Data Protection & Compliance Lead

At Accent we believe everyone has the right to a safe, secure and warm place to call home. Ensuring data and information held across the business is protected and compliant is critical.   

We’re looking for a Data Protection & Compliance Lead to join our Governance, Regulation and Business Assurance team in Bradford. As our Data Protection & Compliance Lead, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that Accent is compliant with all data protection and other information-related regulation and legislation.

About the role and person:
• Flexible working arrangements considered (at least 4 days a week)
• Permanent

As our Data Protection and Compliance Lead, you’ll develop, maintain and oversee the implementation of transparent data protection and compliance policies, procedures and systems, to ensure that Accent meets its regulatory and legislative requirements and keeps up to date with best practice. To be successful, the Data Protection and Compliance Lead will need to work closely with colleagues at all levels across the organisation, to ensure a collaborative, proactive, practical and robust approach, underpinned by sound principles and working practices. The postholder will need to be able to translate complex legal and regulatory principles into practical advice and guidance, maintaining the required balance between privacy and business needs. 

This is a new role in the business and a great opportunity for someone to bring their expertise and influence our approach and make data protection real for colleagues. We’re going through a significant programme of transformation encompassing technology and services. Data quality information, governance and compliance is a critical element for us to meet regulatory requirements.

Salary
The spot salary for this post is £49,555 per annum for applicants who fully meet the requirements of the post. Applicants, who do not meet all the requirements of the post, will start 5% or 10% below the spot salary.

What will you get from us?
In addition to a competitive salary and agile working, we also have a focus on employees’ development. We support both professional and personal development, ensuring everyone has a development plan and provide access to a wide range of internal and external learning resources.

You'll also receive:

• 28 days paid holiday plus bank holidays per year (pro-rata for part time) rising by 1 day per year up to a maximum of one working week.
• A choice of Pension Schemes including a Defined Benefit Scheme with a 7.5% member contribution or a Defined Contribution Scheme with a 4% member contribution and 4% employer contribution. Both pension schemes provide Life Insurance Cover.
• Option to purchase additional holiday of up to 2 of your working weeks (at managers discretion).
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• "Hapi" Benefits App with multiple discounts.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Free parking

What skills/behaviours do you need to be a Data Protection & Compliance Lead?

• A strong record of demonstrable achievement in the delivery of Data Protection, Data Compliance, Information Governance, or related functions, in an organisation of comparable size and complexity to Accent.
• Comprehensive working knowledge of data protection and compliance requirements, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
• Ability to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders, to embed an effective, practical data privacy and security culture.
• Demonstrable ability to maintain an up-to-date knowledge and understanding of changes in legislation and regulation, and to effectively introduce required changes to policies, procedures and systems.
• Excellent analytical, writing, and communication skills with the ability to convey complex information clearly and persuasively.
• Ability to translate complex legal and regulatory principles into pragmatic advice, whilst striking a reasonable balance between privacy and business needs.
• High level of accuracy and attention to detail in all aspects of work.
• Ability to adapt to changing circumstances and respond effectively to new challenges.

For a full job description of this role please click here.

Interview Date: First round interviews will take place on Friday 11th October.

Location
The successful candidate will be required to live within a commutable distance to our Bradford office.

We’re a keen promoter of agile working and encourage working from home, as long as we meet our customers’ needs.

We’ll provide you with the equipment and software you’ll need for the purpose of your role however it will be your responsibility to have an appropriate space to work from as well as a suitable broadband connection/provider.

Who are Accent?
At Accent, we believe that everyone should have access to an affordable, sustainable, and safe home, and our work across the country aims to do just that.
We’re a national organisation, but with a community focus. We were formed in 1966 and have grown in the time since, and now provide homes and services to over 40,000 customers.

We understand the impact our work can have in creating better places for people to live by providing well-designed housing, which is in short supply, and building sustainable communities where people choose to live. We are proud of our Homes England Strategic Partnership, which allows us to build even more homes in areas of housing need.

But we are not just about building new homes. We invest in our existing homes to make sure they offer our customers the very best in living standards by adapting to meet new ideas, environmental changes, new regulations for safety and security and modern technology to make them a home for life, in every way our customers need them to be.

Caring for our customers also means caring for their environment. With our ambitious energy-efficient development plans, and our retrofitting projects which are modernising our current homes; we are putting sustainability at the fore so that we can drive value for customers now and in the future.

As anchor institutions in the communities where we work, it’s important we leverage partnerships and seek opportunities for customers that provide the foundations for better living. We build relationships which accelerate and advance our work to ensure customers are supported if they need it and can be happy living in their homes.

Our new operating model puts our colleagues in the heart of our communities. We are committed to building strong relationships with our customers and we work alongside them to co-curate the services we deliver.

We never stop evolving – we are ambitious and driven and understand that great performance is a product of an inclusive and supportive environment, where colleagues can thrive and achieve their best. With a new people strategy and corporate strategy which will sets out our commitments from 2024-2027, it’s an exciting time to join Accent.

If you require reasonable adjustments to any part of our recruitment process, please let us know we will ensure requirements are met.

Please don’t delay in submitting your application. Where roles are urgent or we receive a high volume of applications, we may interview and conclude the process prior to any closing date indicated.

If you have any queries about the role, please email:
"PeopleServices@accentgroup.org".

Please note candidates must have current eligibility to live and work in the UK, Accent do not currently hold sponsorship.

We are excited about our future and if you are too, we’d love to hear from you.