Privacy Pros Urged to Remain Authentic as Shifting Landscape Enlarges Profession

Demand for privacy pros is “at an all-time high due to these complex regulatory requirements and this mass migration to cloud services and the increased use of AI technology,” said Aveen Sufi, director of privacy and risk management at Scan Health. At the same time, “privacy roles are really becoming more specialized," she said. "We're moving away from privacy generalists.”

For example, privacy professionals are increasingly involved in AI governance. “We really need to be looking at building privacy programs that incorporate legal skills, technical skills, analytical skills,” which will require "privacy technologists, privacy engineers and AI governance professionals” for a “diverse privacy team,” Sufi said.

Companies are "really thinking about how they're presenting privacy choices,” said George Ratcliffe, head of privacy at Stott and May. People who can add value on the UX design side "are definitely becoming more attractive" to businesses seeking to refresh "clunky" and hard-to-see cookie banners, for example, he said.

This means “there's more opportunity to match to your strengths” for someone looking to get into the privacy profession, said Doug Miller, senior fellow at the Future of Privacy Forum. But on the flip side, it can make the privacy profession more siloed, "and it underemphasizes ... some of the most important skills and abilities the privacy professionals have.”

It also means that those already in the privacy space must acquire new skills and functions, said Sufi. “We've definitely become the Swiss Army knives of our organizations,” she said. “Some of the skills that we've had to adopt, in addition to our privacy hat, is we've had to become these communication strategists.”

“There's this overarching need that we … need to explain these very complex privacy issues to non-experts,” Sufi said. Additionally, “we've really had to take time to understand data, to identify trends, risks and compliance issues,” almost like data analysts.

Miller compared this shift to the Elle Woods character in Legally Blonde, because “she finds a way to move forward in a way that's really authentic for her.” She “figure[s] out how to figure out what the actual problem is,” but “doesn't give up the pink.” Even in a changing environment, “there are so many different ways for privacy professionals to serve and exploit their real strengths, that you can find a way that is authentic for you.”

Also, Ratcliffe said, communicating is a key to connecting with people about privacy. “Storytelling,” or “that ability to make things relevant to people on the opposite side of the organization to you, is becoming increasingly important,” he said. “The ability to communicate in an appropriate manner with people in every area” is a skill many companies are looking for when hiring privacy professionals.