Primary Focus
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Independent evaluation of compliance, controls, and risk management
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Data protection and privacy compliance (GDPR, DPA 2018, etc.)
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Cybersecurity strategy, governance, and risk management
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Governance Role
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Provides assurance to management and the board on effectiveness of controls
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Acts as the statutory point of contact for data protection governance
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Advises the board/executive on security strategy, budgets, and risk posture
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Regulatory / Legal Compliance
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Audits against frameworks (ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials, internal policies)
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Ensures compliance with GDPR, UK Data Protection Act 2018, and sector-specific laws
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Ensures compliance with cyber security standards, regulations, and contracts
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Risk Management
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Identifies and reports risks in operations, processes, and controls
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Monitors and reports risks to personal data and privacy
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Supports cyber risk register and aligns cyber risk with enterprise risk
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Reporting Line
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Directly to Board / Audit Committee
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Directly to Board / Senior Leadership (no conflict of interest with IT/HR)
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Directly to Board / CEO / CTO (strategic and operational alignment)
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Key Deliverables
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Audit reports, non-conformity findings, improvement recommendations
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DPIAs, breach notifications, policies, data subject rights responses
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Security roadmap, incident response planning, vendor risk oversight
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Typical Activities
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Gap analysis, readiness reviews, ongoing assurance audits
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Drafting/maintaining privacy policies, advising on lawful basis, managing SARs
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Designing and maintaining security architecture, supply chain security
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Interaction with Regulators
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Provides evidence and reports if requested during certification
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Acts as contact point with ICO and other supervisory authorities
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Engages with regulators as needed (NCSC, ICO, sector regulators)
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Time Horizon
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Point-in-time or periodic reviews
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Continuous, as required by GDPR accountability principle
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Continuous, adaptive to threat landscape and business change
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Cost Profile
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Project or retainer (audit cycles)
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Retainer, typically scaled to data volumes/complexity
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Retainer or fractional, scaled to business size and maturity
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Business Value
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Assurance that controls and ISMS are effective
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Reduced legal/regulatory risk, demonstrable privacy compliance
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Reduced cyber risk, increased resilience, board-level security leadership
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