Assistant Manager | Technology & Cyber Advisory | Technology Risk

Grant Thornton; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 300,000 - 520,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible work arrangements

Professional development support

Wellbeing initiatives

Job summary

Grant Thornton UAE is seeking an experienced Assistant Manager to lead complex technology risk, IT audit, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, resilience, and emerging technology engagements. You will supervise delivery teams, review technical outputs, and present significant risks to senior client stakeholders across financial services, government, and critical infrastructure.

The role requires strong technical knowledge, ability to define assessment approaches, and to manage multidisciplinary

Qualifications

• 6–8 years of IT audit/technology risk experience.
• Experience leading complex technology and cybersecurity assessments.
• Strong knowledge of UAE IA, NIST, ISO 27001, and related frameworks.
• Experience leading core banking, SOC, SIEM, security solution, cloud, data centre, BCM, or disaster recovery reviews.

Responsibilities

• Lead IT audits, ITGC assessments, technology risk reviews, application control reviews, and governance assessments.
• Define risk-based work programmes and review coverage across applications, databases, OS, networks, cloud, interfaces, and data centres.
• Lead cybersecurity maturity, regulatory assessments against UAE IA standards, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, and other frameworks.
• Review methodologies, control mappings, regulatory self-inspections, risk ratings, and remediation roadmaps.
• Oversee reviews of core banking and critical applications, including architecture, access, configurations, and recovery.

Skills

IT audits

Technology risk

Cybersecurity

Regulatory compliance

Cloud security

BCM

Disaster recovery

Stakeholder management

Engagement leadership

Tools

PAM

IAM

EDR/XDR

IDS/IPS

SIEM

SOAR

DLP

WAF

Job description

Job description

About Us

Grant Thornton UAE is a leading professional services firm, providing audit and assurance, tax and advisory services across multiple industries. We have served public and private sector clients in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for almost 60 years and are committed to delivering quality and excellence driven by fresh thinking, diverse perspectives and a personalised approach. Grant Thornton UAE is part of a global network of independent firms with over 76,000 professionals across 150 markets. We're driven by a purpose of shaping the world we live in, grounded in trust, integrity and the belief that dynamic businesses and thriving communities go hand in hand. By living our purpose and focusing on quality in everything we do, we strive to be the go-to firm for growth.

At Grant Thornton UAE, our people drive our impact. With over 50 nationalities represented across our teams, we’re proud to foster a culture that celebrates diversity, empowers individuals and delivers meaningful outcomes for our clients and communities. Our unique environment combines the opportunities of a major global organisation with the connection and collaboration of a close‑knit firm.

Here, you can widen your opportunities. Be inspired. Be challenged. Be yourself. Here, you can.

Service Line Overview

Our Advisory practice helps organisations solve their most critical challenges across strategy, operations, risk, and technology. We work with clients to improve performance, manage uncertainty, and unlock sustainable growth. Our multidisciplinary teams combine deep technical expertise with commercial insight, delivering solutions across Business Advisory, Financial Advisory, Mergers & Acquisitions / Transaction Advisory and Technology & Digital Advisory.

Role Overview

We are seeking an experienced Assistant Manager to lead complex technology risk, IT audit, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, resilience, and emerging technology engagements. The role requires strong technical knowledge combined with the ability to define assessment approaches, manage multidisciplinary delivery, review technical outputs, challenge evidence and conclusions, and present significant risks to senior client stakeholders. The successful candidate will lead engagements across financial services, government, critical infrastructure, and other regulated sectors while supervising delivery teams and maintaining responsibility for technical quality.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead IT audits, ITGC assessments, technology risk reviews, application control reviews, technology governance assessments, and pre- and post-implementation reviews
• Define risk-based work programmes and review coverage across applications, databases, operating systems, networks, cloud platforms, interfaces, infrastructure, and data centres
• Lead cybersecurity maturity, compliance, gap, and regulatory assessments against UAE Information Assurance Standards, NIST CSF, ISO 27001, CIS Controls, PCI DSS, SWIFT CSP, and applicable Central Bank cybersecurity and technology risk frameworks
• Review maturity methodologies, control mappings, regulatory self-assessments, management attestations, risk ratings, and prioritised remediation roadmaps
• Lead reviews of core banking and critical applications, covering system architecture, access, configurations, product parameters, segregation of duties, interfaces, batch processing, audit trails, availability, and recovery
• Lead technical assessments of IDS/IPS, firewalls, WAF, PAM, IAM, EDR/XDR, DLP, SIEM, SOAR, vulnerability-management, email-security, and cloud-security solutions
• Assess security-tool architecture, configuration, integration, coverage, administration, monitoring, lifecycle management, and alignment with regulatory and risk requirements
• Lead SOC and SIEM assessments covering operating models, log-source coverage, detection use cases, threat intelligence, alert handling, incident escalation, threat hunting, retention, tuning, orchestration, and service-provider governance
• Oversee vulnerability management, penetration testing, secure configuration, application security, API security, cyber incident readiness, and technical remediation reviews
• Lead cloud security reviews across Microsoft Azure, AWS, Microsoft 365, and hybrid or multi-cloud environments
• Lead BCM, disaster recovery, ICT continuity, cyber resilience, and operational resilience assessments, including BIA, RTO and RPO alignment, recovery architecture, crisis management, testing, and third-party resilience
• Lead data centre reviews covering physical and environmental security, power, cooling, fire protection, network redundancy, server and storage infrastructure, backup, capacity, availability, and single points of failure
• Lead data protection, privacy, Microsoft Purview, AI governance, and emerging technology assessments, including reviews against ISO 42001 and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework
• Define engagement approaches, evidence requirements, testing methodologies, maturity-rating criteria, and reporting structures
• Review working papers, technical assessments, observations, maturity ratings, risk conclusions, and client reports to ensure they are complete and evidence-based
• Manage client workshops, status meetings, validation discussions, and presentations to senior technology, cyber, audit, risk, and business stakeholders
• Supervise project teams, allocate technical workstreams, review deliverables, and provide technical guidance
• Support technical proposals, scope development, effort estimation, and the development of new Technology and Cyber Advisory offerings

Success Criteria

• Six to eight years of relevant experience in IT audit, technology risk, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, cloud security, BCM, disaster recovery, or related advisory services
• Demonstrated experience leading complex technology and cybersecurity assessments
• Strong knowledge of UAE IA, NIST, ISO 27001, and relevant Central Bank cybersecurity or technology risk frameworks
• Experience leading core banking, critical application, SOC, SIEM, security solution, cloud, data centre, BCM, or disaster recovery reviews
• Strong understanding of security technologies, including PAM, IAM, EDR/XDR, IDS/IPS, SIEM, SOAR, DLP, WAF, vulnerability management, and cloud-security solutions
• Experience defining technical assessment approaches, reviewing evidence, challenging conclusions, and presenting significant risks to senior stakeholders
• Experience supervising technical teams and reviewing client deliverables
• CISA, CRISC, CISM, CISSP, ISO 27001 Lead Auditor/Implementer, ISO 22301, ISO 42001, CCSP, CCSK, AZ-500, SC-100, SC-200, AWS Security Specialty, CEH, CREST, OSCP, GIAC, PMP, or an equivalent relevant certification

Our Values

• Collaboration – Ask for help, give help – we work well together
• Leadership – Have courage and inspire others – we challenge each other to be the best we can be
• Excellence – Find a better way every time – we never get complacent
• Agility – Think broadly, act quickly – we thrive in change
• Responsibility – Use influence wisely – we own our actions
• Respect – Listen and understand, be forthright – we create honest relationships

Our Benefits

We offer a competitive compensation package, flexible work arrangements, professional development support, and a range of wellbeing and community initiatives—designed to help you thrive personally and professionally.

Skills Description

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