Senior Manager, Privacy Office

WestJet; Calgary; On-site; CAD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Travel privileges

Total rewards package

Flexible benefits

Job summary

WestJet is seeking a Senior Manager, Privacy to translate enterprise privacy, data, and AI requirements into practical frameworks and enablement capabilities. You will embed privacy across products, services, processes and initiatives and partner with Legal to ensure regulatory compliance while enabling responsible data and AI use.

Responsibilities include leading privacy governance, PIAs/DPIAs, policy ownership, and incident readiness.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Risk Management, Business, Technology, Public Policy, Information Management, or a related field.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in privacy, data protection, AI governance regulatory advisory, legal, risk management, or compliance leadership roles.
• Experience leading enterprise privacy and governance programs through design, mobilization, and operational maturity.
• Significant experience developing privacy governance frameworks, policies, controls, and operating models.
• Experience conducting and overseeing PIAs, DPIAs, privacy reviews, and privacy risk assessments.
• Experience advising executive leaders on privacy risks and strategic business decisions.
• Experience supporting data, analytics, digital, and AI initiatives in regulated environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement and continuously improve the enterprise privacy strategy, governance framework, roadmap, and operating model.
• Advise leadership on privacy risk, regulatory developments, and privacy implications of data, platforms, and AI.
• Monitor evolving privacy and AI regulations and translate requirements into practical guidance.
• Own and evolve privacy policies, standards, controls, and governance frameworks with Legal.
• Provide governance guidance to business and technology teams and coordinate with Legal for interpretations.
• Lead privacy, data and AI governance forums and accountability mechanisms.
• Support privacy incident readiness, breach assessment, regulatory notification analysis, and remediation activities.
• Drive continuous improvement to strengthen privacy controls and organizational resilience.

Skills

Privacy governance

Leadership

Regulatory advisory

Stakeholder management

Education

Bachelor's degree in Law

Advanced degree / certifications asset

Job description

This position requires in-person collaboration up to five days a week. This arrangement is subject to change based on business requirements.

Why WestJet

Since our story took off in 1996, WestJet has strived to enrich the lives of everyone in our world; a career with us is no exception. We’re proud to be one of Canada’s most admired and respected corporate cultures and continuously aim for the highest standards of service and success.

Join us, this is where your career story takes off.

Overview Of The Role

The Senior Manager, Privacy is accountable for translating enterprise privacy, data and AI requirements into practical frameworks, guardrails, operating processes, tools, reporting and enablement capabilities that support responsible innovation, business value and trusted use of data. The role ensures privacy is embedded into products, services, processes, data, and AI initiatives.

The Senior Manager enables responsible use of data and AI by managing privacy, data and AI risk, strengthening trust, and operationalizing privacy-by-design and responsible AI practices across the organization. Working in close partnership with Legal, the role helps ensure compliance with applicable privacy and AI regulations while enabling the organization to use data and AI safely, effectively and with confidence.

Key Deliverables Include

• Working in close partnership with the Legal department, develop, execute and continuously improve the enterprise privacy strategy, governance framework, roadmap, and operating model to ensure organizational compliance with applicable privacy laws and industry standards.
• Advise leadership on privacy risk, regulatory developments, and the privacy implications of data, digital platforms, and AI, providing enterprise-facing privacy advisory support.
• Monitor evolving privacy and AI regulations and translate requirements into practical business guidance.
• Own and evolve privacy policies, standards, controls, and governance frameworks in collaboration with the Legal department.
• Support enterprise compliance with applicable privacy, data and AI laws, regulations, and industry standards by providing practical governance guidance to business and technology teams, translating regulatory and policy requirements into actionable business practices, and partnering with the Legal department for legal interpretation, strategy and oversight obligations, as appropriate.
• Lead privacy, data and AI governance forums and enterprise accountability mechanisms.
• Lead and mature core privacy capabilities, including:
• Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)
• Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)
• Data subject rights processes
• Consent management
• Vendor privacy reviews
• Privacy reporting and metrics
• Integrate privacy requirements into business processes, data initiatives, and AI solutions.
• Partner with business, technology, digital, analytics, and AI teams to support responsible innovation and compliant data use.
• Assess privacy risks associated with emerging technologies, automated decision-making, and digital platforms in conjunction with legal.
• Identify, assess, and provide information to legal on enterprise privacy risks.
• Working in partnership with the Legal department, lead privacy incident readiness, investigation support, breach assessment, regulatory notification analysis, litigation management and remediation activities.
• Maintain and continuously improve incident response procedures related to privacy events.
• Drive continuous improvement to strengthen privacy controls and organizational resilience, including tracking privacy incidents and trends.
• Build and provide oversight for the Data Governance, AI Governance, and Data & AI Enablement functions.
• Ensure governance frameworks, capabilities, controls and enablement programs effectively support the responsible, compliant and value-driven use of data and AI.
• Oversee governance performance, regulatory readiness, risk management, reporting and continuous improvement across the data and AI governance portfolio.
• Monitor regulatory developments and emerging industry practices.
• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing, multidisciplinary team spanning privacy, data governance, AI governance and enablement
• Establish operational priorities, performance measures, and program maturity objectives.
• Serve as the organization's senior privacy subject matter expert and privacy operations representative with regulators, partners, and external stakeholders.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Law, Risk Management, Business, Technology, Public Policy, Information Management, or a related field.
• Advanced degree and relevant professional certifications in privacy, data governance, AI governance, or risk compliance is considered an asset.
• 8+ years of progressive experience in privacy, data protection, AI governance regulatory advisory, legal, risk management, or compliance leadership roles.
• Experience leading enterprise privacy and governance programs through design, mobilization, and operational maturity.
• Significant experience developing privacy governance frameworks, policies, controls, and operating models.
• Experience conducting and overseeing PIAs, DPIAs, privacy reviews, and privacy risk assessments.
• Experience advising executive leaders on privacy risks and strategic business decisions.
• Experience supporting data, analytics, digital, and AI initiatives in regulated environments.

Knowledge & Skills

• Deep knowledge of Canadian, U.S., European, and international privacy laws and frameworks.
• Strong understanding of privacy implications related to AI, automated decision-making, digital products, analytics, and emerging technologies.
• Demonstrated ability to translate complex regulatory requirements into practical business solutions.
• Strong leadership, communication, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.
• Proven ability to balance innovation, business objectives, and privacy risk management
• Experience in the airline, travel, tourism or other high-volume consumer-facing industries is considered an asset
• Highly collaborative and comfortable working within a matrix organization

The Benefits Of Being a WestJetter

WestJet provides all WestJetters with a competitive total rewards package. On top of that, we offer:

• A fun and friendly culture with colleagues who work together to win
• Travel privileges for you and your family, effective from your start date
• Savings and Benefit programs that are flexible to meet your specific needs

About WestJet Group Of Companies

WestJet took to the skies in 1996 with just over