Are you committed to safeguarding sensitive information and would you thrive in a role focused on guiding the Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) as we build our data protection program and maintain the hard-earned trust of the Washington State public employees we serve? Would you enjoy serving as a privacy subject matter expert focused on elevating agency awareness of privacy best practices? And, is working in a cooperative culture of continuous improvement, learning, and work-life balance important to you? If your answer is Yes, the role as the *Privacy Program Specialist -- Program Specialist 4 *could be the perfect opportunity for you!

Duties:

This recruitment will remain open until filled. Applicants who apply prior to the end of the day on Sunday, March 16, 2025, will get first consideration. The hiring manager reserves the right to make a hiring decision at any time during the recruitment process.

*The Opportunity: * Reporting to the Risk Management Director, you will help shape the agency's privacy program. In this collaborative role you will be responsible for furthering the goals, maturation, and management of the agency's organization-wide privacy program in alignment with the WaTech Office of Privacy and Data Protection (OPDP) Privacy Framework.

Some of what you'll do includes:

• Interpreting, applying, and administering Washington (WA) state laws and principles governing privacy and the DRS data that is subject to those requirements. 
• Acting as a subject matter expert on the agency's privacy risks and how the agency manages these risks.  
• Partnering with DRS divisions to assess and evaluate the current agency privacy risks and mitigation practices with special attention to systems that contain personally identifiable information (PII).
• Analyzing the agency-assessment results against WA state laws and the OPDP Privacy Framework and Principles to identify next steps for improvement. 
• Using the assessment results, developing a maturity model to recommend the timing of future maturity efforts. 
• Annual review and update of the agency's privacy notice.
• Review new or updated data sharing agreements for consistency and alignment with privacy laws and principles and offer recommendations.
• Leads required OPDP Privacy Threat Assessments (PTA) and/or Privacy Impact Analysis (PIA).
• Supports the DRS Suspicious Account Activity Reviews through Member account research, analysis and coordination with Division Business Units.
• Supports the DRS Internal Control Officer{#msoanchor1 rel="nofollow"}{#msoanchor2 rel="nofollow"} through research, analysis and the coordination of internal control assessment activities.
• Strengthening agency awareness of privacy risks through designing and administering various forms of publications and trainings.

NOTE: * After successful completion of the review period and effectively demonstrating the ability to perform work independently, you may be eligible to telework up to two (2) days per week, at the discretion of the Appointing Authority and with a telework agreement in place.* The ability to work remotely is dependent on the nature of the tasks and projects assigned and the presence of a remote work environment that is safe and has an appropriate level of reliable connectivity. You must live within a reasonable commuting distance (less than 50 straight-line miles) to the DRS building in Tumwater, WA, and must be willing to adjust your telework schedule to attend mandatory meetings, trainings, etc., at the DRS f