Law and compliance

Data protection officer (DPO) CV: example and template

This example is for data protection officers and GDPR specialists at companies, hospitals, schools, public offices and advisory firms serving many controllers, and for lawyers, security and compliance specialists who want to work in data protection.

The employer wants to know for which organisations you act as DPO, how you keep documentation, how you respond to breaches and how you train staff. We show you how to describe this on your CV.

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Example CV: data protection officer

All the details in this example are fictional. Treat it as a model of layout and wording, and replace the content with your own experience.

Grzegorz Pietrzak

Data protection officer

Poznan +48 123 456 789 grzegorz.pietrzak@example.com

Professional profile

Data protection officer with 7 years of experience at an advisory firm, acting as DPO for 14 organisations: hospitals, schools and service companies. I keep records of processing activities, run impact assessments, analyse breaches and notify the supervisory authority, and carry out audits and training. Before that I worked in the legal department of a technology company.

Work experience

Data protection officer

03.2020 - present

Data protection advisory firm, Poznan

  • DPO for 14 organisations, including 3 hospitals and 5 schools.
  • Records of processing activities, data protection policies and procedures.
  • Analysing about 40 incidents a year and notifying breaches to the supervisory authority within 72 hours.
  • Data protection impact assessments for new systems and CCTV.
  • Audits and training for about 1,500 staff a year.

Legal specialist

06.2017 - 02.2020

Technology company, Poznan

  • Data processing agreements with clients.
  • Implementing GDPR in the company.
  • Answering data subject requests.

Education

Master's degree in law

2012 - 2017

Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

Postgraduate studies, personal data protection

2018 - 2019

Poznan University of Economics and Business

Skills

  • GDPR and national law
  • Records of processing activities
  • Data protection impact assessments
  • Breach handling
  • Processing agreements
  • Audits and training

Qualifications and training

  • ISO/IEC 27001 internal auditor, 2021
  • Data protection in healthcare training, 2024

Languages

  • English: B2

Additional information

  • IT security basics and work with IT departments

I hereby consent to the processing of my personal data for the purposes necessary to carry out the recruitment process, in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (GDPR).

How to write a data protection officer CV

Professional summary

Write how many and which organisations you act as DPO for, or which organisation you work at, and your main tasks. Add breach handling and impact assessments, because they show experience with the hardest matters. Mention a legal or technical background, because a DPO needs both perspectives.

Administrative specialist at a hospital who for 2 years has helped the DPO with the records of processing, processing agreements and training. I completed postgraduate studies in personal data protection. I am looking for work as a data protection specialist.

Experience: duties and achievements

Describe organisations, their sectors, documentation, breaches, impact assessments, audits and training. Give numbers: organisations, incidents, staff trained. Do not give breach details that could identify the organisation.

Weaker: Acting as DPO.

Better: DPO for 14 organisations, including 3 hospitals and 5 schools.

Weaker: Breaches.

Better: Analysing about 40 incidents a year and notifying breaches to the supervisory authority within 72 hours.

Weaker: Training.

Better: Audits and training for about 1,500 staff a year.

Skills worth listing

List regulations, documentation, breach handling, impact assessments and audits. In your soft skills show independence, explaining the rules clearly and calm during incidents.

Professional skills

  • GDPR
  • Documentation
  • Breaches
  • Impact assessments
  • Processing agreements
  • Audits

Personal skills

  • Independence
  • Explaining the rules clearly
  • Calm during incidents
  • Discretion
  • Running training

Qualifications and training

List postgraduate studies in data protection, information security certificates and sector training, for example for healthcare. The GDPR does not require a specific certificate, but a DPO must have expert knowledge of data protection law and practice.

How to start as a DPO

People usually start as a lawyer, compliance, security or administrative specialist. On your CV show the personal data tasks you have already done.

Complete postgraduate studies in data protection and start as a specialist at an advisory firm. It is a good way to get to know many organisations.

Tailoring your CV to the job offer

A hospital looks for medical data and work with staff, a school for pupil data and CCTV, and a technology company for processing agreements and impact assessments for new systems. Move to the top what the job ad is about.

The most common mistakes on a data protection officer CV

Questions and answers

What should a data protection officer put on a CV?

Organisations, documentation, breach handling, impact assessments, processing agreements, audits, training, education and qualifications.

Does a DPO need a certificate?

No, the GDPR does not require a specific certificate. A DPO must have expert knowledge of data protection law and practice.

Does a DPO have to be a lawyer?

No, but a legal background helps. Knowledge of IT security is useful too.

How do you start as a DPO?

Most often through work as a lawyer, compliance or security specialist and postgraduate studies in data protection.

Create a data protection officer CV in the builder

In the CV Majster builder you enter your details step by step and see right away what the document looks like. You can copy the wording from this page and adapt it to yourself. The finished CV as a PDF costs a one-off PLN 5, with no subscription, and you see the preview before you pay.

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