APAC Data Privacy Counsel/Senior Counsel

Job Description

Founded in 2008, Airbnb’s mission is to create a world where people can belong through healthy travel that is local, authentic, diverse, inclusive and sustainable. Airbnb uniquely leverages technology to economically empower millions of people around the world to unlock and monetize their spaces, passions and talents to become hospitality entrepreneurs. Airbnb’s accommodation marketplace provides access to 5+ million unique places to stay in more than 81,000 cities and 191 countries. With Experiences, Airbnb offers unprecedented access to local communities and interests through 15,000 unique, handcrafted activities run by hosts across 1,000+ markets around the world. Airbnb's people-to-people platform benefits all its stakeholders, including hosts, guests, employees and the communities in which it operates.

Airbnb seeks an experienced privacy professional to fill the role of Data Protection Officer for Airbnb in APAC, based in our Singapore office. You will play a critical role and work collaboratively across multiple teams and regions to continue to build, develop, and deliver a compliance framework for data protection law. You will also serve as the primary point of contact for Data Protection Authorities for issues related to Airbnb’s privacy policies and practices.

Responsibilities

• You will be responsible for building Airbnb’s privacy programme in APAC as well as monitoring, overseeing and advising Airbnb on its compliance with the obligations created by relevant data protection and privacy laws
• You will oversee employee training in relation to data protection across all relevant areas of the business (e.g., customer service agents, product, engineering) who access and work with our community’s personal data. In addition to this you will work closely with our Employee Experience team to ensure that our employees’ data is processed in accordance with relevant data protection and privacy laws
• Together with other privacy and data security experts in the Legal team and elsewhere within the organisation, you will ensure that there is adequate monitoring of Airbnb’s compliance with relevant data protection and privacy laws including checking data protection policies and procedures, and conducting audits
• You will be our point of contact with data protection authorities in APAC with regard to Airbnb’s data protection and privacy practices. In addition you will be responsible for managing proactive and reactive engagement with other APAC supervisory authorities as may be required from time to time and acting as the point of contact for our users in relation to data protection and privacy
• You will provide advice in relation to privacy impact assessments and co-ordinate notifications of any data breaches with support from privacy and data security experts in the Legal, Security, Product and Engineering teams
• Together with our Policy Team and Outside Counsel, you will track, advise and (where necessary) engage with industry associations / regulators on legislative developments around APAC insofar as this may have an impact on Airbnb’s product and compliance with relevant regulatory requirements
• You will receive support in your role from around the organisation including in particular the Legal team but also Security and Human Resources

Experience/Qualifications:

• Fluency (reading/writing/speaking) in English is essential
• Qualified as a lawyer in a major jurisdiction, preferably with IAPP/other privacy certification
• At least 8 years’ post-qualification experience, including ideally at least 2 years’ relevant in-house experience in an MNC, preferably in the tech / digital space / in a role with privacy or data protection specialisation
• Substantive knowledge and demonstrated expertise in global data protection law and privacy framework, particularly EU and APAC

The successful candidate should also have:

• Ability to understand technology-driven businesses, communicate concisely, and influence effectively across a wide audience including regulators, Airbnb leadership, engineering and product teams, and members of the legal team
• Strong negotiation and “ambassadorial” skills, which they will put to work both internally to foster a strong data protection culture throughout the organisation and externally in the area of data privacy to maintain and enhance users’ trust in Airbnb
• Exceptional ability to consistently deliver creative, thoughtful and business-oriented results that appropriately balance growth and risk in a fast-paced and high-pressure environment
• Flexibility and willingness to work with all levels of the organization, and to roll up your sleeves to get the job done
• Intellectually curious, open-minded, adaptable, comfortable with ambiguity and risk, and excited by dynamic change
• Experience creating and managing compliance processes
• Ability to work both collaboratively and autonomously while prioritizing competing tasks in a fast-paced, challenging environment
• International travel will be required (when travel opens)
• Driven, caring, self-starting, humble keen learner with growth mindset, adaptable individual possessing high integrity, excellent judgment, a strong sense of humour and a love for fun and adventure