Data Governance & Compliance Manager

We are looking for a Data Governance & Compliance Manager to join our Information Security team. In this role, you will own the strategy and execution of Talkdesk's data governance program, covering data lifecycle management, retention, privacy rights management, data classification, and data protection controls. You will work closely with Legal & Privacy, Product, Engineering, Security, and business stakeholders to translate regulatory and contractual requirements into practical, scalable controls, processes, and tooling.

This is a highly cross-functional role that requires a combination of strong data governance and privacy expertise, project leadership, technical understanding, and the ability to influence stakeholders across the organization.

What You'll Own

Data Governance & Compliance Strategy

• Build and own the roadmap for Talkdesk's data governance program, from requirements and design through implementation, measurement, and continuous improvement.
• Define and maintain data governance policies, procedures, standards, and controls covering data classification, retention, privacy rights management, and data protection.
• Embed governance requirements into engineering and data processes, enabling teams to follow secure and compliant practices by default.
• Monitor regulatory developments, including GDPR, CCPA, and other global privacy regulations, and translate them into actionable governance requirements.
• Assess projects and initiatives to ensure compliance with applicable data governance, privacy, and regulatory requirements.
• Identify opportunities where strong data governance can create business value, improve customer trust, and enable responsible data use.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Execution

• Partner closely with Legal & Privacy to translate regulatory and contractual requirements into practical governance controls.
• Collaborate with Product and Engineering to embed data governance and privacy-by-design principles into products, systems, and technical architecture.
• Drive complex, multi-team initiatives across Engineering, Security, Product, Legal, and business functions.
• Define project scope, objectives, deliverables, timelines, and success criteria with senior stakeholders.
• Identify and manage dependencies, risks, critical paths, and milestones through to completion.
• Build business cases for governance initiatives and communicate their impact to senior leadership.
• Define KPIs and reporting mechanisms that demonstrate both risk reduction and business value.
• Prepare governance and compliance reports for management, auditors, and other relevant stakeholders.
• Promote a culture of responsible data use and privacy-by-design across the organization.

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in data governance, privacy, compliance, GRC, or a related field.
• Proven experience building, implementing, or scaling data governance programs.
• Strong understanding of global privacy regulations, particularly GDPR and similar frameworks.
• Ability to translate regulatory and privacy requirements into practical policies, processes, controls, and technical requirements.
• Experience working with Data Lifecycle Management, Data Classification, Consent Management, Privacy Rights Management, and Data Protection.
• Experience driving highly technical, multi-team initiatives across Engineering and other business functions.
• Strong understanding of security and compliance frameworks such as NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and SOC 2 is a plus.
• Experience working with tools such as Google Workspace, Confluence, and Jira.
• Experience with OneTrust, Vanta, or other GRC/data governance platforms is a plus.
• Strong track record of improving data trust, privacy posture, compliance maturity, or customer experience.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent professional experience preferred.

Who You Are

• A critical thinker who can navigate complex and ambiguous problems.
• Highly organized, with strong planning and project management skills.
• A confident decision-maker who can balance risk, compliance, and business priorities.
• An excellent communicator who can adapt messaging to technical, legal, business, and executive audiences.
• A strong influencer who can drive alignment without relying solely on formal authority.
• Collaborative and comfortable working across multiple teams and regions.
• Skilled at negotiation and conflict management.
• Adaptable, resilient, and comfortable operating in a fast-paced, global environment.
• A self-starter who is willing to dive into complex or unfamiliar problems and drive them through to resolution.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role means:

• Talkdesk has a clear, scalable, and measurable data governance strategy.
• Engineering and Product teams can incorporate governance and privacy requirements into their workflows without unnecessary friction.
• Data is appropriately classified, retained, protected, and managed throughout its lifecycle.
• Privacy and regulatory requirements are translated into clear and actionable technical controls.
• Governance investments demonstrate measurable improvements in risk reduction, data trust, compliance maturity, and business value.
• Talkdesk continues to strengthen a culture of responsible data use and privacy-by-design across the organization.