Group Manager - Enterprise in Belfast

Full time / Part time

Salary: £57,815 - £65,021, with potential for further progression to £73,211 with our pay progression scheme plus 10% management allowance

Location: Hybrid

Contracted to our Wilmslow, London, Edinburgh, Cardiff or Belfast office, however, we offer flexible home and office-based working opportunities. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. Please note, from Autumn 2026 our head office will relocate from Wilmslow to Manchester city centre.

Why work for the ICO?

• Pay progression scheme.
• Hybrid and flexible working options.
• 25 days paid holiday per year, plus privilege and public holidays.
• Flexi leave (up to 26 additional days leave per year).
• Pension (employer contribution around 28.9%).
• Online discount scheme to save money at major supermarkets, retailers, gyms, restaurants, insurance providers and many more.
• Health Cash Plan.
• Fantastic development opportunities to learn and progress.

Job summary

We are looking for two Group Managers to lead our Digital Firms and Online Safety teams.

Digital Firms Team (Fixed term until March 2027) – The Digital Firms team is responsible for the ICO’s supervision of the highest priority ‘big tech’ firms operating in the UK economy (including GAMAM). You will be responsible for leading strategic regulatory interventions to drive changes in how these firms approach data processing in high priority areas (e.g. AI, and children’s privacy).

The Enterprise Department sits within the ICO’s Technology, Innovation and Enterprise Directorate, charged with supervising and influencing the most significant firms in the digital economy (e.g. social media platforms and AI developers) to demonstrate high standards of data protection across their full range of products and activities. This work is delivered in partnership with the UK’s other major digital regulators, including through the Digital Regulation Cooperation Forum, which brings together Ofcom, the Competition and Markets Authority, Financial Conduct Authority, and the ICO to maximise the synergies between our regulatory regimes.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent regulator of information rights. In a data-driven world, we provide advice, guidance, and support to organisations enabling compliance with their obligations, as well as protecting individuals and their personal data. As an employer, we are passionate about making a positive difference to the lives and careers of our people, and we empower you to be curious, impactful, collaborative and respectful.

Job description

Online Safety Team (Permanent) – The Online Safety Team owns and leads the ICO’s relationship with Ofcom and managing the intersection of the Online Safety Act and data protection law to create an environment of regulatory certainty for businesses. You will also be responsible for leading strategic regulatory interventions to drive changes in firms approach to data processing in high priority areas relating to online safety.

You will lead a team delivering major regulatory interventions across the digital economy to address data protection non‑compliance and advance the ICO’s strategic objectives. The role involves developing a high‑performing team capable of analysing emerging policies and technologies and making sound regulatory recommendations. It requires strong relationship‑building and senior‑level stakeholder engagement, including managing the ICO’s partnership with Ofcom and coordinating work across data protection and online safety regimes. You will operate with significant autonomy, working closely with senior leaders and regularly providing them with advice, briefings, and policy papers on complex issues.

Key responsibilities:

• Grow, coach and lead the Digital Firms or Online Safety team ensuring that team members are clear about expected standards of performance, motivated and equipped to deliver results.
• Build and maintain productive and strategic relationships with the most significant firms in the digital economy, taking on challenging conversations and delivering strategic regulatory interventions to drive forward the ICO’s regulatory goals.
• Provide strategic advice and support to the Commissioner, CEO and Executive Team, including the delivering of timely and high-quality written briefings.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with key internal stakeholders and manage multi-disciplinary teams to delivering strategic regulatory interventions to tackle high-priority compliance issues (e.g. policy development and upstream engagement).
• Manage the ICO’s relationship with Ofcom to manage the interface between data protection and online safety regimes, including leading the ICO’s input into external consultations and policy discussions as needed.
• Lead and contribute to strategic thought leadership in the Enterprise Department to influence the ICO’s approach to strategic regulatory interventions.

Person specification

Essential criteria assessed at application stage:

• Substantial experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience. Which could have been gained from a policy, regulatory, operational, or corporate environment.
• Strong strategic thinking skills with the ability to lead projects, drive organisational goals, and build engaged stakeholder communities.
• Skilled at interpreting complex information such as legislation, operational rules, or procedures. Experience with data protection or related regulatory frameworks is beneficial.
• Able to identify emerging issues and technologies, commission research, test hypotheses, and apply horizon scanning techniques.

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Proven ability to lead teams or complex projects, set and deliver against performance targets, and manage staff development and performance effectively.
• Able to analyse complex issues and legislation and produce clear, persuasive written arguments tailored to different audiences.
• Knowledge of UK and international parliamentary, democratic, political, and regulatory systems, particularly as they relate to the digital economy and privacy.
• Confident communicator with strong presentation skills and the ability to represent the ICO effectively to a wide range of stakeholders.
• Comfortable working under pressure, managing competing priorities, and maintaining high standards in demanding environments.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks.

Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.

As part of the ICO’s commitment to our EDI objectives and creating a workplace that represents the communities and societies we serve, we guarantee an interview to candidates who declare they identify as belonging from an ethnic minority background and who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy.

If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team.

Closing Date

Please submit your CV and cover letter by 23:59, 15 February. Your cover letter should be no more than 1,000 words and should clearly demonstrate how you meet the essential criteria for the role. We may close this vacancy early if we receive a high volume of applications. To ensure your application is considered, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application, please contact us.

In the event of a high volume of applications, we may not be able to invite all candidates who meet the minimum criteria to interview. However, we encourage you to stay in touch and apply for future roles that match your interests. All candidates who meet the minimum criteria and apply in-line with our guaranteed interview scheme for disabled and ethnic minority applicants will be interviewed.

Clearance Required for this role: