Privacy Policy – Next Kraftwerke GmbH – Recruitment

What does this Privacy Policy cover? 

This Privacy Policy provides information about personal data which are processed by Next Kraftwerke GmbH (or ‘we’) which are part of the Shell group of companies (‘Shell’) in relation to individuals who apply to work for, or who attend a recruitment event or undertake an assessment with Next Kraftwerke GmbH. This includes prospective employees, interns and contractors.

For individuals who are successful in their application for employment, internship or engagement as a contractor, the Privacy Policy for Next Kraftwerke GmbH Employee, Contractor and Dependents’ Personal Data will apply. 

As well as this Privacy Policy, bespoke privacy Policies and supplementary privacy statements may contain further information about how Next Kraftwerke GmbH is processing your personal data. In those instances, such privacy Policies will be communicated to you separately. 

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we process about you, why we are processing your personal data and for which purposes, how long we hold your personal data for, how to access and update your personal data, as well as the options you have regarding your personal data and where to go for further information. 

Who is responsible for any personal data collected? 

Next Kraftwerke GmbH will be responsible for processing your personal data, either solely or jointly with its affiliates within the Shell group of companies.

Full contact address:

Next Kraftwerke GmbH 
Lichtstr. 43 g
50825 Cologne
Germany
E-Mail: datenschutz@next-kraftwerke.de

Special Policy - if you are under 16 years old and wish to apply for Next Kraftwerke GmbH sponsored education or innovation event 

Except in those cases where Next Kraftwerke GmbH organizes educational events specifically designed for children; we do not intentionally collect personal data of individuals under 16 years old. If you are under 16 years old, please do not send us your personal data, for example, your name, address and email address. If you wish to contact Next Kraftwerke GmbH in a way which requires you to submit your personal data (such as for education or innovation events) please get your parent or guardian to do so on your behalf.

What personal data do we process about you? Collection of information

We process personal information relating to individuals who apply to work for, or who attend a recruitment event and/or undertake an assessment (Applicants’).

This may include personal contact information, date of birth, place of birth, gender, whether you have the legal right to work in the country in which you have applied, your application for employment, your qualifications and experience, results of interviews and assessments.   

Sensitive personal data 

For the purposes of recruitment, special categories of data (‘sensitive personal data’) including personal data regarding health data or police clearing certificate (in German: Führungszeugnis) may be processed only as strictly required and as permitted or required by local law for the purposes of making adjustments to the recruitment process, for assessing eligibility for positions and fitness to work and provision of facilities in the workplace to accommodate health problems or for the establishment, exercise or defense of claims. 

In addition, in order to ensure equal employment opportunities as permitted or required by local law, we may also gather additional sensitive personal data regarding Applicants, including their nationality.

For what purposes do we process your personal data? How will we use your personal data?

We process your personal data for the following purposes:

• Human Resources, personnel management, business process execution and internal management - including resource planning, and recruitment;
• Health, safety and security - including protection of an individual’s life or health, occupational health and safety, protection of Next Kraftwerke GmbH ’s assets and staff, authentication of individual status and access rights;
• Legal and/or regulatory compliance - including compliance with legal or regulatory requirements; or
• Management reporting and analysis - including statistical analysis and surveys regarding the quality of the recruitment process.

We may also process your personal data for a secondary purpose where it is closely related, such as:

• storing, deleting or anonymizing your personal data;
• fraud prevention, audits, investigations, dispute resolution or insurance purposes, litigation and defense of claims; or
• statistical, historical or scientific research. 

Pre-screening of Applicants

We carry out screening of all Applicants who we intend to make an offer of employment, engagement or internship (as the case may be) and prior to any offer being confirmed for the purposes of:

• verifying the information that an Applicant provides during the screening/interview process. This will include verifying information with current/previous employers and educational institutions. No steps will be taken in this respect until the Applicant confirms the verification can take place;
• screening Applicants against publicly available or government issued sanctions lists and media sources. This is to ensure Shell is able to comply with legal and regulatory obligations, to protect assets and employees/contractors of Next Kraftwerke GmbH and also Shell, and specifically to ensure that Shell can comply with trade control, anti-money laundering and/or bribery and corruption laws and other regulatory requirements."

Any personal data collected through the screening will not involve profiling or automated decision-making regarding suitability for continued employment, internship or engagement as a contractor."

Automated decision making and profiling

All applicants must answer questions which are necessary to ensure that individuals can lawfully enter into a contract with a Next Kraftwerke GmbH if they are successful in their application. In addition, for graduate hires, we utilize an online assessment tool which scores individuals on their suitability for employment, based on automated decision making to ensure objectivity. In those cases, you will be notified of this and you will have the opportunity to have such automated decisions reviewed by or on behalf of a member of the Next Kraftwerke GmbH recruitment team. Save for graduate hires or as specifically notified to you in a bespoke privacy notice or a supplementary privacy statement during the recruitment process, no profiling or automated decision making will take place to determine suitability or eligibility for employment or engagement as a contractor.

Why do we process your personal data?

We only process personal data of Applicants:

• in order to take steps at the request of the Applicant prior to entering into a contract;
• where it is necessary to comply with a legal obligation to which Next Kraftwerke GmbH is subject to ensure compliance with applicable employment, social security laws and regulations;
• where it is necessary for the legitimate business interests of Next Kraftwerke GmbH (such as ensuring compliance with legal obligations other than those related to employment or social security), the protection of Next Kraftwerke GmbH’s assets, reputation and Next Kraftwerke GmbH’s employees and contractors except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the Applicant; or
• if legally required, with the explicit consent of the Applicant. 

In those cases where processing is based on consent, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. This will not affect the validity of the processing prior to the withdrawal of consent.

Whom will we share the personal data with? 

Your personal data are exclusively processed for the purposes referred to above and will only be shared on a strict need-to-know basis with:

• Other companies within the Shell group of companies, including to those which may be located outside of Germany;
• Authorized third party agents, service providers, external auditors and/or subcontractors of Next Kraftwerke GmbH and in particular authorized third parties who carry out reference and background checks on behalf of Next Kraftwerke GmbH;
• A competent public authority, government, regulatory or fiscal agency where it is necessary to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation to which Next Kraftwerke GmbH is subject to or as permitted by applicable law; or
• Any person to whom Next Kraftwerke GmbH proposes to transfer any of its rights and/or duties.

Interacting with Next Kraftwerke GmbH through social media

If you choose to interact with Next Kraftwerke GmbH through social media on a Next Kraftwerke GmbH  administered social media page (‘Next Kraftwerke GmbH  Social Media Page’) such as LinkedIn, your personal data (such as your name, your profile picture and the fact that you are interested in Next Kraftwerke GmbH ) will be visible to all visitors of your personal profile depending on your privacy settings on the relevant social media platform, and will also be visible to Next Kraftwerke GmbH. You can delete any data that you shared on these sites at any time through your relevant social media platform’s account. Next Kraftwerke GmbH does not track your activity across the different social media sites that you use.  Please contact Next Kraftwerke GmbH if you wish to make a request that you are unable to action yourself and which relates to a Next Kraftwerke GmbH social media Page- see the section below - Your rights in relation to your personal data.

Additionally, and to the extent Next Kraftwerke GmbH is jointly responsible with a social media platform of a Next Kraftwerke GmbH social media Page, Next Kraftwerke GmbH will have access through the social media platform to aggregate data providing statistics and insights that help to understand the types of actions you take on Next Kraftwerke GmbH Social Media Pages. For more information on how your personal data are processed on those social media platforms, including any targeted advertising that you may receive, please refer to your privacy settings accessible through your relevant social media platform’s account.

Transfers of your personal data to other countries 

Where your personal data has been transferred to companies within the Shell group and/or to authorized third parties located outside of your country we take organizational, contractual and legal measures to ensure that your personal data are exclusively processed for the purposes mentioned above and that adequate levels of protection have been implemented in order to safeguard your personal data. These measures include Binding Corporate Rules for transfers among the Shell group and for Shell companies in the European Union, European Commission approved transfer mechanisms for transfers to third parties as well as any additional local legal requirements. You can find a copy of Shell Binding Corporate Rules at https://www.shell.com/privacy.htmlor by contacting privacy-office-SI@shell.com.

Security of your personal data: how will we hold your personal data

We have implemented technology and policies with the objective of protecting your privacy from unauthorised access and improper use and will update these measures as new technology becomes available, as appropriate.

How long do you hold my personal data for?

We hold personal data of unsuccessful Applicants for at least six (6) months but no longer than two (2) years after the recruitment process or assessment has been completed unless there is a lawful reason to retain it for longer, in which cases it will be deleted once no longer needed for that purpose (for example to defend any claims). 

If you are successful in your application, the personal data gathered through the recruitment process will be retained in line with the Privacy Policy - Employee, Contractor and Dependents’ Personal Data which will be provided to you during the onboarding process. 

What are the consequences of not providing your data?

Personal data requested and provided by Applicants are required in order to fulfil legal requirements and/or which is required for entering into a contract with you (or in the case of a contractor your employer/service provider).  Failure to provide us with the information requested which is limited to that required for these purposes will negatively affect your chances of being selected for any potential employment, engagement or internship. 

Your rights in relation to your personal data

We aim to keep our information as accurate as possible. You can request:

• access to your personal data;
• correction or deletion of your personal data (but only where it is no longer required for a legitimate business purpose such as completing a retail transaction);
• that you no longer receive marketing communications;
• that the processing of your personal data is restricted;
• combining of your personal data from different sources to create a personal profile no longer takes place;
• that you receive personal data that you have provided to us, in a structured, digital form to be transmitted to another party, if this is technically feasible.

To make a verifiable rights request please contact us under datenschutz@next-kraftwerke.de. You can contact also Shell Privacy Office at privacy-office-SI@shell.com.

Who can you contact if you have a query, concern, complaint, about your personal data?

If you have any issues, queries or complaints regarding the processing of your personal data, please contact us at: 

Next Kraftwerke GmbH
Lichtstr. 43 g
50825 Cologne
Germany
E-Mail: datenschutz@next-kraftwerke.de

Since we are part of the Shell Group, you may also contact the Shell Group Chief Privacy Office at Shell International B.V. The Hague, The Netherlands – Trade Register No. 27155369 Correspondence: PO Box 162, 2501 AN, The Hague, The Netherlands, alternatively you can also email the Shell Group Chief Privacy Office at privacy-office-SI@shell.com.

If you are unsatisfied with the handling of your personal data by us, you have the right to lodge a complaint to the Shell Group regulator which is the Dutch Data Protection Authority you can contact as follows: Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, PO Box 93374, 2509 AJ The Hague, The Netherlands. Please visit https://autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl/en for more information.

Furthermore, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Hamburg data protection authority responsible for the German Shell Holding GmbH. The visitor address is: Der Hamburgische Beauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (The Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information), Ludwig-Erhard-Str. 22, 20459 Hamburg, Germany.

Further information can be found on the website of the Hamburg Data Protection Authority.

Cookies and similar technologies 

Next Kraftwerke GmbH may use cookies and similar technologies that aim to collect and store information when you visit an Next Kraftwerke GmbH website. This is to enable Next Kraftwerke GmbH to identify your internet browser and collect data on your use of our website, which pages you visit, the duration of your visits and identify these when you return so that we improve your experience when visiting our website(s). We also use cookies to personalise and enhance your experience on our site and improve the delivery of ads to you. You can control and manage your cookies preferences by adjusting your browser settings or using the Next Kraftwerke GmbH cookies preference tool on Next Kraftwerke GmbH  websites - for more information, please refer to the Next Kraftwerke GmbH  Cookie Policy at Cookie Policy.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be changed over time. You are advised to regularly review this Privacy Policy for possible changes. This Privacy Policy was last updated in January 2026.