Senior Specialist Counsel Data Privacy and Technology

Employment Type: Permanent

Why you will love working here

At IATA, we represent over 350 airlines worldwide, striving to make aviation safer, smarter, more sustainable, and inclusive.

• Our Values are not just words on a page - they are the energy behind everything we do: ONE IATA - We collaborate across teams, TRUSTED - We do the right thing, INNOVATIVE - We make tomorrow better, INCLUSIVE - We embrace diverse perspectives.
• With over 30,000 courses available, we believe in continuous learning and support your growth in an ever-changing industry.
• Diversity, equity, and inclusion are our priorities. We are certified by the Equal Salary Foundation, offering equal pay and family-friendly policies.
• We encourage community involvement through volunteering and strive to make tomorrow better for aviation and our communities. We offer time off so you can support causes important to you.
• We promote work-life balance with flexible work options, including remote and hybrid work, a generous 'work from abroad' policy, and you get your birthday off!

About the team you are joining

The Senior Specialist Counsel, Data Privacy and Technology is a senior legal professional with significant knowledge, skills, experience and expertise in relation to Data Privacy and Technology law and is responsible for providing advice, support, and research on diverse subject areas to support IATA’s business activities, governance activities and IATA’s advocacy activities. The Senior Specialist Counsel Data Privacy and Technology reports to the Assistant Director, Associate General Counsel (AGC)– Regulation, Governance and Risk (RGR).

What your day would be like

• Provides independent advice on substantive and procedural questions of considerable complexity relating to data privacy, cross-border data transfers, AI, cybersecurity, technology law, and relevant public law affecting IATA’s operations and advocacy, including related administrative and management matters.
• Responds to requests for legal assistance from clients and work assignments referred by the AGC, Deputy General Counsel or General Counsel.
• Prepares and provides independent legal opinions, memoranda, and information papers to IATA’s business groups on the interpretation and application of laws, regulations, legal instruments, compliance requirements, or legal principles in relation to IATA’s activities across multiple jurisdictions.
• Drafts appropriate responses to correspondence and other communications raising legal or compliance-related issues or having legal implications.
• Peer reviews the work of other team members.
• Participates in Legal team practice groups.
• Drafts material on legal subjects for dissemination to airline legal members, including case reviews and summaries of legal developments and compliance trends.
• Delivers presentations to airline members and other external stakeholders in various IATA governance council meetings, taskforces and working groups.
• Manages, instructs, and approves the budget for external counsel in accordance with LSCS processes.
• Monitors and reviews external counsel performance.
• Collaborates with other LSCS team members across the work of LSCS and with IATA staff, external counsel and airline members.
• Communicates directly with IATA staff, external counsel and airline members.
• Maintains strong relationships with specialist legal communities relevant to IATA’s work.

We would love to hear from you if you have

• Advanced University degree in law, (LLB, JD, LLM) from an internationally recognized university.
• Admission to practice law in a relevant jurisdiction, preferably the UK, EU member state, Canada, US, Australia or New Zealand.
• CIPP/E certification required; CIPP/US and/or CIPP/CN considered a strong asset.
• Seven years post legal qualification experience in increasingly responsible positions in an organization, government department or law firm.
• Significant legal professional knowledge, skills and experience in data privacy, data governance, cybersecurity and AI, preferably relating to airline activities.
• Experience in building compliance frameworks and policies.
• Excellent command of English.
• Superior written and oral communication skills.
• Effective, confident communicator and a team player.
• Time management.
• Demonstrates ownership of tasks.
• Demonstrates initiative.
• Strong legal research skills.
• Committed to personal development and continued learning.
• Proactively ensures their own continued professional development.

Travel Required: Y 5%

Learn more about IATA’s role in the industry, our benefits, and the team at iata/careers/. We are looking forward to hearing from you!