Senior Data Protection Associate at Paystack

• We are looking for a Senior Data Protection Associate — a detail-oriented professional who has extensive privacy experience and is excited about compliance, technology, and privacy.
• This is a senior role reporting directly to the global Data Protection Officer. You will own Paystack’s global privacy operating model, serving as the custodian of data protection and privacy compliance. The role will help develop and drive processes for our Global Privacy Compliance Program, with a particular focus on Europe and Africa. 
• You will be part of the team that works to ensure that Paystack’s products and business operations comply with laws, ethics and best practices in data protection and privacy. 
• You will work with cross-functional stakeholders across Product, Security GRC, Marketing, Risk and Compliance teams, balancing data and AI governance with product innovation, paying exquisite attention to detail, and taking delight in driving compliance strategy across Paystack entities, products and services, specifically as they relate to the African market.

What you'll be doing

Strategy & Vision

• Own the privacy program roadmap and strategy for Paystack entities
• Develop, own, and continually evolve Paystack’s global privacy operating model to assess the program's health and compliance effectiveness with metrics. This includes defining core frameworks, records of processing, and compliance structures that effectively balance rapid AI-driven product development and quick launches with resource constraints
• Maintain a clear prioritization framework that reconciles compliance and business impact.

Execution & Delivery

• Translate strategy into actionable roadmaps with clear milestones
• Oversee compliance efforts across various jurisdictions, including coordinating localised audits, adapting the program for region-specific requirements and managing legal/regulatory variations
• Partner with Engineering, Infrastructure and Data teams to build privacy into systems 
• Drive privacy-by-design initiatives to ensure rapid deployment of new products into global markets

Operational Excellence / Automation

• Define and own key risk indicators for data privacy and AI governance within the business context
• Enhance sensitive data governance frameworks, including data classification and retention policy enforcement, access controls, and privileged data review cycles
• Identify and remove data protection compliance bottlenecks across the product development, third party contracting and data lifecycle journeys
• Lead continuous improvement programs focused on identified privacy risks across various themes (third party risk management, data protection impact assessment, cross border data transfer, data deletion, data subject rights etc.)

Collaboration

• Serve as the privacy counsel voice of the Company translating pain points and complex privacy issues into driving PIV opportunities
• Build, lead, and mentor the Data Protection Office
• Strategically manage the Data Subject Rights (DSR) process, working with Privacy Ops, Privacy Engineering, Customer Experience, and Engineers to ensure compliant fulfilment, monitor intake SLAs, and suggest tooling improvements to automate the process
• Provide reporting to the Data Governance Committee, and assist with reporting to the AI Governance Committee that is decision-oriented and quantifies trade-offs

What it takes to succeed in the role

You:

• Strong project/program management and reporting skills, with the ability to manage complex, multi-functional projects under strict timelines
• Deep understanding of global data protection regimes, with knowledge of African legislation
• Exceptional leadership and stakeholder management skills with strong independent decision making
• Strong AI literacy and governance experience
• Experience with audits, vendor/third-party oversight, and change management

Required Skills & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Information Security, or a related field; 5+ years of experience managing an enterprise-level compliance or privacy program with cross-functional influence
• Reported directly to C-suite/leadership, engaged senior stakeholders such as Board 
• Ability to align privacy and AI governance programs to industry frameworks (ISO suite, NIST).
• Ability to collaborate on a strategic level to improve privacy processes, including identifying improvements to procedures such as data subject rights handling and other operational workflows as the program matures
• Ability to set a 12-month vision while still performing IC tasks
• Knowledge depth on US, European, and African data privacy regulations and the regimes governing transfer of data between various jurisdictions

While this isn't a requirement, it'll be a plus if you have:

• Industry-leading certifications such as CIPM, CIPP/E, or CIPP/US
• In-house experience over consultancy experience
• Experience implementing privacy tooling (GRC, DSR platforms, data catalogues i.e. OneTrust, Vanta etc.)