Senior Data Protection Officer

Senior Data Protection Officer

Full-time Indefinite Employment Contract

BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation

Brussels, Belgium

BEUC – The European Consumer Organisation is currently looking for a Senior data protection officer to reinforce its Digital Team in advocacy and enforcement work.

Your main tasks:

Reporting directly to the Head of Digital Policy, you will be in charge of developing and implementing BEUC’s advocacy work on data protection and privacy, notably in relation to the EU’s Data Union and artificial intelligence strategies, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive (ePrivacy Directive). This includes:

• Devising strategies to advance BEUC’s mission;
• Drafting and coordinating the development and promotion of policy documents with BEUC members;
• Creating and cultivating relationships with policy-makers, regulators and external stakeholders such as NGOs, academia, industry and other potential partners;
• Representing BEUC in meetings, conferences and other external events;
• Helping other colleagues and teams on questions related to the data economy, privacy and personal data protection;
• Working alongside the communications team on event organisation and public facing angle of campaigns including on social media and in the press;
• Supporting the redress and enforcement team on the preparation of regulatory complaints and strategic litigation;
• Supporting the organisation’s data protection officer on internal data protection compliance;
• Supporting the organisation’s fundraising and reporting obligations to donors.

The main qualifications we are looking for are:

• An advanced university degree (Master’s degree) in Law, EU law, Computer Science or related fields. A specialisation in digital, data protection and/or consumer law would be an advantage;
• Relevant experience of 5+ years on data protection and/or privacy in a similar environment (NGO, regulator, EU institution, government, company or EU trade association, law firm);
• A demonstrable interest in and understanding of new technologies. Technical background or experience regarding how digital products and services work would be an asset (e.g. ethical hacking, software design, product engineering);
• Experience in EU law-making is a must;
• Excellent and fluent communication and presentation skills in English. Knowledge of other EU languages is an asset;
• A relationship-builder able to process information quickly to develop knowledge, including new or unfamiliar areas of work;
• A highly organised, structured, strategic and independent professional, capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously;
• An individual that shares our commitment to an inclusive and diverse team, and our culture of being open-minded, ambitious, respectful and self-aware.

What we offer:

• A multidisciplinary and multicultural working environment within an organisation dedicated to promoting consumer rights and interests;
• Networking opportunities with numerous stakeholders and decision makers;
• A full-time contract with a competitive package (salary, fringe benefits, extra-legal paid leave, flexible and reasonable working hours, partial homeworking);
• Salary range between €4.476€ and €4.960 gross, depending on experience.

Applications for the position should be sent by 27 April 2025 by e-mail to apply@beuc.eu with the subject line ‘Senior Data Protection Officer’.

The first round of interviews will take place as of 5 May 2025, and the second round as of 12 May 2025. The expected entry into function is September 2025 at the latest.

Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Your application should include the following documents:

1. A curriculum-vitae, with no photo;
2. A short motivation letter;
3. In a separate file, answers to the following questions:
   • Why would you like to work at BEUC? [Briefly explain the main reasons that motivate you to work at BEUC, using maximum 250 words];
   • What would you suggest BEUC do if the European Commission announced their intention to reopen the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation? [Using maximum 250 words].

Any incomplete application will be disregarded.

BEUC is an equal opportunities employer. We encourage candidates of diverse backgrounds to apply and do our best to avoid unconscious bias during the selection process. Please do not include a photo in your CV.

Privacy notice: In line with BEUC’s privacy policy, the personal data we process during hiring processes is only used for the purposes of carrying out the selection process and is deleted once the process has ended. For shortlisted candidates, we may ask for their consent to keep their information for 6 months after the end of the selection process in case other vacancies that could fit their profile open up.