Senior IT Governance & Data Protection Lead Private Sector

Type: Contract Location: Dublin, Hybrid Salary:

Role and Responsibilities:

Our client is seeking a Data Protection team to lead the governance, enforcement, and risk management of Shadow IT across a global enterprise. This role focuses on building a scalable framework to manage unapproved technologies.

What’s involved:

Own and execute the Shadow IT governance and enforcement strategy, with a focus on blocking, escalation, and exception handling
Design and maintain a structured blocking framework, including risk scoring, decision thresholds, and escalation paths
Evaluate unapproved applications based on data sensitivity, access levels, and exposure risk
Document and justify all enforcement decisions, ensuring alignment with data protection and security policies
Lead communication with stakeholders on blocking actions, timelines, and approved alternatives
Manage unblock requests and high-impact escalations in partnership with Security, Legal, and business teams
Collaborate cross-functionally to define remediation paths such as onboarding to approved tools or decommissioning risky applications
Develop and track governance metrics, including trends in blocking, escalations, and stakeholder impact
Build dashboards and reporting frameworks to provide visibility into Shadow IT risks and decisions
Integrate and analyze data from multiple sources (e.g., SaaS discovery tools, telemetry, intake systems) to inform decision-making
Identify patterns, policy gaps, and opportunities to strengthen controls through data analysis
Contribute to the development of a next-generation governance model that is transparent, scalable, and defensible
Partner with stakeholders to ensure consistent user experience across browsers for notifications and enforcement actions

What you need:

Proven experience designing or operating security governance or enforcement programs in complex environments
Strong knowledge of data protection, information security, and SaaS/third-party risk management
Ability to make and defend risk-based decisions balancing security, compliance, and business needs
Experience working cross-functionally with Legal, Privacy, Compliance, and Technology teams
Strong documentation and communication skills, including executive-level reporting
Technical competency in security engineering and data analysis
Experience building data models, dashboards, and automated reporting processes
Ability to analyze complex datasets and translate insights into actionable governance improvements