Data & AI Governance Compliance Specialist

About us: At Booking.com, data drives our decisions. Technology is at our core. And innovation is everywhere. But our company is more than datasets, lines of code or A/B tests. We’re the thrill of the first night in a new place. The excitement of the next morning. The friends you encounter. The journeys you take. The sights you see. And the memories you make. Through our products, partners and people, we make it easier for everyone to experience the world

About the team: The Data & AI Governance department enables extending the governance theme of policies, standards, processes and technology for governing data and AI to driving excellence in our approach to leveraging secure, trusted, accessible data for data driven decision making through:

• An overarching Data & AI Policy to include associated standards

• Data & AI Governance including meta and master data management

• Data & AI Delivery Governance

• Data & AI Quality including both technical and business quality measures

This enables the maturity of Data and AI capabilities across Booking.com, unlocking data and algorithms as assets for delivering innovative growth opportunities and cost saving operational efficiencies. 

Role Description: The Data & AI Governance Specialist plays a critical role in balancing regulatory safety with high-velocity innovation. Sitting within the Data & AI Governance Department, you will be part of the team that translates complex regulations (DMA, EU AI Act, etc.) into everyday agile practices. You will move beyond simple ‘checkbox compliance’, helping product and tech teams navigate the complexities of data governance and ethical AI without slowing down development. You will be challenged to learn & adapt to new tools & technologies as a part of being a champion of change. You will oversee the full lifecycle of governance, from maintaining the Data Catalogue and AI Registry, to conducting quality control reviews thus ensuring our ‘agile’ environment remains a ‘compliant’ environment. You will work cross-functionally with business and tech stakeholders to ensure the regulatory and internal policies are not just written but translated into practical guardrails.

Key Job Responsibilities and Duties:

• Data & AI Governance Compliance Operations

• Oversee the daily health of the various compliance dashboards. Ensure critical parameters and thresholds are monitored and actioned upon

• Assist in operationalizing governance frameworks (AI standard, master data management, etc.) that support the ‘High Velocity’ of change, ensuring guardrails keeps pace with changes.

• Regulatory Compliance & Monitoring

• Act as a subject matter expert on risk & control implications of digital regulations (DMA, EU AI Act, GDPR, etc.), translating legal requirements into clear, actionable items for engineering and product teams.

• Help build the  compliance monitoring plan. Actively monitor controls, review key activities, and validate that business units are adhering to defined requirements and policies.

• Proactively identify compliance risks or control deficiencies in early stages projects or implementation. Escalate material risks to the Compliance Manager with recommended remediation strategies.

• Adoption, Culture & Change Management

• Drive the adoption of new governance tools and technologies. Create practical processes and raise awareness that make it easier for teams to be compliant than to cut corners.

• Simplify complex compliance concepts for non-technical stakeholders across the organization.

• Embed automated compliance checkpoints into the agile processes for continual compliance

• Policy Maintenance & Reporting

• Assist leadership in maintaining the compliance resource library. Ensure policies are not static documents but are regularly updated to reflect new regulatory standards and industry best practices.

• Own the remediation process. Ensure that identified deficiencies are logged, tracked, and monitored until they are fully remediated and closed.

• Work with other BU and second line risk teams to ensure risks are monitored, remediated and/or reported appropriately to the right stakeholders.

• Prepare data artifacts and evidence for internal and external audits, ensuring the ‘burden of proof’ is easily met.

Role Qualifications and Requirements:

• 10 years of experience around Data Governance and Compliance, or, alternatively, 3+ years of experience in working with Data, coming from Data Analysis, Business Analysis, Analytical background

• Exceptional verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to apply common sense to carry out instructions and instruct others, train personnel, write reports, correspondence and procedures, and speak clearly with stakeholders.

• Thorough understanding of risk management procedures; 

• Ability to deal with complex risk management problems involving multiple facets and variables in non-standardized situations, requiring non-standard solutions.

• Ability to work independently with a wide variety and hierarchy of stakeholders. 

Pre-Employment Screening

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable law, a pre-employment screening may include employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the position.