Data Protection by Design Technology Adviser

Contract

This is a ICRC - Open-ended contract. More about ICRC - Open-ended contracts.

Reports to (role)

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What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works worldwide to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict and armed violence. We act in response to emergencies and promote respect for international humanitarian law. We are a neutral, impartial and independent organization, and our mandate stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 1977. We work closely with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and with their International Federation to ensure a concerted, rational and rapid humanitarian response to the needs of the victims of armed conflicts and other situation of internal violence. We direct and coordinate the international activities conducted in these situations.

Purpose of the position

Safeguarding individuals’ personal data, particularly in challenging situations such as armed conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies, is an essential part of protecting people’s lives, dignity, and physical and mental well-being. That makes personal data protection a matter of fundamental importance for the ICRC in all our activities, whether operational or administrative.

Digitalization and new technologies have an increasingly important role in today’s humanitarian activities.

Main responsibilities

1. Provides the necessary technical expertise to the DPO supervisory function to enable meaningful application of the ICRC Rules on Personal Data Protection;

2. Collaborates in and leads a number of Data Protection by Design R&D projects, for example in the framework of the ongoing cooperation with the ETHZ, EPFL, and Microsoft or with other partners;

3. Provides the necessary technical expertise to the DPO for the development of guidance and policies on the application of personal data protection requirements in the framework of specific technologies or technology areas, including through multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Data Protection in Humanitarian Action initiative that led to the publication of the Handbook on Data Protection in Humanitarian Action, the DigitHarium, and the humanitarian Action Program with the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity. Participate / lead in the drafting of relevant policies and standard operating procedures;

4. Participate in métiers-led technology activities by providing advises on privacy enhancing technologies and cyber security matter.

Main duties (1/3)

1. Provide the necessary technical expertise to the DPO supervisory function to enable meaningful application of the ICRC Rules on Personal Data Protection

• Drafting briefing notes
• Providing input into DPO analysis/assessment documents/DPIAs/Data Protection by Design Studies/Data Breach procedures
• Provides presentations to the DPO team to equip other colleagues with the necessary knowledge to properly analyse solutions from a legal perspective

Main duties (2/3)

2. Collaborate in and lead a number of Data Protection by Design R&D projects, for example in the framework of the ongoing cooperation with the ETHZ, EPFL, and Microsoft

• Lead in a number of R&D projects with academic and/or corporate partners (incl. writing project proposal, coordinate project activities, report to DPO and others units)
• Proactively monitor a number of new technologies and their advances under the direction of the DPO.

The R&D projects includes, by way of example, work in the area of:

• Privacy enhancing technologies (PET)
• Secure communication and anonymization (e.g. SCION, Signal, etc)
• Trusted execution environments
• Secure hardware
• New biometrics-based identity systems with enhance minimization and biometrics data protection
• Digital Identity based on verifiable credentials
• Humanitarian digital payments (including by way of cryptographic tokens)

Main duties (3/3)

3. Provide the necessary technical expertise to the DPO for the development of guidance and policies on the application of personal data protection requirements in the framework of specific technologies or technology areas as relevant, including through multi-stakeholder initiatives:

• Participate / lead in the drafting of relevant policies and standard operating procedures
• Coordinating multi-stakeholder initiatives

4. Maintain an internal network of people involved in digital transformation and actively propose to provide technical advice with a data protection and privacy preserving angle.

5. Upon request and under the direction of the DPO, provide advice to ICRC métiers on their technology initiative.

Education and experience required

Minimum 4 years of experience, a master’s degree in computer science (or equivalent) as well as a sound understanding of cyber security technologies, policies, strategies, and geopolitics. Solid knowledge of:

• personal data protection and privacy regulatory frameworks (ideally demonstrated through Data Protection Officer training and certification),
• data protection by design and by default,
• security by design and by default, and
• privacy and security engineering techniques

Solid understanding of the humanitarian sector and commitment to humanitarian actions are essential. Experience with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are a strong asset.

To be successful, the post holder must demonstrate a strong capacity to collaborate with peers and a strong interest in applied research. It must be capable of adapting to rapid changes in the prioritization of tasks. Curiosity for exploring out-of-the-box ideas and ability to positively challenge existing models is a key characteristic of the post holder.

Additional information

• Location: Geneva
• Type of contract: Long-term assignement
• Duration of assignment: open-ended
• Grade: C1
• Activity rate: 100%
• Estimated start date: ASAP
• Application deadline: Sunday, the 30th of January 2022

The ICRC values diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.