Cyber and System Security Specialist

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board; Hamilton; On-site; CAD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

EFAP and staff wellness support

Job summary

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is seeking a seasoned IT Security Leader to guide the IIT department in security, training and audits. The role focuses on incident management, vulnerability assessment, and enforcing best practices across the organization.

You will monitor alerts, conduct forensics, and collaborate with management to harden defenses, while enabling secure access and disaster recovery readiness for critical systems.

Qualifications

• Post-secondary diploma/degree in Computer Science or related field.
• Minimum 5 years of administration and maintenance experience with Exchange 2010 or newer, SQL 2008-12+, Failover Clustering, Cloud O365 and Azure AD.
• Experience with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and Windows Deployment Services.
• Experience supporting virtualized environments using VMware and performing performance/security analyses.
• Knowledge of system vulnerability scanning and remediation.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal.

Responsibilities

• Monitor security alerts and manage security incidents.
• Lead security incident management and response.
• Evaluate and report vulnerabilities to senior team.
• Conduct forensics and security audits; test system security.
• Provide input to management and other departments on security improvements.
• Implement disaster recovery plans for security breaches.
• Enable/disable user accounts and secure services; manage data/privacy.
• Provide cyber safety training and awareness.

Skills

Security incident management

Vulnerability management

Analytical thinking

Excellent communication

Cyber threat monitoring

Disaster recovery planning

Active Directory knowledge

Encryption tools

After-hours availability

Education

Post-secondary diploma/degree in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Exchange 2010+ administration

Microsoft SQL 2008-12+

Failover Clustering – SQL

Cloud O365 solutions / Azure AD

System Center Configuration Manager

Windows Deployment Services

VMware virtualization

Job description

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is committed to decolonizing education, equity, engagement and innovation. We are guided by our vision, Growing Together, the mission that every student experiences a sense of belonging and engages in dynamic learning to reach their potential and build their own future. Our values of Compassion, Dignity, Trust, and Joy guide our daily work and ensure that we honour the unique and distinct identities as well as individualized needs of every student and every staff member at HWDSB. Proudly serving a community of approximately 50,000 students in the City of Hamilton and surrounding area, HWDSB operates across 80 elementary schools, 13 secondary schools and 2 Adult Learning Centres, in addition to providing support and service to approximately 8,800 staff members.

At HWDSB, staff wellness is a priority. We are committed to co-creating and fostering an environment where staff feel safe, valued, and supported. We are continuously striving to support the needs of our diverse community and actively work to foster and maintain a culture of human rights.

Our holistic Staff Wellness program has been designed to support employee's well-being in all dimensions of health. As one part of this comprehensive program, all staff as well as their dependents have access to freeandconfidential supports through our Employee and Family Assistance Provider (EFAP), in addition to many other program components.

About the Role

Reporting to the Manager, Infrastructure Services, the successful candidate will lead within the operations and security function in the IIT department, providing guidance and recommend best practices for IT security, training and audits.

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Monitor all security alerts.
• Lead security incident management and response.
• Evaluating and reporting vulnerabilities to Senior Team for assessment and next steps.
• Keeping up to date with the latest security and technology developments.
• Monitoring access management and organize relevant permissions for user accounts.
• Monitor environment for data and/or security breaches.
• Conduct forensic investigations of devices and traffic and create reports for management.
• Provide input/consulting to management, team members and other departments.
• Maintain and update knowledge of new developments in security and systems technology to provide advice to staff, team and management for system changes.
• Perform forensic and security audits.
• Engaging in ethical hacking to test system security.
• Designing new security systems and processes if required.
• Using analytic tools to identify emerging threats or intrusion patterns.
• Implement disaster recovery plans in case of a security breach.
• Enable and disable user accounts along with associated services (email, cloud storage etc).
• Provide secure environment for data and communications.
• Keep data secure from cyber threats/attacks.
• Provide advanced troubleshooting support with Active Directory.
• Provide knowledge and support on Security systems for door access and video surveillance.
• Provide cyber safety training and awareness.
• Monitor cyber threat activity on traffic flowing through firewall.
• Investigate and document forensics performed on workstations, servers, devices and firewall traffic.
• Mandatory participation in rotational on call 24/7 shift to respond to emergency SOC call outs.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Post-secondary diploma/degree in Computer Science or a related field.
• Minimum 5 years of administration and maintenance experience with Exchange 2010 or newer, Microsoft SQL 2008-12 or newer, Failover Clustering – SQL, Cloud O365 solutions and knowledge of Azure AD.
• Certification in one or more of the following: Microsoft Certified System Administrator, Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), CompTIA Security+, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Security Auditor (CISA), GIAC Security Essentials (GSEC).
• Experience using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager and Microsoft Windows Deployment Services.
• Experience supporting virtualized environment using VMWare and conducting performance/security analyses.
• Working technical knowledge of system vulnerability scanning and remediation.
• Analytical and detail oriented when dealing with technical support issues.
• Knowledge of security incident management, malware management and vulnerability management.
• Excellent communication skills; written and verbal.
• Knowledge of viruses, malware, and other forms of cyber attack.
• Expertise in using encryption tools, such as passwords and digital certificates.
• Proven experience resolving complex customer issues.
• Requirement to work after hours when required and to respond to after-hour emergencies.
• Some requirements to work evening hours when required based on system needs.

Deadline for submission is 4pm on Fri day, September 11 , 2026 .

In-person interviews will take place after the posting has closed.

We thank all applicants for their interest in the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board. Only applicants selected for an interview will be contacted.

Accommodations

HWDSB is committed to providing accommodation throughout the recruitment and selection process, based on any human rights protected grounds. If you require accommodation, please email [e-mail] and we will work with you to meet your needs.

Employment Equity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity Statement

Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is committed to building inclusive learning and working environments where students see themselves reflected in the curriculum, staff population, physical surroundings and the broader community.

HWDSB's mission is to empower students to learn and grow to their full potential in a diverse world. Guided by this mission, HWDSB strives to build a workforce that embodies the values of human rights, equity, diversity and inclusion, while reflecting and welcoming the diverse and distinct identities, experiences and needs of our students and our communities.

HWDSB seeks qualified candidates who share our commitment to equity and inclusion, and who will contribute to the vision of creating inclusive and equitable outcomes. HWDSB especially invites and welcomes applications from:

• Indigenous Peoples (e.g., First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples).
• Members of groups that commonly experience discrimination due to race, ancestry, colour, religion and/or spiritual beliefs, or place of origin (e.g., Black and racialized communities, immigrant communities, etc.).
• Persons with visible and/or invisible (physical and/or mental) disabilities.
• Persons who identify as women.
• Persons of marginalized sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. (i.e., Two-spirit and LGBTQIA+).

As part of HWDSB's commitment to employment equity and removing barriers to groups that have faced and continue to face barriers in employment, we invite all applicants to complete a voluntary questionnaire that collects identity-based information. The voluntary questionnaire is on the Apply to Education application page for this position.

Land Acknowledgement

HWDSB is located on ancestral Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Confederacy land as determined by the Dish with One Spoon treaty. The Dish with One Spoon wampum belt represents the treaty relationship between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Anishinaabe with respect to sharing the land and resources thereon.

The intent of this agreement is for all nations sharing this territory to do so responsibly, respectfully and sustainably in perpetuity.

We respect the longstanding relationships with the local Indigenous communities, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Six Nations of the Grand River.

Applicant Self-Identification Form

The information collected on this form is used to monitor HWDSB's progress toward our equity goals including our commitment to diversity in HWDSB recruitment and hiring practices. We are committed to the security and confidentiality of information under our control, and to the protection of privacy with respect to personal and confidential information that is collected, used, disclosed and retained in the system (Policy 1.6 - Privacy). Information on this form is collected pursuant to Ontario's Education Equity Action Plan (Ministry of Education) and in accordance with the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA). Access to this form is restricted to specific individuals in Human Resources. The Research and Analytics Department will use aggregate data from all the forms (not individual data) for internal reporting. Their access and use of the data is governed by MFIPPA and ethical research practices. Applicant Self-Identification Forms will be maintained in the Human Resources job competition file and securely destroyed 3 years after the job posting for candidates not selected for an interview and 3 years after the job posting for candidates interviewed, in accordance with general records retention principles. If you prefer not to answer any of the questions, you can select “prefer not to answer”. This in no way affects your application or the applicant selection process. If you have questions or concerns about this form please contact [e-mail].