Head of Cyber Risk Consulting

Barnett Waddingham; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Job summary

Barnett Waddingham in London is seeking a Head of Cyber Risk Consulting to lead the cyber risk practice within Howden Risk Advisory. You will set strategic direction, drive growth, and develop services across information security, operational resilience, and data protection, while translating technical risk into business outcomes for senior stakeholders and boards.

The role combines strategic leadership with market-facing initiatives and cross-team collaboration.

Qualifications

• Demonstrable leadership and strategic management experience.
• Experience leading professional services, consulting, or advisory teams.
• Degree or equivalent in Information Security, Risk Management, Technology, or related discipline.
• Proven ability to develop service lines and drive growth within a commercial environment.
• Digital resilience expertise with significant experience in Information Security, Cyber Security, Operational Resilience, Business Continuity, or Technology Risk.
• Excellent understanding of information security risk management and control frameworks
• Experience supporting organisations through resilience, security, and governance transformations.
• Practical experience of standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials, NIST, or equivalent frameworks.
• Demonstrable client and commercial management experience; with excellent client relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills and experience presenting to Executive Committees, Boards, and senior leadership teams.
• Demonstrable success in supporting business development, proposal production, and revenue growth.
• Experience working across regulated and non-regulated sectors (e.g. financial services, healthcare, technology, public sector, retail).
• Desirable but not essential: Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC, ISO 27001 Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor, CBCI, MBCI, or equivalent Business Continuity qualification Relevant resilience, risk, governance, or cyber security certifications.
• AI risk experience

Responsibilities

• Lead the Cyber Risk Consulting function, setting strategic direction and driving the delivery of high-quality, commercially sustainable services.
• Accountable for revenue, profitability, growth and utilisation targets, while building and developing a high-performing team.
• Develop and evolve risk service offerings including Information Security, Cyber Security, Operational Resilience, Business Continuity, Third-Party Risk Management, Data Protection and Technology Risk.
• Drive commercial growth through proposition development, business development, solution design, strategic client engagement, cross-collaboration to introduce broader Howden services.
• Act as a trusted advisor to clients, providing strategic guidance and leading complex engagements, resilience programmes, maturity assessments, and strategic risk initiatives.
• Support clients in implementing recognised frameworks and standards, including ISO 27001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials, NIST CSF and regulatory requirements.
• Develop referral pathways across advisory, consulting, broking and insurance teams to maximise client value.
• Share market intelligence, regulatory developments and emerging risk trends to support service development.
• Maintain governance, quality and performance standards across all service delivery and reporting.
• Establish and monitor KPIs, SLAs and performance measures to support service excellence.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic management

Business development

Client relationships

Revenue growth

Education

Degree in Information Security

Job description

Head of Cyber Risk Consulting United Kingdom

We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Cyber Risk Consulting to lead our Cyber Risk Consulting practice and play a key role within the Howden Risk Advisory (HRA) leadership team, ideally based from our London office (hybrid working with flexibility).

As Head of Cyber Risk Consulting, you will drive the strategy, growth, service development, and performance of the Cyber Risk team; ensuring the delivery of high-quality client outcomes while identifying new opportunities to enhance resilience capabilities, support risk transfer strategies and drive commercial growth.

A snapshot of your day:

Lead the Cyber Risk Consulting function, setting strategic direction and driving the delivery of high-quality, commercially sustainable services. Accountable for revenue, profitability, growth and utilisation targets, while building and developing a high-performing team and fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability and continuous improvement Lead workforce planning, talent development and succession activities, and represent Howden through thought leadership, industry engagement, publications, events and market-facing initiatives. Develop and evolve the existing risk service offerings, including Information Security, Cyber Security, Operational Resilience, Business Continuity, Third-Party Risk Management, Data Protection and Technology Risk, ensuring alignment with the wider Risk & Resilience strategy and market demand. Drive commercial growth through proposition development, business development, solution design, strategic client engagement, cross-collaboration to introduce broader Howden services, and offer new service offerings to meet changing client challenges, e.g. AI risk tools Act as a trusted advisor to clients, providing strategic guidance and leading complex engagements, resilience programmes, maturity assessments, and strategic risk initiatives across cyber risk, information security, and operational resilience matters, while translating technical risks into practical business outcomes for senior stakeholders and Boards. Support clients in implementing and enhancing recognised frameworks and standards, including ISO 27001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials, NIST CSF and relevant regulatory requirements. Develop referral pathways and collaborative opportunities across advisory, consulting, broking and insurance teams to maximise client value, solutions for clients and business growth. Share market intelligence, regulatory developments and emerging risk trends to support service development and client value creation. Maintain governance, quality and performance standards across all service delivery, ensuring regulatory compliance, continuous improvement and the achievement of business objectives through robust reporting, resource management and market insight. Establish and monitor KPIs, SLAs and performance measures to support service excellence and business objectives and provide regular reporting on operational performance, financial results, resource utilisation, pipeline development and strategic objectives. Monitor developments in cyber threats, technologies, regulation and resilience practices to inform strategic decision-making and service evolution.

We would love to hear from you if you have:

• Demonstrable leadership and strategic management experience
• leading professional services, consulting, or advisory teams with coaching, and people development capabilities
• Degree or equivalent professional experience in Information Security, Risk Management, Technology, or a related discipline.
• Proven ability to develop service lines and drive growth within a commercial environment.
• Digital resilience expertise with significant experience in Information Security, Cyber Security, Operational Resilience, Business Continuity, or Technology Risk.
• Excellent understanding of information security risk management and control frameworks
• Experience supporting organisations through resilience, security, and governance transformations.
• Practical experience of standards such as ISO 27001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials, NIST, or equivalent frameworks.
• Demonstrable client and commercial management experience; with excellent client relationship management and stakeholder engagement skills and experience presenting to Executive Committees, Boards, and senior leadership teams.
• Demonstrable success in supporting business development, proposal production, and revenue growth.
• Experience working across regulated and non-regulated sectors (e.g. financial services, healthcare, technology, public sector, retail)
• Desirable but not essential: Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC, ISO 27001 Lead Implementer or Lead Auditor, CBCI, MBCI, or equivalent Business Continuity qualification Relevant resilience, risk, governance, or cyber security certifications.
• AI risk experience

What's in it for you:

• Competitive discretionary annual