Data Privacy Officer

The Data Privacy Officer is a pivotal member of the project team responsible for ensuring compliance with data privacy regulations, developing and implementing privacy policies, and safeguarding the confidentiality of healthcare data. This role focuses on establishing and maintaining a robust privacy framework, ensuring that all aspects of data handling, processing, and storage adhere to the highest ethical standards and regulatory requirements.

Responsibilities:

Privacy Policies: Develop, implement, and enforce comprehensive data privacy policies, procedures, and guidelines that align with relevant data privacy regulations (e.g., HIPAA) and industry best practices. Ensure that all project activities comply with these policies.

Data Privacy Compliance: Monitor and assess project activities to ensure compliance with data privacy laws and regulations. Stay informed about changes in privacy laws and update privacy measures as needed to reflect the latest requirements.

Privacy Impact Assessments: Conduct privacy impact assessments for new data initiatives, projects, or changes in data handling practices. Evaluate the potential privacy risks, propose mitigation strategies, and ensure that privacy concerns are addressed.

Data Governance: Establish and maintain data governance practices that focus on data privacy and security. Ensure that data handling practices adhere to privacy guidelines, including data retention and data sharing.

Collaboration with Data Team: Work closely with the data team, including data scientists, engineers, and analysts, to ensure that privacy considerations are integrated into data processing, transformation, and analysis workflows.

Privacy Training: Provide privacy training and awareness programs to project team members, ensuring that they understand privacy risks, data handling requirements, and best practices.

Incident Response: Develop and maintain an incident response plan for data privacy incidents. Establish procedures for reporting, investigating, and resolving privacy incidents in a timely and effective manner.

Vendor Management: Evaluate and manage the privacy posture of subcontractors, vendors, and third-party service providers who handle healthcare data. Ensure that they adhere to data privacy standards.

Continuous Monitoring: Implement continuous monitoring processes to detect and respond to potential privacy threats in real-time. Utilize privacy tools and technologies to enhance monitoring capabilities.

Privacy Documentation: Maintain comprehensive documentation of privacy policies, procedures, incident response plans, and privacy assessments. Keep records of privacy activities, compliance measures, and corrective actions.

Qualifications:

Bachelor's or Master's degree in Information Privacy, Data Protection, Legal, or a related field. Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) certification or equivalent is highly desirable. Proven experience (typically 3+ years) in data privacy roles, preferably in healthcare or a highly regulated industry. Strong understanding of data privacy regulations, especially HIPAA, and demonstrated experience ensuring compliance. Familiarity with privacy impact assessments, data governance, and risk management. Excellent communication skills, capable of articulating complex privacy concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including technical and non-technical members, to implement privacy measures. Analytical mindset with the ability to identify and address privacy risks effectively. Ethical and trustworthy, with a commitment to maintaining the highest level of integrity and professionalism in handling sensitive healthcare data.