This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information when you visit or use our website.

As you browse our website and whenever you communicate with us, we collect information. It deepens our understanding of what works and what doesn’t. We collect and process your data for the purposes of providing information and our services in the public interest.

We take protecting your privacy very seriously and will always take all reasonable steps within our power to make sure your information is safe.

When we collect information about you, what we collect and how we use it

We collect information every time you interact with us. The type and quantity of information we collect and how we use it depends on why you are providing it.

For example, we may collect information when you:

• Fill out a survey
• Join our mailing lists
• Apply for an award or programme
• Make an enquiry about our programmes or awards or about studying in the USA
• Register to attend one of our events
• Donate to us
• Volunteer with us

The information we may collect from the above interactions may include, but is not limited to:

• Your name, address, telephone number, mobile number and/or email address, along with your preferences as to how we should contact you in the future
• Financial and credit card information which you give to us, including your gift aid status
• Information you enter onto our website, application forms or surveys
• Records of your correspondence with us
• Records of your donation history
• Images, photographs or video if you take part in an event with us
• Details of your visit to the website, including technical information such as the IP address you use to access the website, your browser type and version
• Other details relevant to your communications with us

We will mainly use the data we collect to:

• Provide you with the services, products or information you asked for – for example, monthly newsletters about studying in the USA
• Administer your application and award or place on our programmes
• Administer your donation or support your fundraising, including processing gift aid
• Keep a record of your relationship with us
• Manage your communication preferences, including marketing preferences
• Understand how we can improve our services, products or information
• Keep you up to date with the Commission’s work and to ask for financial and non-financial support
• Support and further our mission (for example we may with your consent use images, photographs or video in marketing or promotional materials)

Visitors to our website – information collected automatically

When someone visits Fulbright.org.uk we use a third party service, Google Analytics, to collect standard internet log information and details of visitor behaviour patterns. We do this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the various parts of the site.

Use of cookies

We use cookies on our website and you can find out more on our cookies page.

How long we keep your data for

We will hold your personal information on our systems for as long as is necessary for the relevant activity. If you request that we stop sending you marketing materials we will keep a record of your contact details and the appropriate information to enable us to comply with your request not to be contacted by us. We won’t keep any information that we don’t need.

Sharing your information with other parties

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

We may allow our suppliers to access and use your personal data to allow them to perform services on our behalf (e.g. payment processing). In these circumstances, we will not give these organisations any rights to use your personal information except to provide services to us and in accordance with our instructions.

Signing up to our mailing list/s

If you give us consent, we may collect your information to sign up for our mailing list/s. Our purpose for collecting the information is so we can send you information about our events, advice and programmes. The legal basis we rely on for processing your personal data is your consent under article 6(1)(a) of the UK GDPR.

How to unsubscribe:

You may withdraw your consent to be on our mailing list at any time. There will be a link to unsubscribe at the bottom of any emails you receive through this mailing list. If you have signed up to multiple mailing lists from the US-UK Fulbright Commission, you will need to unsubscribe using this process for each of them. If you wish to unsubscribe by another means, email dpo@fulbright.org.uk. In either case, we’ll update our records immediately to reflect your wishes.

Do we use any data processors?

Yes – we use Mailchimp and WizeHive and Salesforce to deliver different kinds of Commission emails. For more information, please see Mailchimp’s privacy policy.

Children’s Privacy

We do not knowingly collect information from children under the age of 13, nor target our services to children under 13.

Links to other websites

This privacy notice does not cover the links within this site linking to other websites. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on the other websites you visit.

Your rights

You have the right to request, free of charge:

• access to and correction or deletion of your personal information,
• that we cease or limit our processing of your personal data, and
• a copy of your personal information held by us in a portable format.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the address set out below.

If you have any complaints about the way your data has been handled, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) on 0303 123 1113.

Conditions of use

The use of our website is governed by the laws of England. In accessing our website, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of the website

Changes to this policy

The US-UK Fulbright Commission may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy was last updated on 6 February 2023. 

How to contact us

You can write to us by completing our contact us page or by post to:

US-UK Fulbright Commission,
Unit 302, 3rd Floor Camelford House,
89 Albert Embankment,
London
SE1 7TP

The Fulbright Commission takes very seriously the privacy of your personal data. This notice sets out what data we ask you for and how we use your data.

How and why we use your data - Programme application

Sharing your data - Delivering the programme

Your rights

Contacting us

The type of personal information we collect

This privacy notice describes how the US-UK Fulbright Commission (the “Data Controller”) will collect and process personal data relating to job applicants. We are committed to being transparent about how we collect and use that data and to meet our data protection obligations.

What information do we collect?

We collect and process a range of information about you.

• Your name, address and contact details, including email address and telephone number;
• details of your qualifications, skills, experience and employment history; including start and end dates, with previous employers;
• information about your current level of remuneration, including benefit entitlements;
• whether or not you have a disability for which the organisation needs to make reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process; and
• information about your nationality and entitlement to work in the UK;
• information about your criminal record;
• equal opportunities monitoring information including information about your ethnic origin, sexual orientation and religion or belief.

We collect this information in a variety of ways. For example, data is collected through CVs or resumes; covering letters; obtained from your passport or other identity documents; or collected through interviews or other forms of assessment.

We may collect personal data about you from third parties, such as references supplied by former employers. We will seek information from third parties only once a job offer to you has been made and will inform you that we are doing so.

Data will be stored in a range of different places, including on your application record in the BambooHR platform and in other IT systems (including our email system and Sharepoint).

What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?

We need to process data to ensure that we are complying with our legal obligations. For example, we are required to check a successful applicant's eligibility to work in the UK before employment starts.

In other cases, we have a legitimate interest in processing personal data during the recruitment process and for keeping records of the process. Processing data from job applicants allows us to manage the recruitment process, assess and confirm a candidate's suitability for employment and decide to whom to offer a job. We may also need to process data from job applicants to respond to and defend against legal claims.

We may need to process data to enter into an employment contract with you if your application is successful.

We process special categories of data, such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion or belief, for the purposes of equal opportunities monitoring. Data that we use for these purposes is collected with the express consent of the applicant.

Applicants are entirely free to decide whether or not to provide such data and there are no consequences of failing to do so.

We may also collect information about whether or not applicants are disabled to make reasonable adjustments for candidates who have a disability. We process such information to carry out our obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

For some roles, the organisation is obliged to seek information about criminal convictions and offences. Where the organisation seeks this information, it does so because it is necessary for it to carry out its obligations and exercise specific rights in relation to employment.

Who has access to the data?

Your information may be shared internally and externally for the purposes of the recruitment exercise. This includes the shortlisting and interview panel involved in the recruitment process including external panel members, the Administration Co-ordinator, Director of Operations and the Executive Director.

We will not share your data with third parties such as former employers unless we have your permission and are intending to make you an offer of employment.

The organisation will not transfer your data outside the UK unless we have your consent.

What if you do not provide personal data?

You are under no statutory or contractual obligation to provide data to the organisation during the recruitment process. However, if you do not provide the information, the organisation may not be able to process your application properly or at all.

How do we protect data?

We take the security of your data seriously. We have internal policies and controls in place to ensure that your data is not lost, accidentally destroyed, misused or disclosed, and is not accessed except by our employees in the proper performance of their duties.

For how long do we keep data?

If your application for employment is unsuccessful, we will hold your data on file for up to eight months after the end of the recruitment process. At the end of that period, your data is deleted or destroyed.

The special categories of data such as information about ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion or belief, that we collect for the purposes of equal opportunities monitoring are anonymised eight months after the end of the recruitment process and then retained for statistical purposes.

If your application for employment is successful, personal data gathered during the recruitment process will be transferred to your personnel file and retained during your employment. The periods for which your data will be held will be provided to you in a new privacy notice.

Your rights

As a data subject, you have a number of rights. You can:

• access and obtain a copy of your data on request;
• require us to change incorrect or incomplete data;
• require us to delete or stop processing your data, for example where the data is no longer necessary for the purposes of processing; and
• object to the processing of your data where we are relying on our legitimate interests as the legal ground for processing.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact our Data Protection Co-ordinator, dpo@fulbright.org.uk.

If you believe that we have not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and they can be contacted on 0303 123 1113.

Policy last updated 29 November 2022.