Head of Privacy

About us

We are champions of rail, inspired to build a greener, more sustainable https://www.thetrainline.com/terms/sustainability-faqs future of travel. Trainline enables millions of travellers to find and book the best value tickets across carriers, fares, and journey options through our highly rated mobile app, website, and B2B partner channels. 

Great journeys start with Trainline 🚄 

Now Europe’s number 1 downloaded rail app, with over 135 million monthly visits and £6.3 billion in annual ticket sales, we collaborate with 270+ rail and coach companies in over 40 countries. We want to create a world where travel is as simple, seamless, eco-friendly and affordable as it should be. 

Today, we're a FTSE 250 company driven by our incredible team of over 1,000 Trainliners from 50+ nationalities, based across London, Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Edinburgh and Madrid. With our focus on growth in the UK and Europe, now is the perfect time to join us on this high-speed journey. 

Introducing Head of Privacy / Data Protection Officer (DPO) at Trainline

This role sits within the Security organisation, reporting into the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and acting as Trainline’s appointed Data Protection Officer (DPO).

As Head of Privacy, you will lead Trainline’s global privacy strategy and programme, ensuring privacy is embedded into everything we build - while enabling teams to move quickly in a fast-paced, product-led environment. Operating at the intersection of Product, Engineering, Data, Security, and a rapidly changing regulatory environment, you will play a key role in supporting innovation, including AI-driven products.

You will lead a small, high-impact team and act as both a strategic advisor and hands-on leader, helping the business navigate evolving regulatory requirements while balancing risk with commercial outcomes.

The ideal candidate will bring strong privacy leadership experience, with the ability to translate complex regulation into practical, scalable approaches that support business growth.

As Head of Privacy / DPO at Trainline, you will... 🚄

• Lead and shape Trainline’s global privacy strategy, advising the business on compliance and risk ensuring alignment with business goals and regulations (UK GDPR, EU GDPR, ePrivacy) and emerging frameworks

• Act as the appointed DPO, fulfilling statutory obligations and acting as the primary contact point for supervisory authorities (e.g. ICO) overseeing regulatory engagement

• Embed privacy by design and by default into the product development lifecycle, partnering closely with Product and Engineering teams

• Support rapid experimentation and innovation by providing pragmatic, risk-based guidance that enables delivery at pace

• Advise on AI, machine learning, and data-driven products, including governance, risk assessment, and responsible data use

• Work closely with Legal, CISO/Security, and Data teams to align privacy, security, and regulatory approaches

• Act as a bridge between technical and non-technical stakeholders, translating complex topics into clear, actionable guidance

• Oversee core privacy operations including DPIAs, ROPA, data subject rights, and privacy-related incident response

• Build scalable, efficient privacy processes suited to a high-growth, product-led environment

• Lead and develop a high-performing privacy team, setting priorities and fostering a culture of ownership and pragmatism

• Promote a strong privacy-aware culture across the organisation through training, guidance, and stakeholder engagement

We’d love to hear from you if you... 🔎

• Have significant experience in a privacy leadership role, ideally as a Data Protection Officer or equivalent

• Bring deep knowledge of UK/EU data protection regulations and how to apply them in a commercial, product-led business

• Have experience partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Security teams in fast-paced environments

• Can balance regulatory requirements with business needs, enabling innovation without unnecessary friction

• Are comfortable engaging with technical systems, architectures, and modern product development practices (e.g. agile, experimentation)

• Have experience advising on AI or advanced data use cases and understand associated privacy risks and emerging regulation

• Are a strong communicator who can influence at all levels and simplify complex topics

• Thrive in ambiguity and can create clarity, structure, and momentum

• Have experience in a technology, marketplace, or digital platform business

• Have experience with adtech, cookies, and tracking technologies, and a strong understanding of the associated privacy and regulatory considerations

• Familiarity with AI governance and emerging regulatory frameworks

• Have experience working with or implementing AI tools in a professional context

More information:

Enjoy fantastic perks like private healthcare & dental insurance, a generous work from abroad policy, 2-for-1 share purchase plans, an EV Scheme to further reduce carbon emissions, extra festive time off, and excellent family-friendly benefits. 

We prioritise career growth with clear career paths, transparent pay bands, personal learning budgets, and regular learning days. Jump on board and supercharge your career from day one! 

We're operate a hybrid model to work and ask that Trainliners work from the office a minimum of 60% of their time over a 12-week period. We also have a 28-day Work from Abroad policy.

Our values represent the things that matter most to us and what we live and breathe everyday, in everything we do: 

• 💭 Think Big - We're building the future of rail 

• ✔️ Own It - We focus on every customer, partner and journey 

• 🤝  Travel Together - We're one team 

• ♻️ Do Good - We make a positive impact 

We know that having a diverse team makes us better and helps us succeed. And we mean all forms of diversity - gender, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, nationality and diversity of thought. That's why we're committed to creating inclusive places to work, where everyone belongs and differences are valued and celebrated.

Interested in finding out more about what it's like to work at Trainline? Why not check us out on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/trainline/, Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lifeattrainline/ and Glassdoor https://www.glassdoor.co.uk/Overview/Working-at-Trainline-EI_IE249203.11,20.htm!