Data Protection Advisor (Legal Assistant)

About Us

Are you someone who wants to join a great team and deliver an outstanding service for schools? If the answer is yes, please read on.

At Warwickshire Legal Services, we run a very different kind of in-house legal team. We have the freedom to practise as a business within Warwickshire County Council, generating our own income from internal teams and a diverse pool of public sector clients. We are looking for dynamic staff with a real commitment to making Warwickshire the best it can be, sustainable now and for future generations.

The School Data Protection Service fulfils the role of data protection officer for over 300 schools, academies, and multi-academy trusts in Warwickshire and further afield, providing advice and training to support schools’ compliance with the UK GDPR. The service was established in 2018 and has received many plaudits from subscribing schools.

The team are looking to recruit someone with a positive can-do attitude, a keen interest in Data Protection Law and excellent people skills. The role is fast paced and offers the opportunity to branch out into various other areas of law as data protection is relevant to just about everything!

This is an exciting time to join our team as the data protection world is set to see some changes. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to help shape the service we deliver in a way that builds on the success of the service we currently provide.

A typical day in the team includes:

• Acting as duty officer and dealing with general enquiries that come into our mailbox or via our dedicated hotline telephone number.
• Assisting with drafting template policies and documentation to share with our subscribing schools.
• Advising on the management of data breaches
• Advising on the management of data rights requests, including subject access requests.
• Assisting with the production of our termly bulletins.
• Carrying out audits of schools’ data protection compliance and recording the outcomes in an audit report.
• Supporting with reviewing contracts entered into by our schools to ensure they meet the standards set out in data protection laws.
• Supporting with the design and delivery of our training sessions.
• Liaising with our colleagues across the wider legal team and collaborating on tasks that may require other expert input, such as employment and education or governance.
• Legal research to ensure we keep up to date with changes to legislation and guidance in both the practice area and other guidance issued for schools where they may be required to process data.

You will also have the opportunity to work on projects to help grow and develop the service.

Read what one of our current team members has to say about working the DPO Service by clicking here.

About the Role

We are looking for someone with the following qualities:

• excellent customer service skills
• an excellent team player
• a genuine interest in this area of law
• excellent client care, communication, and inter-personal skills
• high levels of IT literacy and strong administrative skills
• an understanding of the school environment
• experience in a relevant practice area and/or academic qualifications (Law degree/ILEX level 3/ Undergraduate degree plus Common Professional Exam)

We are based at Shire Hall, Warwick, but also work from home. We provide a flexible, modern working environment, with the supporting technology that you would expect from a leading provider of legal services.

For the full Job Description and Person Specification please click the link here.

The Fluency Duty is outlined in the Code of Practice on the English language requirements for public sector workers. The Fluency Duty for this role is Required. You must be able to speak and provide advice in accurate spoken English to the public.

Rewards and benefits of Working for Warwickshire

• Every single role here at Warwickshire County Council contributes to bettering the lives of the people in our County. We are proud of our working culture, including the opportunity for flexible working hours and technology to support remote working.
• We provide a generous holiday allowance which rises as you remain in employment with us. You get all Bank and public holidays off, and an extra day’s holiday at Christmas.
• You’ll also have access to membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, childcare vouchers, family-friendly policies, and some of the best internal training courses to support your ongoing development.

Find out more about our benefits!

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/benefits

Additional Information

For further information about the role please contact Sophie Scullion: Telephone (01926) 476706 or Email sophiescullion@warwickshire.gov.uk

Closing Date: Monday, 22nd May 2023

Interview Date: Tuesday, 6th June 2023

To apply for this vacancy please click on the 'Apply' button.

Our method of application is online, please note, CV’s should not been submitted unless asked to do so.

If you are unable to apply using the 'Apply' button please contact the Recruitment Centre on hrandpayroll@warwickshire.gov.uk including your contact details and any relevant screenshots.

You will be notified of our shortlisting decision via email, so please check your email on a regular basis after submitting your application.

As part of being a Disability Confident employer we guarantee to interview anyone with a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post. By ‘minimum criteria’ we mean that you must provide us with evidence in your application form which demonstrates that you generally meet the level of competence required for each competence, as well as meeting any of the qualifications, skills or experience defined as essential in the person specification.

Should you require application forms in an alternative format / language or any adjustments to be made throughout the application process or upon appointment, please contact hrandpayroll@warwickshire.gov.uk and we will make every effort to meet your specific requirements.

Warwickshire County Council (WCC) is committed to equality of opportunity for all employees and is keen to address areas of under representation in its workforce, this is because we really understand the importance of different voices, experiences, perspectives, and backgrounds within our workforce. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups. WCC has a number of staff network groups which provide peer support and safe spaces for employees who hold these and other identities. See more.