Are you committed to upholding information rights and ensuring transparency across a complex organisation?
Join The Open University as an Information Rights Manager, Requests, and play a crucial role in ensuring we meet our obligations under UK GDPR and the Freedom of Information Act. You’ll help protect the rights of individuals, support colleagues across the institution, and contribute to maintaining the highest standards of data governance. This role is for a fixed term for 12 months.
About the Role
As an Information Rights Manager, Requests, you will carry out a range of duties to ensure the University’s compliance with information rights legislation (including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)). The postholder’s focus will be on the processing of requests under the UK GDPR and the FOIA, calling for a highly organised approach with an acute attention to detail.
The role will be based within the Governance, Compliance & Legal Services (GCLS) which oversees the overall governance and compliance structure of the University and ensures the integrity of the conduct of its business.
The successful candidate will have a key role in the data protection and FOIA compliance activities across one of the largest Universities in Europe in a fast‑developing regulatory environment.
Key Responsibilities
* Manage the processing of requests under information compliance legislation (Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Subject Access Requests (SARS), requests for erasure of personal data and other rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)), which will involve:
* Prioritising and managing the flow of information rights requests to ensure that requests are replied to within the statutory deadline,
* Identifying and extracting requests information from across the University,
* Structuring and ordering the often‑complex sets of data received, and
* Applying, with the support of the Senior Manager exemptions and redacting the information.
* Support the Data Protection Officer (DPO) and senior managers in pro‑actively ensuring data protection compliance through:
* Maintenance and analysis of relevant data and management information and the preparation of reports, and statistical information as requested, and
* Contribution to and involvement within awareness and training activities for staff.
* Provide advice and, if required guidance documents, to colleagues on how they can ensure compliance with data protection and information rights legislation. Supporting them, if required, in completing Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), to ensure that the appropriate safeguards (technical and organisational) have been applied to mitigate any risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects.
* Stay up to date with developments in relevant regulatory data compliance requirements and internal developments within the University to enable the most up to date expertise, advice and guidance to be provided to both internal and external stakeholders.
* Any other duties commensurate with the role.
About You
* Communication: Communicates effectively with a variety of audiences; has a proven understanding of the need for confidentiality; negotiates well and appropriately manages conflict.
* Planning and Organising: Plans, prioritises and allocates work effectively and delivers to multiple and pressurised deadlines.
* Analytical thinking: Gathers information in order to understand complex issues and uses initiative and creative thinking to solve identified problem.
* Service Delivery: Proven track of sustaining attention to detail and ensuring a high level of accuracy and service delivery even when under pressure.
* Teamwork: Is respectful and actively inclusive towards others, builds productive and collaborative working relationships across and beyond their employer to realise common goals.
* Ability to learn: Understands and adapts to new ways of working; is willing and able to engage with, and digest, new information, technologies and ways of working.
* Knowledge: Demonstrates an understanding of the key concepts and principles of data protection and compliance legislation and has experience of their application.
* Proficient in the use of general office IT systems (particularly Microsoft Office products).
* Educated to degree level or equivalent level of professional experience.
* Practical experience of providing data protection and information rights guidance to staff with differing levels of understanding and processing information rights requests (e.g. Subject Access Requests & Freedom of Information).
* Knowledge of The Open University systems and processes involved in gathering, storing and collecting personal data.
Support with your application
If you have any questions, or need support or adjustments relating to your application, the recruitment process, or the role, please contact us on 01908 541111 or email careers@open.ac.uk quoting the advert reference number.
Why Join The Open University?
At The Open University, we’re proud to champion openness, integrity, and the protection of individual rights. As part of our Governance, Compliance & Legal Services team, you’ll play a vital role in ensuring we operate with transparency and accountability.
Our benefits include:
* 33 days annual leave, on top of bank holidays and a three-day Christmas closure period.
* Access to a leading pension scheme for UK higher education with generous employer contributions.
* Staff Fee Waivers for OU study, meaning you could earn a degree for free.
* Hybrid working, with limited requirement to attend the office in‑person, with agile working and family friendly policies.
* Discounts, wellbeing support, and development opportunities.
Ready to make an impact?
Apply now and help us strengthen data protection and information rights compliance across a world‑leading institution. This is your chance to shape how we manage information, support our community, and safeguard the rights of thousands of students and staff.
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