Principal - Privacy & Data Governance

Elm Company; Riyadh; On-site; SAR 350,000 - 520,000; Full time

Job summary

Elm Company in Riyadh seeks a Senior Principal to lead advanced privacy and data governance across the organization. You will develop and implement governance frameworks, manage DPIAs, RoPA, data lifecycle controls, and support regulatory compliance with government standards.

You will mentor teams, advise stakeholders, and monitor maturity and KPIs, driving improvements in privacy posture and data governance across data models, sharing, and architecture.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Management, or a related field.
• Master’s degree preferred.
• Professional certifications in Privacy, Data Governance, Data Management, or related disciplines are considered an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Provide expert guidance on privacy requirements including consent management, privacy notices, RoPA, and data subject requests.
• Develop and enhance privacy and data governance frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures.
• Assess complex governance requirements and recommend appropriate controls and implementation approaches.
• Support regulatory compliance across applicable regulations and internal policies.
• Advise stakeholders on complex privacy risks and mitigation measures.
• Collaborate with Data Owners, Business Data Stewards, and Technology stakeholders to implement governance requirements.

Skills

Privacy expertise

Data governance

Regulatory compliance

Stakeholder advisory

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Law, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Management, or related field

Master’s degree preferred

Job description

ROLE PURPOSE

The aim is to state the overall significance of the job from the organization’s perspective. The role exists to provide advanced expertise in privacy and data governance by supporting the development and implementation of governance frameworks, privacy requirements, and data management controls across Elm. The role addresses complex privacy and data governance matters, provides expert guidance to business and technology stakeholders, and supports regulatory compliance, governance maturity, and effective management of data throughout its lifecycle.

Overview

Job Description

Job Title

Senior Principal

Job Code

716935

Grade

E1

Division

Legal, Risk & Govern Division

Department

Privacy & Data Governance

ROLE PURPOSE

The aim is to state the overall significance of the job from the organization’s perspective. The role exists to provide advanced expertise in privacy and data governance by supporting the development and implementation of governance frameworks, privacy requirements, and data management controls across Elm. The role addresses complex privacy and data governance matters, provides expert guidance to business and technology stakeholders, and supports regulatory compliance, governance maturity, and effective management of data throughout its lifecycle.

Key Accountabilities & Activities

This section describes the principal outputs required from the job.

Key Accountabilities

Key Activities

• Privacy & Data Governance Frameworks
• Provide advanced expertise in the development and enhancement of privacy and data governance frameworks, policies, standards, and procedures.
• Assess complex governance requirements and recommend appropriate controls and implementation approaches.
• Support alignment of privacy and data governance practices with applicable regulations, government standards, and organizational objectives.
• Privacy & Data Governance Strategy
• Contribute to the development and continuous enhancement of the Data Management and Personal Data Privacy Strategy, implementation roadmap, and annual operating plan.
• Provide expert analysis and recommendations on strategic privacy and data governance priorities.
• Monitor key performance indicators, maturity measures, and implementation progress and recommend improvement actions.
• Privacy Management & Assessments
• Provide expert guidance on privacy requirements including consent management, privacy notices, Records of Processing Activities (RoPA), and data subject requests.
• Conduct and review Data Protection and Privacy Impact Assessments (DPIA/PIA), third-party privacy assessments, and Transfer Impact Assessments (TIA), where applicable.
• Advise stakeholders on complex privacy risks and appropriate mitigation measures.
• Data Governance & Stewardship
• Collaborate with Data Owners, Business Data Stewards, and Technology stakeholders to implement data governance requirements across the organization.
• Provide guidance on governance roles, accountabilities, controls, approvals, and monitoring mechanisms.
• Support effective implementation of governance requirements across metadata, data catalog, and data quality domains.
• Regulatory Compliance & Assurance
• Conduct and support privacy and data governance compliance assessments against applicable regulations and internal policies.
• Analyze compliance gaps and recommend corrective and preventive actions.
• Support audit activities and provide expert input on complex privacy and data governance observations and remediation plans.
• Data Lifecycle Governance
• Provide governance guidance across data storage, retention, disposal, documentation, and content management activities.
• Review related policies, controls, and requirements and assess their alignment with privacy and data governance principles.
• Monitor significant governance issues and recommend enhancements to strengthen data lifecycle controls.
• Data Architecture, Sharing & Classification Governance
• Review privacy and governance implications associated with data models, architecture changes, data sharing, and integration activities.
• Provide expert guidance on open data, freedom of information, data classification, and related governance requirements.
• Review complex requests, agreements, controls, and assessments to ensure appropriate governance and privacy requirements are addressed.
• Advisory, Stakeholder Engagement & Continuous Improvement
• Serve as a senior subject matter expert for complex privacy and data governance matters across business and technology functions.
• Provide recommendations and guidance to stakeholders on regulatory requirements, governance controls, and implementation challenges.
• Identify opportunities to improve governance maturity, awareness, processes, controls, and overall privacy and data governance effectiveness.
• Policies, Processes & Procedures
• Follow all relevant departmental policies, processes, standard operating procedures, and instructions so that work is carried out in a controlled and consistent manner.
• Comply with all relevant safety, quality, and environmental management policies, procedures, and controls to ensure a healthy and safe work environment.
• Information Security
• Comply with all relevant information security practices and standards to ensure data integrity and confidentiality.

JOB SPECIFICATIONS

Academic And Professional Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Law, Information Systems, Computer Science, Data Management, or a related field. Master’s degree is preferred.
• Professional certifications in Privacy, Data Governance, Data Management, or related disciplines are considered an advantage.

Years And Nature Of Experience

• 10–12 years of experience in privacy, data governance, data management, regulatory compliance, or related fields, with significant experience in complex privacy and data governance assessments, frameworks, and stakeholder advisory.