Deputy Data Protection Officer

Medical Protection Society; Leeds; On-site; GBP 85,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Medical Protection Society in Leeds invites applications for a Deputy Data Protection Officer to support the Group DPO, influence decision-making, and uphold integrity, transparency and compliance across the organisation.

You will lead GDPR compliance globally, advise on data protection strategy, manage DPIAs and data incidents, provide training, and engage with regulators, auditors, and third parties to raise privacy standards.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of UK GDPR, PECR and international privacy frameworks.
• Qualified data protection professional (GDPR-P, CDPSE, CIPP/E) preferred.
• Experience advising executives and regulatory bodies.

Responsibilities

• Act as SME on GDPR and global data protection laws, providing independent advice.
• Support and deputise for Group DPO at Board meetings and with supervisory authorities.
• Lead and deliver data protection strategy, ensuring compliance across systems and third parties.

Job description

Data protection is evolving fast, and so are we. This is your opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping how MPS protects personal data across the UK and globally. As our Deputy Data Protection Officer, you’ll be the trusted expert supporting the Group DPO, influencing decision‑makers, and ensuring we continue to operate with integrity, transparency, and compliance at our core.

If you’re ready to lead, advise, and elevate data protection standards across a complex organisation, this role is for you.

Main Responsibilities

• Acting as a Subject Matter Expert on GDPR and global data protection laws, providing clear, independent advice to colleagues across MPS.
• Supporting and deputising for the Group DPO at Council, Boards, Executive Committee meetings, and with supervisory authorities across the globe.
• Leading and contributing to the delivery of the MPS data protection strategy, ensuring compliance across systems, processes, and third‑party relationships.
• Providing leadership and expert guidance on project and transformation initiatives, ensuring privacy by design principles are embedded throughout.
• Overseeing and advising on DPIAs, LIAs, RoPAs, consent assessments, and other privacy risk activities.
• Conducting and managing data incident and breach investigations, ensuring lessons learned and future risk mitigation.
• Producing high- quality reports, trends, and insights to inform senior stakeholders on compliance performance.
• Supporting colleagues with data subject rights requests, ensuring fair outcomes and regulatory compliance.
• Helping build data protection capability across the organisation through training, awareness, and coaching.
• Support audits, risk assessments and continuous improvement activities, acting as a credible and authoritative representative when engaging with external auditors, certification bodies, regulators and other key stakeholders.
• Playing an active role in promoting an inclusive, collaborative culture.
• Strong understanding of UK GDPR, PECR, EU GDPR, and ideally exposure to global frameworks such as POPIA and PDPA.
• Excellent organisational skills with the ability to multi‑task, prioritise, and stay calm under pressure.
• High attention to detail, strong analytical capability, and clear written and verbal communication.
• Drive and enthusiasm to deepen your data protection expertise and raise awareness across the organisation.
• Previous experience in a compliance or governance role.
• A recognised data protection qualification (e.g., GDPR‑P, CDPSE, CIPP/E).
• Experience working directly in a data protection role.
• Awareness of upcoming data privacy reforms and their implications.
• Legal experience or qualifications is an advantage but not essential.

If you want to shape how a major organisation manages data responsibly, and influence decisions at the highest levels, we’d love to hear from you.

We are working at pace with this recruitment and will close the advertisement as soon as we find the right person, so early applications are strongly encouraged.