How to Become a Data Protection Officer?
Take the right steps to start your data privacy career and become a data protection officer!
Organizations that process and store personal data need to appoint data protection officers to ensure that they are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With the more spread of digital technologies, the risk of data breaches also increases. A data protection officer looks over the company’s strategy on data protection as well as its implementation.
If you’re aspiring to build a data privacy and security career as a data protection officer, you have reached the right place. Here we bring an expert guide to help you start your data privacy career and become a data protection officer.
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Career Path to Become a Data Protection Officer
In order to become a data protection officer, you must adhere to certain requirements and responsibilities. A data protection officer is responsible for explaining the obligations of data protection to the staff. A DPO is also responsible for informing data subjects about the usage of their data, how the company is protecting their personal information, and their right to have their data erased.
Responsibilities of a Data Protection Officer
A data protection officer has to make certain that a company’s data protection rules are abiding by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Here are some responsibilities that you will have once you become a data protection officer:
- To become a data protection officer, you must take the responsibility to ensure that data subjects or citizens, as well as controllers or processors and the employees who carry out the processing, are informed about their responsibilities, obligations, and rights in data protection. A DPO is required to raise awareness about them as well.
- The data protection officer’s job is to advise and recommend the company or organization to interpret and apply the data protection rules accurately.
- A Data protection officer has to maintain a register about all the processing operations within a company and notify the European Data Protection Supervisor or EDPS if the operations that might present specific risks.
- If you want to become a data protection officer, you have to ensure that the institution is in compliance with data protection and help the latter to be accountable in this respect.
- When you become a data protection officer, you must keep the company informed about any failure that might occur to adhere to the data protection rules and regulations.
- An important responsibility you have to undertake once you become a data protection officer is to cooperate and coordinate with the European Data Protection Supervisor by responding to his requests about investigations of the company you are working in, handling the complaints, and more.
Qualifications Required for Data Protection Officer Role
There is no specific data protection qualification to become a data protection officer, but you must have expert knowledge about the data protection laws and practices. The DPO is required to not have any current duties and responsibilities that might conflict with their data protecting and monitoring responsibilities.
Data Protection Officer Training
The General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) has created a sudden increase in demand for data protection officers and privacy experts. This has led to all regulated companies and organizations desperately hire DPOs to maintain their compliance with GDPR and avoid a huge amount of fines.
If you want to become a data protection officer, you need to undergo proper certified data protection officer training to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills in order to become a competent data protection officer. A training course will help you massively in cracking the GDPR exam.
An online data protection officer training course will help you understand all the technical requirements of GDPR and gives you experience in the job and the tasks that you will be responsible for. While data protection officers with over two years of experience can skip the training courses and sit for the exam, inexperienced DPOs have to pass training courses before applying for the credential of a ‘PECB Certified Data Protection Officer.’
Data Protection Officer Jobs and Salary
You are in luck if you want a data protection career because it is mandatory for organizations which carry out regular and systematic processing of user data as one of their core activity to hire a data protection officer. The annual average data protection officer salary ranges from £45,000 to £60,000.
By becoming a Certified Data Protection Officer, you will have proof of your credibility as an expert in the data protection and privacy field. A certificate will enhance your chances of getting the job and put you a step ahead in the process.
Whether it is online or offline, companies that regularly collect and monitor user data are required to appoint a DPO. Similarly, it is mandatory for organizations that practice large-scale processing of data. Another category of organizations that comes under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the ones who process sensitive information such as health records, criminal convictions, data connected to children, and so on. You can get a job at these kinds of companies and organizations when you become a data protection officer.
Click here to get more information on how to become a data protection officer and Data Privacy training courses.
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