Active Cyber Defence Lead

AWE; Reading; Vor Ort; GBP 59.000 - 72.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

9-day fortnight

Pension scheme

Family friendly policies

Zusammenfassung

AWE in Reading area seeks an Active Cyber Defence Lead to steer the organisation's cyber defence strategy and operations. You will lead threat detection, hunting, and disruption with intelligence-led approaches and alignment to recognised frameworks.

The role reports to the Head of Digital Operations and collaborates across SOC, Incident Response, Insider Threat and Digital Forensics to continuously improve cyber resilience.

Qualifikationen

• Membership in a recognised professional organisation (e.g. BCS, ISACA, IAPP).
• Strong understanding of threat actor TTPs and MITRE ATT&CK.
• Able to communicate effectively at all levels with very good written and oral skills.
• Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks.

Aufgaben

• Define, implement and govern the enterprise Active Cyber Defence strategy aligned to CISO direction and regulatory requirements.
• Continuously identify, assess and prioritise cyber threats, vulnerabilities and insider risks.
• Ensure detection capabilities across SOC, SIEM, EDR, NDR and insider threat monitoring.
• Lead incident response and disruption of threats including advanced persistent threats.
• Integrate SOC, Incident Response, Insider Threat and Digital Forensics into a cohesive operating model.
• Drive protective controls across identity, endpoint, network and data protection.
• Lead lessons learned to improve cyber resilience and detection capability.
• Define and report cyber defence KPIs to senior leadership.

Kenntnisse

Threat intelligence

Leadership

Communication

Risk management

Regulatory knowledge

Jobbeschreibung

Role

Active Cyber Defence Lead

Location

RG7 4PR , located between Reading and Basingstoke, with free onsite parking .

Package

starting from £65,100 p.a (depending on your suitability, qualifications, and level of experience)

Working pattern

AWE operates a 9-day working fortnight. We will consider flexible working requests so that your work may fit in with your lifestyle. Just let us know your preferred working pattern on your application.

Role Overview

The Active Cyber Defence Lead is responsible for the strategic leadership, development, and operational effectiveness of the organisations' active cyber defence capabilities. Reporting directly to the Head of Digital Operations, the role leads the proactive identification, disruption, and mitigation of cyber threats across the enterprise.

The role leads proactive threat detection, hunting, and disruption, ensuring cyber threats are identified, contained, and mitigated in line with organisational risk appetite and regulatory obligations. It provides assurance that cyber-defence capabilities are continuously improved through intelligence-led operations, performance metrics, and alignment to recognised frameworks.

The Active Cyber Defence Lead drives integration across the Security Operations Centre (SOC), Incident Response, Insider Threat, and Digital Forensics to deliver a cohesive, intelligence-led cyber defence posture.

Key Accountabilities

• Active Cyber Defence Strategy and Governance: Accountable for defining, implementing, and governing the enterprise Active Cyber Defence strategy, ensuring alignment to direction from Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), organisational risk appetite, and regulatory requirements.
• Threat and Risk Identification: Accountable for the continuous identification, assessment, and prioritisation of cyber threats, vulnerabilities, attack paths, and insider risks.
• Detection and Monitoring Effectiveness: Accountable for the effectiveness, coverage, and continuous improvement of detection capabilities across SOC, SIEM, EDR, NDR, and insider threat monitoring.
• Incident Response and Disruption: Accountable for the timely and effective response, containment, and disruption of cyber threats, including advanced persistent threats, and insider activity.
• Integrated Cyber Defence Operations: Accountable for the seamless integration of the SOC, Incident Response, Insider Threat, and Digital Forensics into a unified, intelligence-led operating model.
• Protective Control Effectiveness: Accountable for ensuring defensive controls reduce attack surfaces and insider risk, including identity, endpoint, network, and data protection controls.
• Recovery and Resilience Improvement: Accountable for ensuring lessons learned from incidents drive measurable improvements in cyber resilience, controls, and detection capability.
• Performance, Metrics, and Assurance: Accountable for defining, tracking, and reporting cyber defence KPIs to the Head of Digital Operations, and Senior Leadership.
• Capability Development and Maturity: Accountable for continuous improvement of cyber defence maturity aligned to NIST CSF and recognised frameworks (e.g. MITRE ATT&CK)
• Leadership and People: Accountable for building and leading a high-performing, threat led cyber defence team with clear accountability and skills development.

Essential Criteria

• Membership in a recognised professional organisation (e.g. BCS, ISACA, IAPP).
• Strong understanding of threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and frameworks such as MITRE ATT&CK.
• Able to communicate effectively at all levels with very good written and oral skills.
• Highly organized and capable of managing multiple concurrent tasks, whilst maintaining effective judgement in prioritizing and time allocation.
• Good interpersonal skills with the ability to explain technical problems to non-technical business stakeholders at all levels.
• Good presentation skills.
• Strong leadership, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.
• Ability to work under pressure.
• Tenacious and able to defend conclusions.
• Good understanding of core information security principles.
• Strong analytical and documentation skills.
• Ability to communicate clearly and collaborate with technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• Able to work predominately onsite.

Work hard, be rewarded:

We ask a lot and set the bar high because our work truly matters. In return we offer balance, with award winning benefits including:

Benefits

• 9-day working fortnight - meaning you get every other Friday off work, in addition to 270 hours of annual leave.
• Market leading contributory pension scheme (we will pay between 9% and 13% of your pensionable pay depending on your contributions).
• Family friendly policies: Maternity Leave - 39 Weeks Full Pay and Paternity L