Senior Legal Counsel - Dunstable Senior Legal Counsel Data Privacy & Compliance Salary: £95,000 + bonus + 10% matched pension + health care etc. Dunstable, hybrid working with a minimum 3 days per week in our office and 2 working from home/another location Reports To: Legal Director Senior Legal Counsel Dunstable, (LU5 5XE) hybrid working (3 days per week in the office) Salary: £100,000 - £120,000 depending on experience, £5,650 car allowance, plus bonus up to 30%, pension matched to 10%, family health cover, sharesave scheme Legal Reports To: Legal Director Looking to join a collaborative, supportive legal team where your expertise is trusted and your work genuinely matters? Whitbread is a FTSE 100 company, the UK s largest hospitality business, and home to some of the country s most recognisable brands including Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, and Bar + Block. We have heritage that stretches back over 275 years. We re now looking for a Senior Legal Counsel to join our Legal team. This is a high profile but supportive role where you ll be empowered to shape how data protection, AI governance, and wider compliance work across the business, with real backing from senior leaders and the space to do things well. This role combines data privacy leadership with a broader compliance and AI governance remit, offering real variety and the opportunity to build sustainable, practical frameworks that enable the business to move forward with confidence. Roughly 60% of the role focuses on data protection, with the remaining 40% covering wider legal compliance, governance, and AI related matters. The role could suit a data protection specialist, or a general commercial or regulatory lawyer with demonstrable experience in data protection. You ll work closely with colleagues across Legal, Technology, Digital, HR and the wider business, acting as a trusted adviser and practical problem solver. Flexible Working - Although this role is advertised as full time, we recognise that people do their best work in different ways. Data Protection (UK led, with international exposure) Lead UK data protection compliance across the full consumer and employee data lifecycle Develop, maintain, and embed clear, workable data protection policies and governance frameworks Manage Whitbread s relationship with its outsourced UK DPO Oversee DPIAs, ROPAs, DSARs and data related disputes Advise on CRM, digital marketing, cookies and consent Draft and negotiate data processing and data sharing agreements Work closely with IT and digital teams to ensure privacy by design is built into new initiatives from the outset AI, Compliance & Governance Alongside data privacy, you ll play an important role in shaping Whitbread s approach to AI and wider legal compliance, including: Acting as the legal subject matter expert on AI regulation and emerging legal developments Competition law risk management and training Supporting compliance reporting to the Audit Committee What matters most is a passion for developing, embedding, and improving legal compliance and governance frameworks in a practical, business focused way. Experience in UK data protection law (EU exposure helpful but not essential) Experience working with significant volumes of consumer and/or employee data (B2C experience important) The ability to write clear, practical policies and guidance Private practice or in house backgrounds are welcome. Curious about emerging technologies and how the law can enable responsible innovation Motivated by building things that last and make a real difference You ll be joining a collegiate, pragmatic legal team that works closely with the business, values good judgement over bureaucracy, and gives its lawyers genuine autonomy. A FTSE 100 company with a strong heritage and clear values