Data Protection Officer

Confidential; Quezon City; On-site; PHP 1,800,000 - 3,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Confidential is seeking a high-impact Data Protection Officer / Head of Legal & Compliance to lead our Legal, Compliance, and Data Protection functions. You will partner with senior leadership to embed proactive governance, risk management, and a culture of accountability across a growing organization.

This role requires deep knowledge of Philippine laws, global standards, and experience scaling compliance programs.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience in legal, compliance, regulatory, and data privacy functions within multinational or complex organizations.
• Strong knowledge of Philippine legal frameworks, including the Data Privacy Act and related regulations.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and operate at a strategic leadership level.
• Experience scaling compliance programs across growing or evolving organizations is highly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead legal, compliance, and data protection functions to drive enterprise-wide governance and culture.
• Ensure full compliance with Philippine laws and applicable global regulatory frameworks.
• Oversee contract management, legal advisory, and dispute resolution while mitigating risk.
• Design and implement scalable, future-ready compliance frameworks for growth and complexity.
• Lead data privacy programs, ethics, whistleblower mechanisms, and governance reporting.
• Partner with HR, Finance, Operations, and global teams to align strategies.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Governance

Risk management

Culture building

Data privacy

Education

Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws

Job description

Data Protection Officer / Head of Legal & Compliance

About the Role

We are seeking a high-impact, dynamic leader to head the Legal, Compliance, and Data Protection. This role goes beyond traditional legal risk management, requiring an individual who can drive enterprise-wide compliance culture, influence business strategy, and scale governance frameworks across a growing, complex organization.

The successful candidate will serve as a strategic partner to senior leadership, ensuring not only regulatory adherence but also embedding a proactive, business-aligned, and future-ready compliance mindset across all levels of the organization.

This position requires a strong command of Philippine laws and global compliance standards, combined with the ability to lead transformation, enhance organizational maturity, and support evolving business needs at scale.

Key Responsibilities

1. Legal & Regulatory Leadership

• Ensure full compliance with Philippine laws and applicable global regulatory frameworks, including data privacy, corporate governance, labor, and financial regulations
• Provide forward-looking legal guidance aligned with business growth, transformation, and expansion initiatives
• Oversee contract management, legal advisory, and dispute resolution while mitigating organizational risk exposure
• Manage corporate governance activities in coordination with global legal stakeholders
• Represent the organization in legal proceedings and regulatory discussions, as required

2. Enterprise Compliance & Risk Transformation

• Design and implement scalable, future-ready compliance frameworks that support organizational growth and complexity
• Lead enterprise-wide risk identification and mitigation strategies, balancing regulatory requirements with business agility
• Go beyond compliance enforcement by driving a culture of accountability, ethics, and data responsibility
• Oversee key programs including data privacy, anti-bribery, ethics, and whistleblower mechanisms
• Establish and enhance metrics, dashboards, and reporting structures to provide actionable insights to leadership

3. Culture Building & Organizational Impact

• Champion a compliance-first mindset by embedding legal and ethical standards into day-to-day business operations
• Drive awareness, training, and leadership engagement programs to elevate compliance maturity across the organization
• Influence senior stakeholders to integrate risk and compliance considerations into strategic decision-making
• Act as a change agent, enabling the organization to evolve from reactive compliance to proactive governance and cultural integration
• Serve as the designated Data Protection Officer (DPO), ensuring adherence to the Data Privacy Act and related regulations
• Act as the primary liaison with the National Privacy Commission and other regulatory bodies
• Develop and enforce robust data governance, privacy, and security frameworks
• Lead incident response, data breach management, and regulatory reporting as required

5. Stakeholder & Global Collaboration

• Partner with HR, Finance, Operations, and global teams to ensure alignment of legal and compliance strategies
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on business-critical legal and compliance matters
• Manage relationships with external counsel, regulators, and government agencies
• Support global compliance initiatives and ensure local execution aligns with enterprise standards

6. Leadership & Capability Building

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing legal and compliance organization
• Strengthen internal capabilities to support long-term program maturity and scalability
• Manage legal budgets, vendor partnerships, and external legal resources effectively

Qualifications

• Preferably a Juris Doctor or Bachelor of Laws, but not a must.
• Minimum 10+ years of progressive experience in legal, compliance, regulatory, and data privacy functions within multinational or complex organizations.
• Demonstrated experience driving enterprise-wide compliance, governance, risk management, and culture-building initiatives.
• Strong knowledge of Philippine legal frameworks, including the Data Privacy Act and related regulations.
• Proven ability to influence senior stakeholders and operate at a strategic leadership level.
• Experience scaling compliance programs across growing or evolving organizations is highly preferred.
• Must have healthcare industry experience, preferably within a Healthcare BPO, Shared Services, Global Capability Center (GCC), Captive, or healthcare services environment, with direct exposure to healthcare regulatory, compliance, legal, and data privacy requirements.

Preferred Background

• Healthcare industry background is required; Healthcare BPO or Healthcare Shared Services experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience supporting healthcare compliance, privacy, governance, and regulatory frameworks within a highly regulated environment.
• Experience working in global or matrix organizations.
• Familiarity with US healthcare regulatory environments, healthcare data privacy requirements, and multinational governance frameworks is an advantage.

Why Join Us

This is an opportunity to play a strategic leadership role, shaping not only compliance and legal frameworks but also the organizational culture and future direction of the business.