Information Governance Officer

Staffline Group PLC; Belfast; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading Northern Ireland scientific organization is seeking an Information Governance Officer. The appointed candidate will play a vital role in establishing and maintaining an information governance framework, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation, and managing all information requests. The ideal candidate will have at least 5 years of demonstrable experience and relevant qualifications, offering a competitive salary and a collaborative work environment.

Benefits

Collaborative working environment

Opportunities for career development

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in information governance framework development.
• Experience managing information requests under FOI and Data Protection.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement AFBI's information governance strategies and policies.
• Manage all statutory information requests, including FOI and SAR.
• Ensure compliance with Data Protection Act and UK GDPR.

Skills

Information governance

Data protection

Records management

Microsoft Office

Education

Level 3 qualification

Level 4 qualification

Level 5 qualification

IG/GDPR Practitioner Diploma

Tools

EDRMS (e.g., TRIM, HP Records Manager)

SharePoint

Job description

Job description

Information Governance Officer

Department: Department for Infrastructure

Branch: FCAD

Salary: £47,304

Hours of work: 37 hours per week

About the Role

AFBI is seeking a highly motivated and experienced Information Governance Officer to join our Finance and Corporate Affairs Division. Reporting to the Head of Governance & Performance, the successful candidate will play a critical role in shaping, implementing and maintaining AFBI's organisation-wide information governance framework.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the development of policies and systems that support compliance, strengthen organisational governance, and ensure the responsible management of information across a large and complex organisation.

Key Responsibilities

Information Governance

• Contribute to the development of AFBI's information governance strategies and policies and lead on implementation activities.
• Implement robust records management practices, including undertaking information audits.
• Develop and maintain AFBI's retention and disposal schedules.
• Design and deliver an organisational file plan and records management requirements for future electronic document and records management systems (EDRMS).
• Ensure compliance with relevant legislation, including Data Protection Act, Freedom of Information Act, Environmental Information Regulations, UK GDPR.
• Provide expert advice to AFBI staff and engage with stakeholders to support effective and compliant data sharing.
• Establish and embed information management and assurance policies.
• Lead AFBI's information management activities, promote organisational understanding, and deliver governance awareness sessions, presentations, workshops, and internal communications via the intranet.
• Act as AFBI's Freedom of Information Officer, managing and responding to all statutory information requests, including Freedom of Information (FOI), Subject Access Requests (SAR), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR).
• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of best practice and legislative developments.

This list is not exhaustive, and the successful candidate may be required to carry out other duties as allocated by management.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must demonstrate that they meet one of the qualification and experience routes below by the closing date:

• Route 1a: Level 3 qualification* AND 5 years' demonstrable experience
• Route 1b: Level 4 qualification* AND 4 years' demonstrable experience
• Route 1c: Level 5 qualification* AND 3 years' demonstrable experience
• Route 1d: IG / GDPR Practitioner Diploma or recognised information governance, data protection, or records management certification (BCS Practitioner Certificate) AND 3 years' demonstrable experience

Demonstrable Experience Must Include:

• Developing and implementing an effective information governance framework in a large and complex organisation (minimum 100 employees, £20m budget).
• Managing, investigating and responding to information requests under FOI, Data Protection, and EIR in a large and complex organisation.
• Managing staff in an information governance, data protection or records management capacity.
• Systems administrator or power user experience with an EDRMS (TRIM, HP Records Manager, Meridio, DOX, SharePoint) and strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint).
• Producing reports and delivering presentations to senior management.

Relevant and Equivalent Qualifications

Qualifications equivalent to those listed above may be considered. Applicants should provide comprehensive information on qualification content, modules studied, and grading to support assessment.

Why Join AFBI?

AFBI offers a supportive and collaborative working environment where you can make a real impact on the development and capability of one of Northern Ireland's leading scientific organisations. You'll have the opportunity to grow your learning and development career while contributing to AFBI's mission to deliver excellence in agri-food science and innovation.