Head of People Risk, Compliance & Privacy
At Apple, we believe doing what's right is foundational to how we treat our people and operate our business. The People Risk, Compliance & Privacy team helps bring that belief to life by ensuring our People organization upholds the highest standards of integrity, accountability, and care across everything we do.
We build the frameworks, controls, and governance that protect Apple and our employees, while enabling teams to move confidently through a complex and rapidly evolving risk landscape. From privacy and audit readiness to data disclosures and compliance oversight, we support every People function in delivering trusted, compliant, and resilient experiences.
If you're passionate about risk done right, thrive in fast-moving environments, and want to help shape how Apple manages People-related risk across the globe, we'd love to hear from you.
Description
The Head of People Risk, Compliance & Privacy will build and lead a specialized team responsible for establishing centralized governance, risk, frameworks, and oversight across the People organization. This leader enables distributed ownership across Centers of Excellence (COEs) and People Operations while ensuring clarity, consistency, and accountability in how People related risks are identified, managed, and monitored.
People Risk & Governance Framework
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Define and align the scope of "People compliance" and "People risk" across the People organization.
Establish shared compliance domains including labor practices, data privacy, workplace health and safety, compensation and payroll controls, and public disclosures.
Design and implement a practical people risk assessment model, including a leadership facing risk heat map and scorecards.
Define baseline control expectations and documentation standards to embed within workflows.
Oversight, Monitoring & Audit Readiness
Standardize required documentation and evidence artifacts across compliance domains.
Conduct internal readiness reviews and structured testing in high risk areas.
Partner with COEs to define minimum global compliance standards.
Monitor trends, exceptions, and control effectiveness; drive corrective action for systematic gaps.
Coordinate cross-functional audit responses and remediation tracking.
Data Governance & Privacy Enablement
Establish a consistent intake to approval model for People related data disclosures.
Clarify execution roles while centralizing standards, documentation, and oversight.
Ensure People data handling aligns with privacy principles, legal requirements, and enterprise standards.
Partner with Privacy, Legal, Security, and Operations to embed privacy by design into People processes.
Promote responsible data stewardship across the employee lifecycle.
Enablement & Issue Management
Identify compliance related capability gaps and partner with learning owners to deliver targeted training.
Monitor adoption and effectiveness in high risk areas.
Establish a clear intake pathway for People compliance concerns.
Triage issues and route appropriately (ER, Legal, Privacy, COEs, Ops).
Track remediation to closure and implement systemic fixes to prevent recurrence.
Preferred Qualifications
Demonstrated success building scalable governance models adopted across complex, matrixed organizations.
Experience translating regulatory and legal requirements into practical tools, controls, and workflows.
Executive ready communication skills across technical and business audiences.
High degree of discretion, integrity, and judgement when handling sensitive data and issues.
Experience operating in a global organization with evolving regulatory landscapes.
Minimum Qualifications
15+ years of experience in HR risk, compliance, privacy, audit, HR operations, or related governance roles.
2+ years of people management experience leading high performing teams in fast paced environments.
Bachelor's degree in Human Resources, Business Law, Public Policy, Risk Management, or related field.
Experience coordinating cross-functional support across multiple business groups or regions.
Strong executive communication, influence, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to travel as needed.
Apple is an equal opportunity employer that is committed to inclusion and diversity. We seek to promote equal opportunity for all applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, Veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. Learn more about your EEO rights as an applicant .
Pay & Benefits
At Apple, base pay is one part of our total compensation package and is determined within a range. This provides the opportunity to progress as you grow and develop within a role. The base pay range for this role is between $254,800 and $408,000, and your base pay will depend on your skills, qualifications, experience, and location.
Apple employees also have the opportunity to become an Apple shareholder through participation in Apple's discretionary employee stock programs. Apple employees are eligible for discretionary restricted stock unit awards, and can purchase Apple stock at a discount if voluntarily participating in Apple's Employee Stock Purchase Plan. You'll also receive benefits including: Comprehensive medical and dental coverage, retirement benefits, a range of discounted products and free services, and for formal education related to advancing your career at Apple, reimbursement for certain educational expenses - including tuition. Additionally, this role might be eligible for discretionary bonuses or commission payments as well as relocation. Learn more about Apple Benefits.
Note: Apple benefit, compensation and employee stock programs are subject to eligibility requirements and other terms of the applicable plan or program.
Perks and Benefits
Health and Wellness
Parental Benefits
Work Flexibility
Office Life and Perks
Vacation and Time Off
Financial and Retirement
Professional Development
Diversity and Inclusion
Company Videos
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