Data protection officer to director of compliance and information security
A data protection officer already meets 67% of what the director of compliance and information security role asks for. The move turns on 4 required skills not yet in the profile.
29.9/ 100
1 How much of what a director of compliance and information security is expected to do is already part of a data protection officer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the director of compliance and information security role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A director of compliance and information security role treats 8 of its required skills as things a data protection officer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT security legislation
- ICT security standards
- cooperate with colleagues
- cyber security
- ensure compliance with legal requirements
- implement ICT security policies
What stands in the way is 4 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 8 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A director of compliance and information security role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a data protection officer background worth leading with.
- already held ICT security standards information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held information security strategy information and communication technologies (icts)
- already held keep up-to-date with regulations information skills
- already held cyber security services
- already held ICT security legislation business, administration and law
- already held implement ICT security policies working with computers
All 8 carried skills, including the 8 the director of compliance and information security role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 4 missing skills fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn ensure compliance with policies required
- still to learn lead a team required
- still to learn implement ICT risk management required
- still to learn manage IT security compliances required
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a director of compliance and information security role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 implement ICT risk management practise this
- 02 manage IT security compliances practise this
- 03 ensure compliance with policies practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 8 skills that carry over
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held ICT security standards knowledge
- already held cooperate with colleagues skill
- already held cyber security knowledge
- already held ensure compliance with legal requirements skill
- already held implement ICT security policies skill
- already held information security strategy knowledge
- already held keep up-to-date with regulations skill
0 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
41 held skills the director of compliance and information security role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role GDPR knowledge
- not needed by the target role address identified risks skill
- not needed by the target role advise on government policy compliance skill
- not needed by the target role analyse legal enforceability skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role apply system organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role assist with litigation matters skill
- not needed by the target role conduct impact evaluation of ICT processes on business skill
- not needed by the target role data ethics knowledge
- not needed by the target role data protection knowledge
- not needed by the target role define organisational standards skill
- not needed by the target role develop information security strategy skill
- not needed by the target role develop organisational policies skill
- not needed by the target role develop training programmes skill
- not needed by the target role document project progress skill
- not needed by the target role ensure information privacy skill
- not needed by the target role estimate impact of risks skill
- not needed by the target role identify legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role information confidentiality knowledge
- not needed by the target role information governance compliance knowledge
- not needed by the target role internal auditing knowledge
- not needed by the target role internal risk management policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role legal case management knowledge
- not needed by the target role legal research knowledge
- not needed by the target role legal terminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain internal communication systems skill
- not needed by the target role manage data for legal matters skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital identity skill
- not needed by the target role manage keys for data protection skill
- not needed by the target role monitor legislation developments skill
- not needed by the target role perform data cleansing skill
- not needed by the target role perform project management skill
- not needed by the target role protect personal data and privacy skill
- not needed by the target role provide legal advice skill
- not needed by the target role respect data protection principles skill
- not needed by the target role respond to enquiries skill
- not needed by the target role risk management knowledge
- not needed by the target role support managers skill
- not needed by the target role train employees skill
- not needed by the target role use consulting techniques skill
1 further entry not listed here
Common questions about this move
Can a data protection officer become a director of compliance and information security?
Yes, and it is an adjacent move. A data protection officer already covers 67% of what a director of compliance and information security is expected to do: 8 skills carry over, 8 of which the director of compliance and information security role treats as required.
What skills does a data protection officer need to become a director of compliance and information security?
4 required skills are missing, plus 0 optional ones. They fall into 3 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by management skills. The single most important is implement ICT risk management.
How hard is the move from data protection officer to director of compliance and information security?
Its learning distance is 29.9 out of 100, which is the adjacent band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.