Director - Cyber Defend and Operate

Grant Thornton Australia Limited; Sydney; Hybrid; AUD 260,000 - 360,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

9-day fortnight

Flexible working options

Fully funded gym membership

Mental health support

Job summary

Grant Thornton Australia is seeking a Director to lead our cyber defend and operations capability in Australia. You will shape advisory, implementation and managed service outcomes, drawing on global methods while tailoring to the Australian market.

You will manage client relationships, translate performance metrics to executives, and influence commercial models and service design. A senior, strategic role with strong leadership and travel requirements.

Qualifications

• Experience leading security operations or SOC-related services.
• Proven track record shaping service delivery models.
• Experience with client-facing advisory work.
• Willingness to travel for client engagements.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow the security operations capability in Australia.
• Advise executives on detection and response performance.
• Shape service roadmap and go-to-market strategies.
• Collaborate with global teams to deliver scalable services.
• Mentor and develop a team of security professionals.

Skills

Leadership

Client engagement

Strategic thinking

Commercial acumen

Presentation to executives

Education

CISSP certification

CISM

GCIA

GCIH

Tools

CrowdStrike

Microsoft Defender

Palo Alto

Job description

About this role

• Full time, permanent role
• Enjoy excellent career progression in a ‘hands‑on’ leadership role
• Work with Partners who are truly invested in your professional development

Grant Thornton Australia is one of the world's leading independently‑owned and managed accounting, advisory and consulting firms. Our culture is underpinned by a commitment to our clients, people and communities, and our promise to ‘Reach for Remarkable’ by providing proven expertise, principled execution, and personalised experience. In Australia, we’re proud to support the careers of over 1,500 remarkable people. With six offices nationally and partner firms in more than 145 markets, wherever you want to go, we can take you there.

We’re shaping the next evolution of our cyber defend and operations capability for an AI‑enabled threat world and looking for a self‑starting, commercially astute Director to help lead it. Cyber defend and operations is going through a significant evolution as AI changes attacker behaviour, client expectations, operating models and the economics of always‑on cyber defence. This role will help shape a locally relevant, globally connected and differentiated capability that spans advisory, implementation and managed service outcomes. It is for someone who understands what this shift means for customers, go‑to‑market strategy and commercial models, and who can translate that into practical services that clients value. If you’ve led a cyber defence, security operations or detection and response capability, thought “I’d do this differently next time”, and have the war stories to go with it, this is the role for you.

With us, you’ll be exposed to challenging and rewarding opportunities, building your confidence and capabilities at every step. You’ll be supported, motivated and inspired by a team of passionate and caring collaborators and leaders. You’ll be empowered to build a career path that’s tailored to you and encouraged to make a meaningful difference. And we’ll make sure the excellence you deliver and the impact you make is always seen, felt and celebrated.

What you’ll do

• Lead the local evolution of our cyber defend and operations capability, drawing on existing global capability, methods and expertise while adapting them for the Australian market.
• Work directly with clients to understand their environment, threat landscape, operating model and tolerance for risk, then advise on cyber defence and operations models that fit.
• Help shape advisory recommendations, implementation pathways, use case development, detection engineering, triage, response workflows, service improvement and the operating model required to deliver consistently at scale.
• Own and shape the service roadmap, onboarding experience and customer journey, ensuring the capability is scalable, differentiated and practical to deliver.
• Shape how AI‑enabled threats, automation and analyst workflows influence our service design, customer outcomes, go‑to‑market strategy and commercial models.
• Work as part of a global network of cyber defence and operations professionals, drawing on shared capability while developing a locally relevant and differentiated offering.
• Lead and grow a team of security operations professionals, with responsibility for their development and career progression.
• Advise executives and boards on detection and response, translating operational performance, service metrics and risk outcomes into terms they can act on.
• Act as a senior escalation point for major client incidents, service issues and complex delivery decisions.
• Hold senior client relationships, identify opportunities across advisory, implementation and managed operations, and contribute to sales enablement, recurring revenue growth and sustainable service delivery.
• Contribute to how the practice develops, including service design, technology partner engagement and bringing new people through.

What you’ll need

• Experience in a leadership role within a security operations centre, managed detection and response, cyber defence operations, or similar capability, either in‑house or as a service provider.
• Experience materially evolving a cyber defence, detection and response, operating model, team or client‑facing service.
• Experience working with clients or stakeholders outside your own organisation, whether in consulting, service delivery, or as an internal team serving the wider business.
• A track record of leading and developing teams, and a genuine interest in doing it.
• Deep knowledge of what makes cyber defence and operations work, including operating models, detection coverage, response playbooks, escalation pathways, service metrics and continuous improvement.
• Experience with the platforms and tooling behind a modern SOC; exposure to technologies such as CrowdStrike, Microsoft Defender, Palo Alto or similar would be beneficial.
• Commercial awareness and an understanding of how managed detection and response services are positioned, priced, sold, renewed and delivered sustainably.
• Experience working with technology partners, alliances or global capability teams to deliver services at scale.
• Confidence in front of clients, and the ability to explain why cyber matters to people who don’t work in it.
• Comfort working as part of a team. This role suits someone who builds with others rather than around them.
• Australian citizenship or permanent residency.
• Willingness to travel for client work.

Nice to have

• Experience in regulated or critical infrastructure environments, and with obligations under the SOCI Act, APRA CPS 234 or the ISM.
• Experience designing and running cyber incident tabletop exercises or executive‑level cyber crisis simulations.
• Purple team or threat‑led testing experience.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, GCIA, GCIH or equivalent.

Remarkable perks that put you first

• 9-day fortnight with no salary reduction
• Flexible working options available
• Fully funded gym membership
• Mental health support, financial and wellbeing coaching
• And many more!

If you’re interested in this role but don’t feel that you match every single one of our requirements, we would still love to hear from you and explore the unique skillset and attributes that you can bring to the team.

We are committed to ensuring our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible for anyone who wishes to apply, and we warmly encourage applications from individuals from diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders, those in the LGBTQI+ community and individuals who identify as having disability or are neurodivergent.

#LI-Hybrid

At Grant Thornton we do things differently because we understand that when you strive for better and care about what you do remarkable things are possible. We’re a dynamic and authentic mix of backgrounds, perspectives and ways of thinking. We’re driven by our shared purpose – we care for our people, clients and communities and support them to thrive. We set the bar high to deliver a strikingly different working experience – in what we do but also how we do it. We understand that everyone has different needs and responsibilities outside of work. Here, you can access a range of formal and informal flexible working options including adjusted work hours, part‑time roles and hybrid working. We are also the first professional services firm in Australia to trial and permanently implement a 9‑Day fortnight with no reduction in salary.