Privacy Specialist

Location: San Diego, CA (100% Onsite)

Position Type: 08+ Months with potential extension

Reporting To: Senior Director, Compliance & Privacy

Position Summary: We are seeking a detail-oriented Privacy Specialist to support our growing global privacy program. This role focuses on hands-on privacy operations, compliance documentation, data mapping, and assessment execution within a highly regulated pharmaceutical and life sciences environment. Reporting directly to the Senior Director of Compliance & Privacy, you will partner closely with Privacy Counsel and cross-functional business units to ensure privacy-by-design principles and operational requirements are embedded across clinical, patient, and corporate operations.

Key Responsibilities: Assessments & Reviews: Partner directly with Privacy Counsel to conduct and track Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs), and vendor assessments across clinical trials, patient services, pharmacovigilance, medical affairs, and corporate operations. Data Mapping & RoPAs: Collaborate across departments to build, maintain, and update Records of Processing Activities (RoPAs), data inventories, and enterprise data flow maps. Intake & Operational Support: Manage the daily privacy intake queue, addressing routine compliance questions, logging requests, tracking remediation action items, and escalating complex legal matters appropriately. Regulatory Compliance: Support ongoing alignment with global and regional privacy frameworks, including GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, emerging U.S. state privacy laws, and applicable health data regulations. Documentation & Governance: Help draft and update privacy policies, internal procedures, notices, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and training materials. Audit & Monitoring: Collect audit evidence, assist with compliance tracking, monitor key regulatory developments, and prepare summaries for internal stakeholders. Qualifications & Experience

Experience: Approximately 5 years of relevant professional experience in privacy operations, data protection, legal compliance, or corporate paralegal roles.

Background/Certification: Paralegal background or formal paralegal training/certificate. CIPP (e.g., CIPP/US, CIPP/E, CIPM) certification is a plus. Industry Background: Prior experience in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, healthcare, clinical research, or a similarly regulated environment is strongly preferred.

Education: Bachelor's degree preferred; Associate degree or High School Diploma accepted with significant relevant experience.

Technical Skills: Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (advanced Excel, Word, PowerPoint) and experience using privacy management/data mapping platforms (e.g., OneTrust or similar tools).

Core Competencies: Process-Driven: Exceptional attention to detail, structured note-taking, and rigorous documentation habits. Collaboration: Strong interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to interface effectively with legal counsel, clinical teams, IT, and external vendors. Discretion: Highest level of professional integrity, discretion, and ability to handle sensitive clinical, personal, and proprietary data. Adaptability: Demonstrated initiative and comfort navigating shifting priorities within an evolving regulatory landscape.

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