General information
Job Title
Data Protection & Compliance Manager
City
London
Country
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Division
Finance
Department
Risk and Compliance
Data Protection & Compliance Manager
Thought Machine
Legal
London, UK
Posted on Jun 24, 2025
Description
Thought Machine’s mission is bold - to properly and permanently rid the world’s banks of legacy technology. To achieve this, we have developed the foundations of modern banking through core and payments technology which run natively in the cloud. What we are attempting is hard and means we need great people working together to build great technology.
We have grown rapidly in the past few years - growing our team to more than 550 individuals across offices in London, New York, Singapore and Sydney. We have raised more than $500m in funding and are now valued at $2.7bn. Our investors include Molten Ventures, Eurazeo, Intesa Sanpaolo, Temasek, Nyca Partners, JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments, Standard Chartered Ventures, and more.
We have created a culture enabling our team to produce the best work in the industry, ensuring we have fun along the way. We're regularly cited as having a fantastic workplace culture and have been recognised by Sifted magazine as having one of the highest Glassdoor ratings for a UK fintech company and the most generous employee share package in the industry. Global Finance Magazine named us one of the world’s most innovative fintechs, and the Financial Times recognised us as one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in 2023.
We're seeking a Data Protection and Compliance Manager to ensure Thought Machine upholds the highest regulatory standards globally, adapting to changing business needs and international laws. This role is crucial for our continued expansion and product compliance.
Duties
You'll act as our primary Data Protection Specialist, leading efforts to:
- Align with global data protection laws (e.g., GDPR, local regulations) and support international expansion.
- Implement data protection controls with engineering and client services teams.
- Serve as the main contact for data protection authorities and handle data subject requests.
- Promote data protection awareness through training and conduct regular audits of data practices.
- Ensure products like Vault Core and Vault Payments comply with regulatory requirements
As a Horizon Scanning Lead, you'll:
- Track new global regulations (outsourcing, cloud, third-party risk).
- Develop new controls and update policies to proactively address upcoming compliance challenges.
- Coordinate action plans for implementing regulatory changes across teams.
- Support regulatory assessments for new target markets.
You'll also provide General Compliance & ESG support by:
- Administering internal and external policies.
- Assisting with RFPs, due diligence, and compliance training.
- Ensuring compliance with certifications (ISO, SOC 2).
- Monitoring regulatory changes affecting our products and company.
- Offering compliance advice and implementing ESG initiatives.
- Identifying ESG reporting needs and preparing reports.
Requirements
Essential
- Experience in fintech or financial services (retail banking or regulatory consultancy for retail banks).
- Practical data protection expertise.
- Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams, especially engineering and delivery.
- High energy and a desire to thrive in a fast-moving environment
Desirable
- Data Protection Certifications (e.g. CIPP, CIPM)
- Legal or Paralegal experience
- Experience with compliance functions at a SaaS platform company.
Benefits
- Highly competitive salary
- Pension plan (match up to 5%)
- Life insurance - three times annual salary
- Competitive maternity (six months fully paid) and paternity leave (four weeks fully paid)
- Shared parental leave (matched to our maternity leave for the same point in time)
- 25 days holiday and bank holidays
- Flexible working hours
- Cycle-to-work scheme
- Electric car scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Access to outstanding learning materials and courses
- Sports and hobby clubs, subsidised by Thought Machine
- All the latest tech you need
- Start the day properly with fresh fruit and cereals
- Huge range of healthy (and not-so-healthy) snacks, smoothies and drinks
- A talented and experienced team as your colleagues
- An environment where we encourage learning and progress
- Two charity days a year
- Weekly food pop-up
We actively hire candidates who demonstrate technical excellence in their field and welcome people of all ages and backgrounds, providing everyone with equal access to professional development. You are encouraged to apply even if your experience doesn't accurately match the job description. We also encourage applications from those with different abilities, including candidates with ADHD, autism, dyslexia or dyspraxia.