Ancestry is seeking a strategic and experienced attorney to lead its global privacy and product legal teams. This role will serve as the company’s most senior authority on data privacy, while also acting as a key legal partner to its product, engineering, and innovation teams. The leader will drive the vision and execution of a comprehensive global privacy program—balancing regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, and customer trust with business agility and product innovation.
Requirements
- Deep expertise in U.S. and international privacy and data protection laws, including CCPA, CPRA, GDPR, and related state and federal regulations, with practical experience implementing privacy frameworks such as the EU “One Stop Shop” (OSS), particularly in Ireland.
- Demonstrated experience advising business, product, engineering, and compliance teams on legal and regulatory issues across the product development lifecycle in fast-paced, high-growth environments.
- Proven ability to interface effectively with privacy regulators in both the U.S. and the EU, including managing regulatory inquiries and investigations.
- Proficiency in business tools such as Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Outlook, and collaboration platforms like Slack.
- IAPP certification (e.g., CIPP/US, CIPP/E) preferred.
Responsibilities
- Lead and oversee a comprehensive global privacy program that spans all aspects of the business, aligning closely with key stakeholders including legal, data security, marketing, product, engineering, compliance, and government affairs.
- Provide strategic and day-to-day legal counsel on a broad range of privacy, data use, and governance issues, supporting product development from ideation through launch to ensure compliance with evolving global regulations and best practices.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop, implement, and maintain privacy policies, processes, and controls that align with legal requirements, business goals, and a strong customer experience.
- Advise on and implement global privacy strategies that mitigate legal risk, ensure regulatory compliance, and maintain a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
- Stay current on and assess the impact of new privacy laws and regulations, and partner with internal teams to adapt business practices and product offerings accordingly.
- Manage relationships with privacy regulators worldwide, including registration and notification requirements, and coordinate timely, effective responses to regulatory inquiries or investigations.
- Draft and review privacy-related disclosures, terms, FAQs, policies, and internal protocols, ensuring clarity, consistency, and legal soundness.
Other
- 12+ years of relevant legal experience, including a combination of top-tier law firm training and substantial in-house experience advising on privacy, product, and regulatory matters—ideally in a global, consumer-facing technology company.
- J.D. from an ABA-accredited law school with excellent academic credentials; admission to a State Bar and an active license to practice law in that State.
- Strong leadership and people management skills, with experience leading legal teams and mentoring attorneys and support staff.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and relationship-building skills; able to influence and collaborate across all levels of the organization, and articulate complex legal issues clearly in both written and verbal formats.
- Self-starter who can manage multiple priorities and projects independently, while staying aligned with business objectives and evolving legal requirements.
