Counsel - Privacy, Security & AI Office

Menlo Ventures; Belfast; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A tech company in Belfast is seeking an experienced Counsel to lead privacy and AI compliance efforts. The successful candidate will provide strategic legal advice, ensuring alignment with global data protection laws such as GDPR and CCPA. The ideal applicant has over 6 years of legal experience focused on privacy law and data protection. This position offers a dynamic work environment with cross-functional collaboration opportunities.

Qualifications

• Qualified lawyer with 6–10+ years of experience in privacy and data protection.
• Deep understanding of GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and global privacy frameworks.

Responsibilities

• Support the development of the AI Governance Program.
• Guide business teams on lawful bases for data processing.
• Lead legal responses to privacy audits and regulator inquiries.

Skills

Privacy law expertise

AI compliance knowledge

Legal analysis

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Qualified lawyer (active bar membership)

CIPP/E, CIPP/US

Job description

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and strategic Counsel to join our Privacy, Security & AI (PSAI) Office. In this role, you will play a critical part in guiding our product and AI compliance, supporting global privacy and data protection strategy, and helping shape the company’s approach to responsible and ethical data use.

You’ll advise senior leadership, collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders, and help ensure that our data practices are aligned with global legal and regulatory obligations, including those emerging around AI governance and advanced technologies.

Key Responsibilities

AI

• Support the development and implementation of the AI Governance Program
• Draft and implement AI policies, procedures, and best practices for both internal use of AI and product development
• Lead internal awareness campaigns to foster a culture of responsible AI across the organization
• Support AI Use Case Intake Assessments
• Provide AI advice to key stakeholders (product, procurement)
• Support customers queries and questionnaires

Product Compliance

• Collaborate closely with product and engineering teams to evaluate and mitigate privacy and AI compliance risks during development and deployment
• Review and assess AI/ML use cases for compliance with legal and ethical standards, including EU AI Act, OECD AI Principles, and NIST AI RMF
• Contribute to development of governance frameworks for responsible AI, including fairness, explainability, and accountability controls

Privacy & Data Protection Legal Strategy

• Lead complex legal analysis and provide strategic privacy advice on global data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, LGPD, PIPEDA, APPI), with a main focus on US federal and state privacy and EU GDPR
• Guide business and technical teams on lawful bases for processing, purpose limitation, transparency, and data minimization
• Evaluate and advise on complex personal data use cases, including sensitive data, automated decision-making, and biometric processing
• Implement best practices around privacy to ensure the competitive edge of the company
• Draft and review breach-related communications, including regulator and data subject notices
• Conduct privacy reviews for third-party vendors and tools to ensure alignment with internal standards and legal requirements
• Drive the development, maintenance, and enhancement of the company’s privacy compliance program
• Maintain and oversee updates to the Records of Processing Activities (ROPA), and ensure accountability documentation is current and complete
• Partner with security, compliance, and product teams to integrate privacy by design into internal processes and external-facing technologies
• Lead and advise on complex Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs) and Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)
• Oversee and conduct Transfer Impact Assessments (TIAs) to assess and document data transfer risks
• Manage Legitimate Interests Assessments (LIAs) and ensure robust justification and safeguards are in place
• Identify privacy and AI-related risks and recommend scalable mitigation strategies across the organization

Audits, Monitoring & Regulatory Readiness

• Support or lead the legal function in responding to privacy audits, regulator inquiries, and due diligence requests
• Prepare documentation, gap analyses, and remediation plans to ensure audit readiness
• Track and interpret global privacy and AI regulatory developments, and support internal implementation efforts

Qualifications

Required:

• Qualified lawyer (active bar membership in at least one jurisdiction)
• 6–10+ years of legal experience, with a focus on privacy, data protection, and technology law
• Deep understanding of GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, and global privacy frameworks
• Preferred experience with FedRamp, PCI DSS and ISO frameworks
• Extensive experience with PIAs/DPIAs, TIAs, LIAs, and cross-border data transfer mechanisms
• Strong understanding of privacy issues in product development, data science, and AI applications

Preferred:

• CIPP/E, CIPP/US and AIGP
• Direct experience working with or interpreting AI legal and regulatory frameworks (e.g., EU AI Act)
• Strong negotiation skills, particularly in data protection clauses and international data transfer agreements

Harness in the News

• Harness Grabs a 150m Line of Credit
• Welcome Split!
• SF Business Times - 2024 - 100 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in the Bay Area
• Forbes - 2024 America’s Best Startup Employers
• SF Business Times - 2024 Fastest Growing Private Companies Awards
• Fast Co - 2024 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

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Please note, we do not ask for sensitive or financial information via chat, text, or social media, and any email communications will come from the domain harness.io. Additionally, Harness will never ask for any payment, fee to be paid, or purchases to be made by a job applicant. All applicants are encouraged to apply directly to our open jobs via our website. Interviews are generally conducted via Zoom video conference unless the candidate requests other accommodations.

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