Enterprise Risk and Data Protection Executive

About Chartered Accountants Ireland 

Chartered Accountants Ireland is Ireland’s leading professional accountancy body, representing over 40,000 members in over 100 countries and educating 8,600 students. Its members provide leadership across both the public and private sector, bringing experience, trusted expertise, and strict standards to all aspects of their work. As the largest professional body on the island of Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland engages with several stakeholders including governments, policy makers, regulators, and business groups on key issues affecting the profession and the wider economy. Chartered Accountants Ireland supports members at every stage of their career from education to qualification to continuing professional development.   

Institute Values 

The Institute seeks to ensure an environment based on our new values of Excellence, Forward-Looking, Openness and Accountability. Candidates should be able to demonstrate how these may apply to them in the role for which they are applying and how their previous experience is relevant to them.  

The Institute is operating in a period of significant organisational change, including ongoing digital transformation initiatives and investments in core technology platforms. The Enterprise Risk and Data Protection Executive will play a key role in supporting organisational resilience, governance and risk oversight during this period of change. 

Summary of Role  

Reporting to the Enterprise and Data Protection Manager, the Enterprise and Data Protection Executive role will provide administrative, operational and analytical support across the Institute’s enterprise risk management, business continuity, and data protection activities.

The successful candidate will support the implementation and ongoing maintenance of the enterprise risk management and data protection activities, helping to ensure regulatory compliance, maintain accurate records, and promote a culture of risk awareness, accountability, and privacy governance across the Institute. The role will be responsible for coordinating and maintaining risk and data protection documentation, supporting risk assessment and reviews, monitoring agreed actions, assisting with reporting processes, and supporting compliance activities. The role will also support the delivery of business continuity and resilience initiatives and help ensure that policies, registers and governance records remain remains accurate, complete, and up to date.

Working closely with colleagues across all business functions, the role will assist in coordinating risk and compliance activities, supporting stakeholders in meeting their responsibilities and promoting awareness of risk management and data protection requirements.

The role will work alongside risk owners, and other stakeholders to provide operational and analytical support for risk assessments, compliance monitoring, governance processes and reporting activities. Through effective organisation, stakeholder engagement and attention to detail, the role will contribute to the continued development and effectiveness of the Institute's risk, resilience and data protection arrangements.

Key Responsibilities  

Risk Management Administration

• Maintain the corporate risk register and update records as directed.

• Coordinate risk review meetings and prepare meeting documentation.

• Maintain the risk action tracker, issue reminders to risk owners and report overdue actions.

• Produce regular risk reports and dashboards.

• Assist with the collection and analysis of risk-related information.

• Ensure risk management documentation is filed and maintained appropriately.

Business Continuity, Resilience and Incident Management Administration

• Maintain business continuity plans and associated documentation.

• Coordinate annual reviews of business continuity plans with business owners.

• Schedule and support business continuity testing exercises.

• Record actions arising from exercises and monitor progress to completion.

• Maintain business impact analysis documentation.

• Assist in producing reports and metrics relating to business continuity activities.

• Provide administrative and coordination support during business continuity incidents and exercises, including arranging meetings, maintaining action and decision logs, circulating approved communications, and tracking follow-up actions.

• Promote awareness and understanding of business continuity and incident management responsibilities across the organisation. 

Data Protection and Privacy Administration

• Support the administration of Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs).

• Assist with document collation and redaction exercises.

• Maintain records of processing activities and privacy documentation.

• Support the logging and tracking of data protection incidents and breaches.

• Assist with Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs).

• Maintain data protection records, templates and guidance documents.

• Support data protection awareness and training activities.

Governance and Compliance Support

• Maintain policies, procedures and governance documentation.

• Coordinate committee and working group meetings, including preparing agendas and minutes.

• Maintain action logs and follow up on outstanding actions.

• Provide administrative support for internal and external audits, including coordinating information requests, maintaining audit action logs, tracking actions, issuing reminders, and preparing status updates.

• Ensure governance records are accurate, complete and appropriately stored.

 Assurance and Oversight 

• Support the Institute's assurance activities across risk, compliance, business continuity and data protection areas. 

• Support monitoring of emerging risks, control weaknesses and assurance findings, and assist in the implementation of appropriate remediation plans.

Skills and Experience 

 Essential

• Previous administrative or coordination experience, ideally supporting governance, compliance, risk management, internal audit, business continuity or data protection activities.

• Strong stakeholder management and relationship-building skills, with the ability to develop effective working relationships with risk owners, colleagues across the organisation, fostering collaboration and promoting a positive risk and compliance culture.

• Strong organisational and record management skills.

• An ability to manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills.

• Excellent word processing skills and an excellent attention to detail

• An ability to handle confidential and sensitive information.

• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications, including Excel, Word, Teams and SharePoint.

Desirable

• Experience supporting GDPR, risk management or business continuity activities.

• Experience maintaining registers, logs or compliance records.

• Knowledge of document redaction tools and records management practices.

• Relevant administrative or governance qualification.

Flexible work arrangements 

The Institute is seeking and encourages applications from experienced candidates who may be looking for flexible work arrangements. If such arrangements are being sought please bring these to the attention of your interviewer.  

The Institute will use the information which you have provided in this form to respond to your request or process your application and will hold and protect it in accordance with the Institute's privacy statement, which explains your rights in relation to your personal data. By submitting this application acknowledge you have read our privacy statement. 

Chartered Accountants Ireland is an equal opportunities employer.