人才市场新动向：“隐私”成点金石，沾边职业都紧俏

从隐私软件工程师、隐私官到隐私事务律师，现在只要和“隐私”沾边的职位，在人才市场里都很受欢迎。

由于立法者和消费者越来越重视加强数据保护，数据隐私从业者已成商界的香饽饽。企业雇用越来越多在隐私某些领域精通的专业人士，至少在网上发布的招聘广告中都格外强调“隐私”。

“毫无疑问，隐私保护现在就是非常热门。”国际人类资源顾问公司Robert Half的法律顾问解决方案业务部董事总经理乔尔·伍斯特霍夫如是评论。

过去四年，招聘网站Indeed上头衔包括“数据隐私”或者“数据保护”字样的空缺职位增长了75%。期间需求增长最多的职位是隐私分析师，四年来空缺职位增长一倍多。

近年来爆出一系列丑闻，例如剑桥分析公司为施加政治影响收集Facebook的用户数据，以及Google Plus向数百个第三方应用开放，导致用户数据泄露。此后，消费者和立法者对隐私的了解增加。不过，职场对专注隐私的工作者——高管、中层管理者、律师和技术专家的需求之所以增多，背后推手主要是新出台的监管法规。

去年5月生效的欧盟《通用数据保护条例》为新趋势打响了发令枪。企业也在为2020年美国加州将实行的《加州消费者隐私保护法》以及未来美国联邦政府可能通过的监管法规未雨绸缪。

新法律的主要目标是提高企业收集用户数据及相关用途的透明度。监管法规给了用户更多控制权，可以选择对企业分享哪些数据。新规定也要求企业允许用户删除个人数据，还命令企业将冗长的使用协议条款解释清楚，让用户更容易理解。

数据隐私监管法规不仅影响科技企业，还波及所有收集客户或用户数据的公司。伍斯特霍夫称，银行、制药商、医疗服务商和科技企业都在向Robert Half的咨询部门询问数据隐私相关情况。

空缺职位反映出，企业对隐私的关注度上升。2018年，数据隐私和保护人员的招聘职位较2017年增长将近80%，而2014年到2017年岗位需求曾逐年下滑。四年间隐私顾问和隐私律师的空缺职位倒是翻了一倍多。

Facebook目前约有40个与“隐私”有关的空缺职位。其中包括为用户提供删除或隐匿个人数据功能的软件开发员、研究数据合理使用的职位，以及为企业提供隐私事务指导的政策经理。

同时，亚马逊约有20个与隐私保护相关的空缺职位，谷歌和推特分别约有10个和5个。

现在查不到从事以隐私为主的工作收入多少。由于隐私领域的工作多种多样，很可能整理不出具体的薪资数据。

有时企业也会找顾问公司代为处理隐私相关的工作。

伍斯特霍夫说：“我几乎每天都能接到与隐私相关的需求，有些来自美国公司，也有海外公司。两年前工作量远没有这么多。”

专家预计，不管是招聘全职员工还是请顾问，企业对数据专业人士的需求将有增无减。

“这方面的意识越来越强，而且企业领导层普遍意识到了。”谈到隐私，高管猎头及管理咨询公司光辉国际（Korn Ferry）的高级客户合伙人艾琳·亚历山德拉这样说。

数据隐私对话的性质也在改变。亚历山德拉指出，过去企业往往依赖于法律顾问来处理数据隐私事务。现在企业已经拓宽数据隐私的职责范围。她举例说，企业开始反省：“从企业的角度出发，我们在做什么？”

由于涉及到财务和名誉风险，企业董事会也更关注数据隐私。伍斯特霍夫说，很多公司认为数据隐私是三大关键之一，另外两大关键是数据安全和新兴技术带来的挑战。

未来企业跨国传递的用户数据会更多，还将结合新的技术，也面临更多可能影响营销策略的监管措施。其中隐私保护的地位将相当重要。

“隐私保护不会更简单，而是更复杂。”伍斯特霍夫表示。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林

Wanted: privacy software engineers, privacy officers, and privacy attorneys. In fact, anything with “privacy” in the title will do.

Data privacy workers have become hot commodities in the business world as legislators and consumers increasingly call for stronger data protection. Companies are increasingly hiring people who are specialized in privacy in one way or another—or are at least emphasizing “privacy” in the job ads they post online.

“There’s no question,” said Joel Wuesthoff, managing director of Robert Half Legal Consulting Solutions. “It is definitely a very hot space.”

Over the past four years, the number of openings with the terms “data privacy” or “data protection” in their titles on employment site Indeed have increased 75%, according to Indeed. The biggest rise in demand during that period was for privacy analysts, for which openings more than doubled.

Consumers and legislators have become more aware of privacy following a string of recent scandals—like Cambridge Analytica harvesting Facebook user data for political influence and Google Plus leaving user data vulnerable to hundreds of third-party apps. But even so, the rising demand for privacy-focused workers—executives, middle managers, lawyers, and technical experts—is mostly being driven by new regulation.

The push kicked off with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, which took effect in May. Companies are also preparing for the California Consumer Protection Act, which will come into play in 2020, and any federal regulation that passes in the future.

The laws aim to improve transparency about the user data that companies collect and what they can do with it. The regulations also give users more control over what they share with companies, require that businesses let users delete their data, and mandate that typically voluminous terms of use agreements be easier to understand.

Data privacy regulation doesn’t just affect technology companies, it touches all businesses that collect data about their customers or users. Banks, pharmaceutical makers, health care providers, and technology firms are all calling Robert Half’s consulting arm about data privacy, Wuesthoff said.

Job openings reflect that rise in focus. In 2018, postings for data privacy and protection officers rose nearly 80% from the previous year after declining every year between 2014 and 2017. Meanwhile, openings for privacy consultants and privacy attorneys have more than doubled over the four-year span.

Facebook currently has about 40 job openings with “privacy” in the title. Those listings include software developers who would work on features for letting users delete or anonymize their data, research jobs that explore how data is used, and policy managers who provide guidance to companies about privacy matters.

Meanwhile, Amazon has about 20 privacy-focused job openings, Google has about 10, and Twitter lists about five.

No salary information is available that shows how much workers who focus privacy earn. In any case, it’s probably impossible to compile considering the variety of jobs that fall under the privacy rubric.

In some cases, companies are turning to consulting firms to handle their privacy-related work for them.

“I probably get almost a request a day from companies in the U.S. and overseas for a variety of needs that are being driven from a privacy perspective,” Wuesthoff said. “Two years ago, we didn’t have that level of traffic.”

Whether it’s hiring full-time staffers or using consultants, experts say the greater demand for data professionals will only continue to grow.

“There’s an increasing awareness, and it’s occurring among business leadership,” Aileen Alexander, senior client partner at Korn Ferry, an executive recruiting and management consulting firm, said about privacy.

The nature of data privacy conversations are changing, too. Previously, companies often relied on their legal counsel to handle data privacy matters, Alexander said. Now, the companies are broadening responsibility for data privacy across the organization. Companies are asking themselves, “What are we doing from a business perspective?” she said.

Corporate boards are paying closer attention to data privacy because of the financial and reputational risk involved. For many, it’s among the top three concerns—up there with data security and challenges related to emerging technologies, Wuesthoff said.

In the future, companies will send more user data across borders, integrate new technologies, and be subject to more regulation that affects their marketing strategies. Privacy considerations will play a role in all of them.

“This is not going to get more simple; it’s going to get more complex,” said Wuesthoff.