Legal Associate

Unilever; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Unilever in Bengaluru (UniOps Bangalore Centre) is seeking a Legal Associate - Privacy to support and drive privacy operations across the business. You will interact with brands and functions, guiding privacy processes and enabling risk-based decisions.

You will coordinate with Local Privacy Advisers, support DSARs and PRAs, and contribute to privacy by design, with a focus on scalable, data-driven privacy governance.

Qualifications

• Legally qualified with privacy/compliance background.
• 3–5 years’ experience in data protection, privacy or related compliance.
• Strong privacy process knowledge including PIA/DSAR handling.
• Experience with cross-functional stakeholders in a global environment.
• Interest in technology functionality and practical privacy application.
• Ability to own and deliver workstreams with limited supervision.
• Experience in project coordination or programme support.

Responsibilities

• Support and lead privacy operations and advisory activities across defined business areas.
• Act as primary contact for privacy processes for brands and functions.
• Provide strategic advice to Local Privacy Advisers on PRAs, ROPAs, DSARs, incidents.
• Negotiate standard privacy clauses and contracts using playbooks.
• Contribute to privacy-by-design implementations and process improvements.
• Maintain Local Privacy Adviser Contacts and coordinate with Global Privacy Team.
• Bridge Global Privacy Team with local advisers for risk management.
• Develop training content and support privacy training strategy.

Skills

Privacy knowledge

Cross-functional collaboration

Project coordination

Stakeholder management

Global team experience

Education

Legally qualified

Job description

Business Title: Legal Associate - Privacy Location: UniOps Bangalore Centre

Who we are…and what we offer

Be part of the world’s most successful, purpose-led business. Work with brands that are well-loved around the world, that improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We promote innovation, big and small, to make our business win and grow; and we believe in business as a force for good. Unleash your curiosity, challenge ideas and disrupt processes; use your energy to make this happen. Our brilliant business leaders and colleagues provide mentorship and inspiration, so you can be at your best. Every day, nine out of ten Indian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out of life – giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future.

Where this position fits-into the team

• Part of the Unilever Legal Powerhouse – a team we’ve built which consists of around 60 colleagues in Bangalore
• Integral part of the Global Privacy Team – a specialist legal team based across India, Mexico, USA, China, Spain, South Africa and the UK.
• Based alongside the Uni Ops Function in Bangalore – a wider team of 1,600 that powers Unilever’s strategy through world class business operations enabled by technology and innovation

Role purpose

This role will support and progressively lead privacy operations and advisory activities across defined areas of the business, combining strong privacy expertise with growing fluency in technology capabilities, digital processes and the interaction points between privacy and cyber risk management. You will act as a key contact for brands and functions navigating Unilever’s privacy processes, taking ownership of delivery and providing structured guidance to stakeholders, while escalating higher-risk or complex matters. You’ll bring a practical understanding of how technology solutions operate in practice and when privacy issues should be managed within the privacy team, the cyber team or through coordinated hand-offs across both. You’ll also support the effective operation of Unilever’s privacy programme, including Privacy Risk Assessments (PRAs), Data Subject Requests (DSRs), Records of Processing Activities (ROPAs), Incident Management and general compliance tracking, while contributing to continuous improvement and standardisation of processes.

Key Responsibilities

General Privacy Responsibilities

• Across all our core privacy processes, provide practical, process-based privacy guidance to stakeholders, escalating complex or high-risk issues to senior team members.
• Act as a primary point of contact for the Privacy Risk Assessments (PRA) process for stakeholders in the countries you support, independently managing lower-to-medium complexity PRAs and queries, and producing reports and metrics while monitoring cases to help ensure timely action.
• Provide strategic advice and support to Local Privacy Advisers in the countries you are Relationship Manager for on matters including records of processing activities (ROPAs), Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs), Incidents and privacy notice updates.
• Support negotiation of standard privacy clauses and contracts, following established playbooks.
• Contribute to implementation of privacy‑by‑design requirements in projects.
• Identify process inefficiencies and recommend improvements.
• Act as the primary point of contact to maintain the master Local Privacy Adviser Contact List, collaborating with the rest of the Global Privacy Team and local privacy advisers to ensure the list is reviewed at least quarterly and kept up-to-date.

Global Network Support and Leadership

• Responsible for building an effective bridge between the Global Privacy Team and local privacy advisers for the countries you are Relationship Manager for by providing strategic and operational support for complex and medium/high‑risk matters.
• Contribute to the agenda setting and updates for regional calls with participant countries you are Relationship Manager for.
• Produce and interpret regular reporting on trends, risks, and performance metrics to include in communications and updates to the global network.

Continuous improvement and becoming the Privacy Team of the future

• Contribute to the development and enhancement of: O PRA guidance
• O Playbooks and templates
• O Operational processes

Privacy Advisers of the future need to combine strong privacy knowledge with practical understanding of how technology works in the business, including digital tools, platforms, data flows and emerging technologies, alongside awareness of where privacy and cyber risks overlap and where clear hand-offs are needed as part of effective internal risk management.

• Work effectively with technology, cyber, legal and business stakeholders to understand how systems and processes operate, identify where privacy risk may arise, and support practical risk management outcomes across shared responsibilities.
• Support the team’s ambition to become more data‑driven and scalable.
• Act as a role model for efficient, standardised ways of working and mentor junior members of the team in their day-to-day activities.

Specialist Focus Area (specific to each individual in role) - Training Design & Delivery

Contribute to the design of the overall strategy for privacy training across our global network of local privacy advisers.

• Responsible for delivery against the training strategy, including creation and dissemination of annual global privacy training. Use AI effectively to support the creation of training content, while applying sound judgement on what training should be delivered, in what format, and through which channel for different audiences and purposes.
• Contribute to the design of the Privacy SharePoint and the content within it. Responsible for ensuring the Privacy SharePoint and supporting materials are always up-to-date.
• Responsible for continuous training and monitoring of the Privacy SharePoint Agent overlay, including developing effective prompts and training approaches to help AI generate high-quality, accurate and audience-appropriate training content.

Qualifications & Experience

• Legally qualified
• 3–5 years’ experience in data protection, privacy, or related compliance areas.
• Strong understanding of privacy compliance processes, including PIA and DSAR handling, with the ability to apply privacy requirements in an operational business context.
• Experience working with cross‑functional stakeholders in a global environment.
• Demonstrated interest in and practical fluency with technology functionality and capabilities, including the ability to understand how systems, digital tools and data flows work in practice.
• Understanding of where privacy and cyber responsibilities overlap, interact or require hand‑off, and confidence working across teams to support clear and effective risk management.
• Demonstrated ability to own and deliver workstreams with limited supervision.
• Experience in project coordination or programme support.

Desirable

• Privacy certification (e.g. CIPP/E, CIPP/US).
• Exposure to multi‑jurisdictional privacy requirements.
• Exposure to technology, cyber security, digital risk or product counselling topics in a business environment.

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