drive meaningful actions that strengthen privacy outcomes and foster a culture of accountability and continuous improvement.

To be considered for this role, you will have:

• Experience working in a data privacy, compliance, risk, governance, legal, information security, or a related field.
• Proven ability to lead change, drive adoption, and influence stakeholders across a complex organisation.
• Knowledge of Australian and New Zealand privacy legislation, controls and its practical application in a business environment to ensure compliance.
• Experience partnering with diverse stakeholders to embed privacy requirements and influence a culture of privacy and accountability.
• Strong communication skills, with ability to translate complex privacy concepts into practical business outcomes in an engaging way.
• Ability to demonstrate a risk-based approach to decisions concerning information security and data privacy.
• Knowledge of the risk management process, including risk assessments and advising on needed IT mitigating controls.
• Experience in Data Privacy platforms eg. OneTrust is useful but not essential.
• CIPM, CIPP/x, AIGP, legal qualifications, or similar certifications are useful but not essential.

About the role

Contract type: Permanent Full Time, 76 hours/fortnight

Reporting line: Country Business Risk & Compliance Manager

Role location: IKEA Service Office, Tempe NSW with a minimum of 3 days a week on-site.

Internal job title: Country Data Privacy Leader

Please note, this role has no direct reports and people management responsibilities. While the internal IKEA job title is Country Data Privacy Leader, the position operates as a specialist business partner, leading the data privacy agenda through stakeholder engagement, collaboration, and influence across Australia and New Zealand.