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, …