Fintech sits at the point where financial services meets cyber security, and both sides are competing for the same scarce people. In the Financial Services sector, recruitment was generally for Regulatory Qualification Framework (RQF) 6+ roles, rather than RQF 3-5, which tells you the market is weighted towards senior, degree-level and specialist work GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. A first data protection hire usually falls into that higher band.
The wider cyber talent pool is also still growing slowly. There are approximately 143,000 individuals in the UK cyber security workforce, with growth moderately accelerating from 2% in 2022 to 5% in 2024 Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. That modest growth matters, because the data protection and security skills a fintech needs are drawn from the same limited supply.
And demand still runs ahead of supply at the specialist end. A comparison with the Cyber Security Skills 2024 report showed 70% of cyber firms reported at least one hard-to-fill vacancy AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk. If you're hiring your first data protection person, you're hiring into a tight market, so clarity on the role gives you an edge.
A first data protection hire in a fintech wears several hats at once. They set the rules for how customer and transaction data is collected, stored and shared, they answer to regulators, and they sit close to engineering so controls are built in rather than bolted on. In practice the role blends legal and compliance judgement with hands-on security understanding.
That blend is why the role tends to sit at the senior end. Recruitment in financial services leans towards RQF 6+ roles rather than RQF 3-5, which reflects the depth of regulatory and specialist knowledge these positions demand GOV.UK - Temporary Shortage List: Stage 2 report. Your first hire is often a one-person function, so they need to operate across policy, people and product without a team behind them.
Expect the role to flex as the business grows. Early on it's heavy on foundations: data mapping, consent, breach response and vendor due diligence. Later it shifts towards oversight and enablement, helping teams move quickly while staying inside the rules. Shaping the role well now means leaving room for it to change.
Start by writing down the remit, not the job title. Decide what this person owns early on, what they influence, and where they report. Because the skills are scarce, with 70% of cyber firms reporting at least one hard-to-fill vacancy, a sharp, realistic brief helps you compete without overpromising AI Labour Market Survey 2025 (Gardiner & Theobald), GOV.UK / publishing.service.gov.uk.
Hire for judgement first. Rules change, tools change, and regulators update guidance, so the person who can weigh risk and explain it to a product team is worth more than one who only knows today's checklist. Test for how they'd handle a data breach, a tricky vendor contract or a growth feature that touches sensitive data.
Then widen the pool. With a UK cyber workforce of roughly 143,000 people and slow growth, you may not find a perfect match on the first try Cyber security skills in the UK labour market 2025 - GOV.UK. Look at adjacent backgrounds: compliance analysts, privacy lawyers, security engineers who want a broader remit. A strong first hire often comes from a slightly different route.
When you're ready to find that first data protection person, we search a database of 15 million candidates to surface people who match your remit, including the adjacent backgrounds a scarce market makes essential. Our recruitment agent manages recruitment end to end for 8% on a successful hire, with no monthly fee and no upfront cost, through Reed.ai. Tell us what the role needs, and we'll start shaping your shortlist today.
