Data Governance Lead/Data Protection Officer

Location: Based in Edinburgh or Glasgow office, with an expectation of regular visits to both.

Workplace type: Hybrid working. You will be required to work a minimum of 1 day per week in the office. This is a minimum, but you may opt to be office based up 5 days per week.  We are open to flexible working requests.

Hours per week: 35 hours per week

Type of contract: Permanent

Salary scale: (Job Level 6) £40,387 - £49,362 per annum, commensurate with skills and experience.

Closing date: 13 September 2026, midnight.

Face-to-face Interview date: 29 September 2026 in Glasgow office.

Are you a data governance expert who wants to help drive positive change for the people of Scotland?

The Citizens Advice network in Scotland exists to ensure that people can access their rights, and that the inequality and injustice that hold people back is tackled.  We use the data generated by advice interactions in Citizens Advice Bureaux to build a picture of the challenges facing people across Scotland and we use that evidence to influence change.  But in a digital world we recognise that the right to privacy is increasingly under threat, so we take data protection seriously and put protecting the privacy of the people who use our services at the heart of our service design.

The Data Governance Lead will work with people across our network to ensure that we can use data to deliver on our three strategic priorities, whilst protecting the privacy of the people we support.  We are looking for someone with a pragmatic and solutions-focused approach and excellent people skills to lead this work.  This is an exciting opportunity to support a service that really make a difference to the lives of people across Scotland.

What you will do:

• Lead our work on data governance including data protection and information management

• Perform the role of data protection officer for Citizens Advice Scotland

• Work with our Data Governance Officers to provide a data protection support service to the network of Citizens Advice Bureaux in Scotland

• Work with colleagues in Advice Services to ensure that privacy in built into our services at the design stage

• Work with colleagues in Digital and Technology to manage risks to our data and ensure the secure and ethical handling of data in our innovation projects.

This role offers you the opportunity to work at the heart of supporting Scotland's largest independent advice network and to make an invaluable contribution to citizen’s lives.

For more information about the role, please refer to Job Pack - Data Governance Lead-Data Protection Officer.pdf

Please familiarise yourself with Our People Charter.

For further information on how we process your data and your information rights, please refer to our Privacy Notice - Job Volunteer and Applicants.

If you have an issue with downloading the above document, please request it at recruitment@cas.org.uk.

Employee benefits

Citizens Advice Scotland offers excellent terms and conditions. We want our people to have a great work life balance and we have designed our working practices and benefits to support this. Here are some of things our employees benefit from: a 35-hour full time working week, 40 days annual leave, genuine flexibility in working hours with a flexi-time system, and hybrid working opportunities for every role. For more details of some of the other benefits on offer to our employees, please see the section on employee benefits in the job pack.

Citizens Advice Scotland is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion. We offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and flexible working arrangements to support all our staff. We are also committed to equality of opportunity for all and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

CAS provides options for hybrid working to allow employees to balance their time attending the office with time working from home. The number of days you will be able to work from home each week will be dependent on your job role and can be discussed as part of the recruitment process.

Before you apply

Our aim is to ensure our application assessment process is fair, objective and transparent.

As such, please do not include on your CV or candidate statement the following information: your address, a photo, hobbies, age, date of birth, marital status, nationality.

The candidate statement

The candidate statement plays a very important part in the application assessment process. It is a free space for you to showcase your skills, practical knowledge, and experiences relevant to the role.

Please include examples of your accomplishments that clearly demonstrate how you meet the following key essential criteria with a particular focus on your contribution and the impact of your work. Please also let us know how your values and attributes align with CAS’s values. Please refer to Our People Charter.

Essential Criteria:

• Experience of taking a solutions-based approach to data protection that contributes to the delivery of an organisation’s priorities, whilst ensuring the privacy of service users 

• Experience of building and maintaining collaborative relationships with a range of stakeholders demonstrating strong networking, negotiating and influencing skills 

• Experience of supporting the professional development of colleagues through training, knowledge sharing and capacity building   

• Experience of delivering change in a complex organisation. 

Desirable Criteria:

• Experience of providing data protection or information management support in a networked organisation 

The candidate statement is expected to be maximum 1000 words/2x pages A4.

Please note that applications without the candidate statement and not following clearly above instructions will not be considered.

You have the option to upload your candidate statement as a separate document or you can write your candidate statement in the section below. Please choose the option that best work for you.

While we recognize AI can be a helpful tool for starting your application, and may help you by sparking an idea more easily than starting with a blank page, we really want you to show in your application who you are and how you think. AI will never replace the important human element at the application stage. Please make sure that you write your candidate statement yourself.

If the application page keeps spinning after the final step, it is often related to browser or device issues rather than the form itself. Please open the application form in a different browser, try a different device, use an Incognito/private window to rule out cache or cookie issues or clear browser cache and cookies, then reload the page.

If you require any support with your application, including reasonable adjustments to the format, or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at recruitment@cas.org.uk or call 0131 550 1000. We are always happy to help.