Career Overlap Occupation record
RecordJob

Where a data protection officer can go next

5 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a data protection officer already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.

Data protection officers ensure that the processing of personal data in an organisation is compliant with data protection standards and with the obligations set out in the applicable legislation such as GDPR. They elaborate and implement the organisation policy related to data protection, are responsible for data protection impact assessments and handle complaints and requests from third parties and regulatory agencies. Data protection officers lead investigations into potential data breaches, conduct internal audits and act as point of contact within the organisation on any matters related to the processing of personal data. Data protection officers may develop training programmes and provide training to other employees on data protection procedures.

Also known as data compliance officer, data protection and security officer, DPO, compliance officer data privacy, privacy protection officer, data protection legal advisor, data protection advisor, privacy officer, GDPR expert, data protection counsel, legal and data protection officer, data protection specialist.

Professionals 49 skills on file 5 career moves 1 above 60% overlap Closest: director of compliance and information security, 67%

Fig. 2 · Career map 5 nearest · ESCO v1.2.1
director of compliance and in… 67% covered case administrator 27% covered legal consultant 27% covered chief ICT security officer 24% covered ICT auditor manager 20% covered data protection officer You are here
  • 70% and above · short step
  • 50 to 70% · real move
  • Below 50% · substantial retraining
The 5 nearest destinations from data protection officer, each one a link to that move’s record. Distance from the centre is how much retraining the move takes; the figure on each is how much of that role a data protection officer already covers. All 5 are listed in the tables below.
Table 1

Table 1 · Within reach

Table 2

Table 2 · A bigger jump

Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.

Table 3

Table 3 · What the job itself asks for

A data protection officer needs 33 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.

Required skill Area
  • GDPR business, administration and law
  • information governance compliance social sciences, journalism and information
  • manage data for legal matters information skills
  • data ethics arts and humanities
  • internal auditing business, administration and law
  • ensure information privacy assisting and caring
  • develop training programmes management skills
  • define organisational standards management skills
  • develop information security strategy assisting and caring
  • respect data protection principles assisting and caring
Table 4

Table 4 · Jobs that lead here

The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a data protection officer does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.

Index

Look up another occupation

Data protection officer is filed under Professionals, ISCO major group 2. The full index lists all ten groups.

Note

How these figures were compiled

Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a data protection officer’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.