Privacy Officer

Duties and Responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Data Protection Operations

• Assist with the development and implementation of safe and effective data management systems within the Directorate/Region.
• Process Subject Rights Requests (DSRRs), Freedom of Information Requests (FOI), in accordance with standard operating procedures.
• Manage and report on local privacy incidents and breaches of personal data and escalate to the central Data Protection Unit (DPU) in Tusla.
• Engage with the DPU on privacy-related issues (including processes, status and updates on tasks, activities and relevant queries) emerging from the Directorate/Region.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Proactively engage with the network of Privacy Officers in Tusla and attend learning exchange and training events.
• Act as a point of contact for the DPU in relation to investigations or queries relating to the Data Protection Commission (DPC) and Office of the Information Commissioner (OIC) matters.
• Represent your Directorate/Region in Data Protection Week.

Team Effectiveness

• Identify and deliver Data Protection (DP) and FOI training needs as required for the Directorate/Region in accordance with the suite of training developed and approved by the DPU.
• Support effective reporting of DP and FOI metrics including breach statistics, DSRRs and FOI processing activity, and case volumes.
• Lead efforts to maintain up-to-date and accurate local data inventories.

GDPR/DP and FOI Compliance

• Advocate and promote DP and FOI compliance in the Directorate/Region.
• Ensure staff complete DP and FOI training mandated by the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and the DPU.
• Perform tasks and activities that support compliance with Tusla Privacy Policy, the GDPR, Data Protection Act 2018, and Freedom of Information Act.
• Maintain the privacy risk register and implement DP and FOI Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

GDPR/DP and FOI Advisory

• Act as the first point of contact for DP and FOI queries and issues within the Directorate/Region, advising staff on best practice approaches as advised by the Data Protection Unit.

Health & Safety

• Comply with and contribute to the development of policies, procedures, guidelines and safe professional practice, and adhere to relevant legislation, regulations and standards.
• Have a working knowledge of the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) Standards as they apply to the service, for example National Standards for Child Protection and Care, and comply with associated Tusla – Child and Family Agency protocols for implementing and maintaining these standards as appropriate to the role.
• Support, promote and actively participate in sustainable energy, water and waste initiatives to create a more sustainable, low-carbon and efficient health service.

The above Job Description is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all duties involved and, consequently, the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post which may be assigned from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office.

Eligibility CriteriaQualifications and/or Experience

Applicants must, by the closing date of application, have the following:

• Demonstrated experience of coordinating management information and systems analysis.
• Demonstrated experience of processing Data Subject Rights Requests (DSRRs) and/or Freedom of Information (FOI) requests in an organizational setting that processes large volumes of sensitive personal data.
• Demonstrated excellent MS Office skills, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint and SharePoint.
• Demonstrated specialist GDPR/Data Protection, legal and technical, management information and analysis skills.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the work of Tusla, Child & Family Agency, and the data processing and sharing activities carried out.

Health

A candidate for, and any person holding, the office must be fully competent and capable of undertaking the duties attached to the office and be in a state of health such as would indicate a reasonable prospect of rendering regular and efficient service.

Character

Each candidate for, and any person holding, the office must be of good character.

Skills, Competencies and/or KnowledgeTusla Leadership Competency Framework

The Tusla Leadership Competency Framework describes the behaviors that are key to Tusla colleagues being effective in the execution of their role at all levels within the Agency. The competencies and associated behavioral descriptors capture the transversal knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics that will enable colleagues, regardless of role or rank, to be effective in their work.

The Tusla Leader Framework relevant for this role is Leading Others.

Please access the Leading Others link to fully familiarize yourself with the impact of this Leading Others proficiency for Tusla.

The competency of Professional Knowledge is specifically linked to the duties, responsibilities and criteria for this role.

Other Requirements of the Role

• Have awareness of children and young people's participatory practice.
• The post holder will require access to appropriate transport, as the post may involve travel.

Tenure

The current vacancy available is permanent and whole time.

The post is pensionable.

A panel may be created for the purpose of filling this position. Once the position is appointed, the panel will cease.

Appointment as an employee of the Child & Family Agency is governed by the Child and Family Agency Act, 2013 and the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004.

Remuneration

The salary scale for the whole-time equivalent of this post is:

01/02/2026: €60,613, €62,094, €63,824, €65,560, €67,302, €68,858, €70,442, €71,985, €73,516, €76,151, €78,795 (LSIs)

LSIs (Long Service Increments) are represented by emboldened figures. The 1st LSI is paid after 3 years on the maximum point, the 2nd LSI after 3 years on LSI1, and the 3rd LSI after 3 years on the 2nd LSI (where applicable).

The appointee shall commence on the first point of the salary scale. Incremental credit may be given on appointment for certain types of relevant experience. More information is available in Appendix 5 – Candidate Information Pack – Recruitment Process.

Candidates should note that entry will be at the minimum point of the scale and will not be subject to negotiation. The rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.

Different terms and conditions may apply if the appointee is a currently serving civil or public servant.

Working Week

The standard working week applying to the whole-time equivalent of this post is 35 hours.

Annual Leave

The annual leave associated with the whole-time equivalent of this post is 30 days per annum.

Superannuation