Data Protection Officer – Healthcare (Permanent)

About the role

The Data Protection Officer will ensure that St John of God University Hospital complies with all relevant data protection legislation, including the EU GDPR, the Irish Data Protection Acts 1988‑2018, and sector‑specific health requirements. The role safeguards the privacy rights of patients, staff and other stakeholders while advising senior management on compliance matters.

Key responsibilities

• Monitor and enforce compliance with GDPR and Irish data protection laws.
• Act as the primary contact for the Data Protection Commission and data subjects.
• Provide advice to management on data protection policies and procedures.
• Conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and manage subject access requests.
• Lead investigations of data breaches and coordinate remedial actions.
• Handle external requests from law enforcement, solicitors and regulators.
• Review and negotiate data processing contracts and oversee vendor management.

Required profile

• Degree (Level 8 or higher) in law, information governance, IT, health administration or a related field.
• Professional data protection qualification (e.g., CIPM, CIPP/E) is desirable.
• 3–5+ years of experience in data protection, information governance or compliance, preferably in healthcare or the public sector.
• Proven experience handling DPIAs, subject access requests and breach investigations.
• Experience managing external requests from authorities and regulators.
• Familiarity with data processing agreements and vendor management.

Required skills