Head of Cyber Security

Public Service Ombudsman; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Civil Service Pension scheme

32.5 days annual leave

hybrid working

one day paid volunteering leave per yr

flexible working

Employee Assistance Programme

learning and development programme

employee discount scheme

bicycle loan scheme

season ticket loan

gym membership subsidy

paid for professional memberships

eye test reimbursement

Job summary

The Public Service Ombudsman seeks a Head of Cyber Security to protect our digital services, cloud platforms and sensitive data. You will set our security strategy, oversee security operations and respond to major incidents.

Working with architecture, engineering, product and delivery teams, you will build security capabilities, review controls and advise senior leaders on risk, governance and secure delivery in a hybrid, home-and-office environment.

Qualifications

• Forward‑thinking cyber security leader who can turn strategy into practical action.
• Confident in balancing cyber risks, priorities and resources.
• Experienced in building effective security capabilities and holding suppliers to account.
• Skilled at creating ownership and driving improvements across organisational boundaries.
• Clear, credible communicator at Board and executive level.

Responsibilities

• Set cyber security strategy and approach for the organisation.
• Oversee security operations and respond to significant incidents.
• Manage vulnerabilities and review security controls for new services and systems.
• Collaborate with architecture, engineering, product and delivery teams.
• Develop cyber security capability and provide clear advice to senior leaders.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Risk balancing

Security capability building

Cross‑functional collaboration

Executive communication

Job description

Closing date: 04 November 2026

Interview dates: (in person) 30 November 2026

About us

At the Public Service Ombudsman, we make final decisions on complaints that have not been resolved by UK Government departments and the NHS in England. We work closely with people to understand where, how and why public services sometimes fall short and fail to put people first. We share findings from our casework to help Parliament scrutinise public service providers. We also share our findings more widely to help drive improvements in public services and complaint handling.

Our culture is open, friendly and supportive. We listen, we learn, and we treat everyone with dignity and respect. Inclusion and wellbeing are at the heart of how we work, and we strive to create a workplace where every colleague feels valued, supported and able to thrive.

We work in a modern, flexible way built on trust and autonomy. You will split your time between working from home and spending around 40% of your week in our Manchester or London office, where collaboration and connection with your team are an important part of how we work.

Please note that we were formally known as The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

The role

The Head of Cyber Security has an important role in protecting our digital services, cloud platforms, systems and sensitive data. The focus is on making sure cyber risks are understood and managed while supporting the secure delivery of digital services. The postholder will be the organisation’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).

Covering both strategy and day-to-day security, the work includes setting our cyber security approach, overseeing security operations and responding to significant incidents. It also involves managing vulnerabilities, reviewing security controls and making sure security is considered when new services and systems are developed.

Working closely with colleagues across architecture, engineering, product and delivery is an important part of the role. There is also responsibility for developing our cyber security capability, supporting good security practice across the organisation and providing clear advice to senior leaders.

What we are looking for

• a forward-thinking cyber security leader who can turn strategy into practical action.
• confident in balancing cyber risks, organisational priorities and available resources.
• experienced in building effective security capabilities and holding suppliers to account.
• skilled at creating ownership and driving improvements across organisational boundaries.
• a clear and credible communicator who can influence decisions at Board and executive level.

We recognise the value of lived experience. If you have experience of complaining about any public body, we strongly encourage you to apply.

Our benefits:

• Civil Service Pension scheme
• 32.5 days annual leave (plus bank holidays on top)
• hybrid working, 40 percent office based
• one day paid volunteering leave per year
• flexible working
• access to a free, confidential Employee Assistance Programme offering 24/7 advice and support from professionals and counsellors
• comprehensive learning and development programme
• employee discount scheme across hundreds of retailers
• bicycle loan scheme
• season ticket loan
• gym membership subsidy
• paid for professional memberships
• eye test reimbursement.

Please do not use AI to write your answers. We need to assess your skills, and applications may be rejected if answers appear AI-generated.

If your examples are very short, mostly opinion-based, or don't describe a specific situation and outcome, you are unlikely to score well.

Inclusion & Wellbeing

Equality, diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing are vital to the way we work and our culture. We want our colleagues feel included, valued, and supported at work. It is essential that we are representative and accessible for the people who work here and those who use our service.

Actions we take to embed this include:

• an anonymised shortlisting process to make sure it is fair and unbiased
• monitoring the demographic trends in our workforce and making measured, sustained efforts to improve our diversity at all levels
• providing wellbeing support and opportunities for personal and professional development for all colleagues
• creating spaces for connection and engagement through our employee network groups and social clubs
• part of the disability confident scheme
• providing reasonable adjustments
• engaging in regular inclusion learning to enhance the cultural competency of our organisation.

We know the value of having diverse, representative teams across our organisation. Which is why we particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented within the team. These include people who are:

• Asian, Black, Mixed Ethnicity or another ethnic background
• disabled
• LGBTQ

Contact and important information

If you would like to learn more about the role, please contact Alex Daybank, Assistant Director of Privacy, Integrity and Assurance, [e-mail]

• Interviews: held onsite
• Feedback: we do not offer feedback at application stage
• Right to work: we can only consider candidates with the right to work in the UK.
• Sponsorship: we are unable to offer sponsorship (we do not have a licence).
• Agencies: no agencies; applications from individuals only.
• Early closure: we may close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications.
• Salary: non negotiable

Important notice: fraudulent job postings

We have been made aware that some websites are falsely advertising our job vacancies. We only advertise job vacancies through these official channels:

- our website

- LinkedIn

- Civil Service Jobs

- GOV.uk

- Indeed

- Ombudsman association

- BMEjobs.co.uk

- Disabilityjob.co.uk

- Neurodiversityjobs.co.uk

- LGBTjobs.co.uk

Do not share personal details with any other websites claiming to represent us. Contact our recruitment team to report any concerns at [e-mail]