Data Privacy Consultant

PwC - Global
Johannesburg
ZAR 300 000 - 600 000
Job description

Management Level

Associate

Job Description & Summary

At PwC, our people in legal services offer comprehensive legal solutions and advice to internal stakeholders and clients, maintaining compliance with regulations and minimising legal risks. These individuals provide strategic guidance and support across various industries.

In privacy law and data protection at PwC, you will specialise in providing advice and guidance to clients on privacy laws and data protection regulations. You will help businesses navigate the complex landscape of privacy and data protection requirements, confirming compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Working in this area, you will assist in developing privacy policies, conducting privacy impact assessments, and implementing data protection measures to safeguard personal information.

Driven by curiosity, you are a reliable, contributing member of a team. In our fast-paced environment, you are expected to adapt to working with a variety of clients and team members, each presenting varying challenges and scope. Every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow. You are expected to take ownership and consistently deliver quality work that drives value for our clients and success as a team. As you navigate through the Firm, you build a brand for yourself, opening doors to more opportunities.

Examples of the skills, knowledge, and experiences you need to lead and deliver value at this level include but are not limited to:

  • Apply a learning mindset and take ownership for your own development.
  • Appreciate diverse perspectives, needs, and feelings of others.
  • Adopt habits to sustain high performance and develop your potential.
  • Actively listen, ask questions to check understanding, and clearly express ideas.
  • Seek, reflect, act on, and give feedback.
  • Gather information from a range of sources to analyse facts and discern patterns.
  • Commit to understanding how the business works and building commercial awareness.
  • Learn and apply professional and technical standards (e.g. refer to specific PwC tax and audit guidance), uphold the Firm's code of conduct and independence requirements.

Who we are looking for

The Privacy Team which sits within PwC’s Compliance Department is looking for a bright, enthusiastic data protection member to join the team as an Associate. The successful candidate will assist with PwC UK’s legislative and regulatory obligations under data protection law.

Your primary responsibility will be to assist with the UK firm’s responses to data subject access requests (DSARs). A DSAR is where an individual exercises their statutory right of access under Article 15 UK GDPR to personal data held about them by an organisation. As part of this role, you will be responsible for handling the first line of DSARs, which includes gathering, reviewing, redacting and providing requested information to data subjects while ensuring compliance with regulatory exemptions.

In addition to core DSAR responsibilities, there is potential for this role to evolve over time, taking on additional data privacy and compliance functions. Future responsibilities may include handling deletion requests, conducting vendor due diligence, and supporting PwC UK’s business continuity initiatives.

We are looking for candidates who:

  • have an understanding of EU, UK or similarly complex data protection legislation (e.g. UK or EU GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, or the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI));
  • have an interest developing data privacy specialisms;
  • are degree qualified with excellent written and verbal communication skills;
  • are computer literate;
  • can work to tight deadlines and multiple demands;
  • are able to work independently yet be a strong team player;
  • can apply project management skills to prioritise multiple DSARs;
  • are enthusiastic about developing themselves and upskilling their technical capabilities;
  • are highly motivated and confident to work independently, with guidance from more experienced subject matter experts.

About the role

The successful candidates’ key responsibilities will include:

  • Assisting with the timely response to and delivery of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) and erasure requests;
  • Collating, exporting and disclosing responses to the data subject;
  • High volume document reviews to identify personal data;
  • Appropriately redacting third party and non-disclosable data in line with UK GDPR;
  • Recommend the application of legal redactions to personal data, as appropriate;
  • Arranging calls with key internal stakeholders;
  • Working closely with PwC UK’s Privacy Team and providing timely updates;
  • Managing varying workloads with time pressures;
  • Updating trackers as appropriate.

Full training will be provided to the successful post holders.

Requirements

The role demands the following skills to be demonstrated by a successful candidate:

Essential skills:

  • Degree-level education (preferably in law, or a related subject);
  • A strong understanding of data protection laws (e.g. UK or EU GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, or the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI));
  • Good intellectual and analytical ability in order to apply complex legislation, gather review, and interpret data accurately;
  • Be willing to undertake data protection and privacy related training and continually upskill oneself on changes to privacy law and industry practice;
  • Quick learner with key attention to detail;
  • Communicate with impact & empathy, as diplomacy, confidentiality and political sensitivity is required in order to provide advice and guidance;
  • Ability to follow set processes and procedures;
  • Contribute to team success and have a supportive approach to working within a small team;
  • Be open minded, agile with change and practical in your approach to problem solving;
  • Ability to work under pressure and prioritise demanding workloads which may have conflicting responsibilities;
  • Ability to use standard IT tools and packages (e.g. MS 365).

Desirable skills:

  • Experience with using eDiscovery platforms like Relativity;
  • Legally qualified;
  • Privacy accreditations (e.g. IAPP CIPP/E);
  • Experience in the application of data protection and/or DSARs;
  • Experience of working in an offshore team.

Additional information

Opportunity for working from home? (Yes, in accordance with PwC Everyday Flexibility)

Amount of time client based (N/A)

Opportunity for job sharing? (No)

Need to travel/overnight stays away from home (Minimal)

Opportunity for flexible working (hours)? (Yes, in accordance with Compliance departmental policy)

Amount of time PwC office based (>60%)

Our Competencies

At PwC all our staff are required to demonstrate certain core skills, which we refer to as "The PwC Professional”. These core skills are assessed throughout the application process, and candidates should make themselves aware of these, and how their own experiences may demonstrate each competency. You can also find out more about our competencies by following the link below.

For more information about how we will assess your application, and the timings that are likely to apply to this assessment, please visit our careers site.

https://www.pwc.co.uk/careers/experienced-careers/careers-toolkit.html

Travel Requirements

Up to 20%

Available for Work Visa Sponsorship?

No

Job Posting End Date

April 11, 2025

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