Job details

Location: Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Gatwick, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Reading, Sheffield, South Coast - Southampton, Watford

Capability: International

Experience Level: Senior Manager

Type: Full Time

Service Line: International

Contract type: Permanent

Job description

This is an outstanding opportunity to join a growing in-house legal team of high calibre in a global organisation. We expect this opportunity will allow you to broaden and enhance your range of legal skills and experiences and to make a deep impact on the business.

KPMG International (KPMGI) is the entity with which all member firms of the KPMG global organisation are affiliated. KPMGI carries on business activities for the overall benefit of the KPMG global organisation, but does not itself provide professional services to clients. One of the main purposes of KPMGI is to facilitate the provision by member firms of quality Audit, Tax and Advisory services to their clients, including through the use of technology.

The International Office of the General Counsel is a global team within KPMG International that is based in five countries. The team provides legal advice on key strategic issues for and supports the execution of key business decisions made by, KPMG International. It also supports KPMG International and the KPMG global organisation in dealing with legal, regulatory and reputational issues and risks.

Role Summary

KPMG is now a digital business, and as a result, technology enables everything it does and requires KPMG to continue to transform with technology in support of its Growth and Trust agenda. This role will be an important part of the International Office of the General Counsel (IOGC) and its Intellectual Property (IP), Technology and Data group.

We expect that successful candidate will provide significant value-add by delivering legal advice to business and technology development teams on a diverse range of matters relating to data privacy, non-personal / commercial data, information protection, confidentiality and cybersecurity (including data regulation, cross-border data transfers, processing of data by technology solutions, and data aspects of commercial technology transactions) that support KPMG’s Collective Strategy and Global strategic priorities as well as the strategic goals of KPMG’s Global Business Functions, all while supporting IOGC’s senior leadership team in managing, mitigating and preventing legal and reputational risk.

The person performing this role will also be expected to drive significant cost savings by performing complex matters internally without reliance on external counsel. The successful candidate will also be required to influence and collaborate with KPMG International Leaders and their extended leadership teams, particularly colleagues in Information Protection - Risk Management and the Global CAO Office, as well as technology development teams in Global Audit, Global Tax, Global Advisory and Global Technology & Knowledge, as well as data lawyers within KPMG member firms in major jurisdictions.

The person in this role will be expected to execute their responsibilities under the overall supervision of the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and/or the most senior Global Director lawyer with respect to data privacy and information protection.

We expect that the successful candidate will primarily focus on:

• Data aspects of Commercial Technology Matters that promote and support KPMG’s Growth and/or Trust priorities:

• Providing legal advice and support on data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of commercial technology agreements with suppliers and alliance partners which are essential to the successful execution of KPMG’s Collective Strategy or that support, or are a part of, KPMG’s Global Priority Solutions.
• Supporting the privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of legal playbooks and templates for negotiating, drafting, reviewing, amending, and updating procurement contracts, processes, and policies.
• Working collaboratively with the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and the most senior data privacy lawyer, providing legal advice on the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of contract remediation projects focused on updating legal terms and conditions for new law and regulation governing data processing. (e.g., in response to the EU Data Act, the EU Data Governance Act, the EU Digital Services Act, the EU Digital Markets Act and the EU AI Act) and KPMG policies.

• 
  Data aspects of technology solution development, design, and deployment:

• Advising on the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of technology solution reviews.
• Drafting regulatory documentation related to the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of technology solutions, including Privacy Impact Assessments, Data Protection Impact Assessments, Transfer Impact Assessments, and reviewing day-to-day work of paralegals and contractors assigned to this area.
• Collaborating with developers and business stakeholders on the overall process for the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of technology solution reviews.
• Liaising with other members of IOGC on issues relating to privacy risk assessments and other legal issues identified during the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of technology solution reviews (e.g., artificial intelligence, branding, terms and conditions, IP rights, confidentiality, etc.).
• Working collaboratively with the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and the most senior data privacy lawyer, developing and providing training and education to KPMG International professionals on legal and regulatory risks related to the data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data aspects of technology design and development and use of data in technology solutions.

• 
  Driving day-to-day activities of the privacy and information protection sub-practice

• Working collaboratively with the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and the most senior data privacy lawyer, providing legal advice and support on complex privacy, information protection and data governance matters which are essential to the successful execution of KPMG’s Collective Strategy, including key aspects of cross-border data transfers and disclosures that must comply with the laws and regulations of multiple jurisdictions.
• Creating day-to-day solutions to legal issues on difficult privacy, information protection and data governance matters
• Supports the development and implementation of new privacy policies and procedures and advises Global stakeholders on key privacy risks that have strategic impact on KPMG International.
• Collaborating with other IOGC privacy lawyers to analyze key privacy, information protection and data governance risks and to advise a variety of KPMG leaders on mitigations steps.
• Training relevant business, legal, technical, risk and security teams on privacy, information protection and data governance matters.
• Assisting in the preparation of materials addressing privacy, information protection and data governance and compliance requirements that are distributed to KPMG member firms and within KPMG International.
• Working collaboratively with the Legal Head of IP, Technology and Data and the most senior data privacy lawyer, providing legal advice on other complex data matters, including data breaches, data governance, data matters relating to artificial intelligence, and unauthorised disclosures of data and confidential information

• Monitoring and analyzing the legal and regulatory landscape on data:

• Supporting the Legal Head of IP, Technology & Data and most senior data privacy lawyer on the legal strategy and advice for new data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data law and regulation.
• Supporting the implementation of requirements arising from new data regulation including the EU Data Act, the EU Data Governance Act, the EU Digital Services Act, the EU Digital Markets Act and the EU AI Act.
• Responding to legal questions from member firm Lead Privacy attorneys and other privacy professionals on privacy and information protection matters.

Technical Skills

A candidate should have the following technical skills:

• Advanced legal drafting skills
• Advanced communication skills to enable the translation of complex legal and regulatory issues, within the context of complex technical and business issues, into easily understandable advice
• Strong negotiation and analytical skills
• Ability to advise based on first principles

Data privacy, information protection and data regulation

• Advanced technical legal skills in the areas of technology law including data privacy, information protection and non-personal/commercial data law and regulaton as part of an integrated technology value chain
• Strong negotiation and drafting skills across a wide variety of technology, data agreements and transaction structures across various jurisdictions, as well as addressing complex legal, business, and technical issues
• Significant, demonstrable, and strong technical legal skills in the areas of data privacy, information protection and non-personal / commercial data law and regulation, with a focus on providing legal advice on a range of global laws, regulatory guidance and enforcement actions
• Strong negotiating and drafting skills, focused on, across a wide variety of inter-firm governance, commercial technology, and alliance agreements
• Good technical understanding of how technology solutions process data, and the ability to translate such technical information into accessible notices such as privacy statements and AI explainability notices

Qualifications & Licenses

We are looking for a qualified lawyer with a substantial amount of experience (or equivalent if not England and Wales qualified) advising on technology and data law.

Experience & Knowledge

A candidate should have the following experience and knowledge:

• Must possess a strong working knowledge of both on-premises and cloud-based information technology businesses, services and products
• Must possess a strong working knowledge of technology and data law issues that arise in technology solutions and business operations that span multiple jurisdictions with varied laws and levels of enforcement
• Experience in taking the day-to-day lead on managing the details of more complex/strategically significant matters
• Experience in driving forward the implementation of solutions to complex issues and matters, with an international/cross-border dimension
• Ability to quickly absorb, process and analyze a large amount of information in respect of complex issues, which may be provided by stakeholders orally and/or in written form across multiple documents
• Ability to manage and prioritize a large volume of complex matters with competing deadlines and different internal stakeholders
• Knowledge and awareness of global business, geopolitical, legal, regulatory and technology issues/trends which may be relevant to KPMG and the Audit & Accounting profession more broadly
• Experience in, and proficient at, instructing and managing external counsel on matters, as appropriate (other than the most significant matters, on which the individual in this role will work alongside a Partner or Director level lawyer within IOGC)
• Experience in working on cross border matters and well-developed cultural sensitivity to enable engagement with people at all levels and with diverse backgrounds
• Able to manage and supervise more junior personnel, as required

Additional Notes

• This role offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package.
• Some domestic and international travel will be required.
• At KPMG International, we are supportive of helping you to achieve a balance between your home and work demands. We are happy to discuss individual requirements and our range of flexible working arrangements could be of interest. Please ask to find out more.