VP Legal, Privacy & Data Strategy

Welcome to Warner Bros. Discovery… the stuff dreams are made of.

Who We Are…

When we say, “the stuff dreams are made of,” we’re not just referring to the world of wizards, dragons and superheroes, or even to the wonders of Planet Earth. Behind WBD’s vast portfolio of iconic content and beloved brands, are the storytellers bringing our characters to life, the creators bringing them to your living rooms and the dreamers creating what’s next…

From brilliant creatives, to technology trailblazers, across the globe, WBD offers career defining opportunities, thoughtfully curated benefits, and the tools to explore and grow into your best selves. Here you are supported, here you are celebrated, here you can thrive.

The Legal, Privacy & Data Strategy team at WBD is a global team of dedicated legal and privacy professionals who drive WBD’s global privacy and data protection strategy. The team helps WBD’s global workforce comply with privacy and data-related legal requirements, provides complex solution-oriented analysis to meet business goals, and builds trust by embedding privacy-by-design into products and initiatives while promoting transparency and control over data usage.

The Vice President, Legal, Privacy & Data Strategy will lead a talented team in Europe, advise senior business executives and technology stakeholders, and manage a range of issues involving employee, talent, and enterprise data operations. This candidate will work with issues of first impression and cutting-edge business models in entertainment, news, sports, theme parks, research, and film, television, and games production.

Ideal candidates must demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of global privacy laws, expertise with technology, including privacy-enhancing technologies and artificial technology, and experience with large multi-national corporations based in the United States. 

Key Responsibilities

Regulatory Investigations, Inquiries, and Collaboration:

• Coordinate and manage response and interactions with governmental authorities, works councils, external DPOs, consumer advocates, and other relevant entities on potential privacy and data protection inquiries, investigations, complaints, and actions.

• Collaborate with legal and business stakeholders to address rights requests and potential claims from international workforce, talent, and consumers.

• Oversee management of data privacy registrations and compliance documentation across multiple jurisdictions.

• Develop and maintain strategic and influential relationships with trade associations, and where appropriate government officials, to advocate for the company’s interests in privacy and data protection policy, regulations, and standards, including by providing meaningful modifications and feedback.

• Monitor developments and maintain internal documentation about global privacy laws, requirements, enforcement priorities, and industry standards and practices.

Employee and Production/Talent Data Privacy Compliance:

• Provide clear, practical, solution-oriented, and ethical legal advice on privacy and data issues and initiatives related to workforce/employees and talent for film, television, and games production.

• Collaborate closely with senior executives across the company, including Legal, People & Culture, Risk Management, Internal Audit, Global Information & Content Security, Technology, and others to clearly communicate legal requirements and to align strategies and practices.

Enterprise Agreements and Initiatives; Security Incidents:

• Conduct due diligence and collaborate with corporate teams on transactions with respect to privacy, data protection, and data use, including ownership, transfer, migration, retention, and processing.

• Draft and negotiate complex business and transactional agreement terms to comply with privacy and data protection laws and to maintain consistency in privacy and data strategy across the company (including for master services, development, enterprise technology/SAAS, professional services, ad tech, post-production, data sharing, distribution, and other agreements). Draft and maintain template language and strategic fallback positions.

• Work closely with Global Information & Content Security and other key stakeholders on alleged data incidents or breaches to analyze facts and legal requirements, manage response and notifications, provide mitigation recommendations, review and track documentation, and meaningfully participate in post-mortem and tabletop exercises.

• Develop and manage a vendor program to facilitate vetting, auditing, classification, and proper configuration of vendor data transfer and use.

​

Data Governance:

• Collaborate with business and technology teams to design and establish efficient and legally compliant global data governance processes and documentation, including system and data inventories, data mapping and lineage, records of processing activities (ROPAs), data use cases, record and data retention.

• Oversee the design, execution, and organization of Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs) and legitimate interest assessments (LIAs), responses to individual rights requests, including data subject access requests (DSARs), updated privacy policies and notices, guidance materials, and awareness and training materials.

• Support ongoing monitoring, auditing, reporting, and improvement of the privacy program.

Management:

• Manage an international team of privacy attorneys and professionals, including remote workers and those based outside the UK.

• Develop efficient, scalable strategies and processes to manage workloads.

• Mentor and cultivate team members to enhance legal, organizational, and leadership skills.

• Champion and implement strategies and goals established by global teams int the US and the overall Privacy & Information Security team as a member of the Leadership Team.

Your Experience

• Law degree, LLM, PgDL or equivalent and qualified to practice law in the UK or EU member state.

• Degrees and/or certificates in Information Technology, Data Security, and/or Privacy/Data Protection are desirable, but not required.  

• Extensive legal experience in data privacy and data protection.

• Experience working with data protection regulators and authorities in Europe; including experience and skill in conducting and responding to privacy compliance inquiries, investigations, and complaints.

• Experience working with senior executives, explaining complex legal concepts in easily understandable terms.

• Experience supervising other privacy professionals.

• Technology, computer science, engineering background, and/or experience working closely with engineers and technology teams to define technical requirements or implement privacy program requirements is desirable.

• Entertainment industry experience a plus.

• A kind, collaborative, team-oriented approach.

• Deep understanding of international privacy and data protection laws, regulations, and best practices, with a strong knowledge of employee privacy.

• In-depth knowledge and experience in building, leading, maintaining, and documenting privacy programs, including a proven track record of privacy and data governance policy, process, and training development, implementation, and management.

• Strong understanding of information systems and related security requirements, and knowledge and interest in emerging technologies.

• Prior management experience with proven leadership skills and ability to supervise, motivate, and train others, including those who are not direct reports.

• Ability to work unsupervised on most matters, escalating high risks where appropriate.

• Strong legal judgment and excellent analytical skills, ability to understand and solve complex legal issues, ability to quickly and thoughtfully analyze issues of first impression, with a practical and creative problem-solving approach.

• Capable of driving a team of stakeholders forward and keeping them on task, moving projects forward and delivering high quality, detail-oriented work.

• Ability to negotiate and draft complex commercial and transactional agreements, preferably on data-driven deals.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills (legal, business, and technical).

• Excellent analytical and strategic skills, strong attention to detail.

• Ability to function well under pressure and to prioritize and reprioritize frequently.

• Ability to handle and organize multiple simultaneous projects, stakeholders, and employees.

Hybrid Working - This role is advertised as a Hybrid work model, that combines remote and in-office work, following our current company policy and to be agreed with your Line Manager. Subject to any applicable laws, WBD / your Line Manager reserves the right to change this working agreement where this is essential to business needs and upon reasonable notice to you.

How We Get Things Done…

This last bit is probably the most important! Here at WBD, our guiding principles are the core values by which we operate and are central to how we get things done. You can find them at www.wbd.com/guiding-principles/ along with some insights from the team on what they mean and how they show up in their day to day. We hope they resonate with you and look forward to discussing them during your interview.

Championing Inclusion at WBD

Warner Bros. Discovery embraces the opportunity to build a workforce that reflects a wide array of perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Being an equal opportunity employer means that we take seriously our responsibility to consider qualified candidates on the basis of merit, regardless of sex, gender identity, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability or any other category protected by law.

If you’re a qualified candidate with a disability and you require adjustments or accommodations during the job application and/or recruitment process, please visit our accessibility page for instructions to submit your request.