Head Of Information Security, Technology

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc; Camden Town; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working pattern (2 days in the,

25 days holiday

Private medical insurance

Season ticket loan

Learning & development access

Employee wellness days

Job summary

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc seeks a senior information and cyber security expert to define and implement the company’s security strategy. You will work with infrastructure and technology teams to apply proportionate controls, set standards and oversee risk across networks, cloud services and identity platforms.

You will influence engineers and executives, translate technical risk into business terms, and drive improvements in governance, monitoring and incident response across an international,

Qualifications

• Significant experience in information or cyber security with practical technical work.
• Strong experience securing enterprise network and infrastructure environments.
• Good knowledge of cloud security, ideally Microsoft 365 and Azure, Google Enterprise a plus.
• Understanding of identity, authentication and privileged access management.
• Experience with vulnerability management, security monitoring and incident response.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Bloomsbury’s information and cyber security strategy with a prioritised roadmap and investment plan.
• Define security policies, standards and baselines that are pragmatic and aligned with good practice.
• Review security of networks, infrastructure, cloud services, endpoints, applications and identity platforms; agree remediation with teams.
• Advise on security architecture for new systems, projects and cloud services.
• Drive improvements in identity and access management and privileged access.
• Lead vulnerability management and track remediation progress.
• Establish monitoring, detection and incident-response arrangements; lead significant security incidents.
• Assess security of suppliers and partners; ensure security in procurement.
• Contribute to risk register and provide senior management with a clear view of information-security risk.
• Support audits, insurance, customer and regulatory requirements; raise security awareness.

Skills

Information security

Cyber security

Security architecture

Identity and access management

Vulnerability management

Security monitoring

Incident response

Cloud security

NIST/CIS/ISO standards

Education

Security certification desirable

Job description

The opportunity

Bloomsbury Publishing is an international publishing business, publishing for consumer, academic and professional audiences. Our business depends on the trust of authors, customers and partners, and on protecting the systems, data and intellectual property that sit at its heart.

The role

Reporting to the Global Head of Technology, you will be Bloomsbury’s lead subject-matter expert on information and cyber security. You will define what good security looks like for us and work with infrastructure and wider technology teams to put proportionate and practical controls in place.

This is a senior individual-contributor role rather than the leadership of a security department. You will not manage a dedicated security team; instead, you will set the standards and priorities, and work closely with the teams and suppliers who implement and operate them, providing expertise, challenge and oversight. Your influence, credibility and willingness to get into the technical detail will be central to your success.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Bloomsbury’s information and cyber security strategy, together with a prioritised roadmap and investment plan.
• Define security policies, standards and technical baselines that are proportionate, usable and aligned with recognised good practice.
• Review the security of networks, infrastructure, cloud services, endpoints, applications and identity platforms, and agree remediation with the teams responsible.
• Advise on security architecture for new systems, projects, cloud services and technology changes.
• Drive improvements in identity and access management, including authentication and privileged access.
• Lead vulnerability management, setting remediation priorities based on real exposure and tracking progress with the team responsible.
• Establish appropriate monitoring, detection and incident-response arrangements, and lead the response to significant security incidents.
• Assess the security of suppliers and technology partners, and ensure security is considered in procurement.
• Contribute to the company risk register and give senior management a clear, meaningful view of information-security risk.
• Support audit, insurance, customer and regulatory requirements, and build practical security awareness across the organisation.

Knowledge, skills and experience

You are a hands-on security professional who has developed into a senior, trusted adviser. Your background is likely to be in areas such as network, infrastructure or cloud security, security operations, identity and access management, security architecture, vulnerability management or incident response. You are equally comfortable challenging a proposed network or security configuration with an engineer and explaining a security risk and its business implications to Executives.

You are pragmatic, commercially aware and able to separate the risks that matter from those that do not. You challenge constructively, influence people who do not report to you, and remain calm and methodical when things go wrong.

• Significant experience in information or cyber security, grounded in practical technical work.
• Strong experience securing enterprise network and infrastructure environments.
• Good knowledge of cloud security, ideally within Microsoft 365 and Azure environments, with knowledge of Google Enterprise a plus.
• A strong understanding of identity, authentication, privileged access and access-control.
• Experience of vulnerability management, security monitoring and incident response.
• A track record of establishing or improving security standards, policies and controls.
• The ability to translate technical risk into pragmatic business decisions and communicate it clearly to senior, non-technical audiences.
• Experience working with recognised frameworks such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, CIS Controls and ISO/IEC 27001, applied as practical tools rather than ends in themselves.
• Experience in an international or multi-site organisation, or in publishing, media or another IP-rich sector, would be an advantage but is not required.
• A recognised security certification is desirable but not essential.

Personal Capabilities

• Technically credible and intellectually curious, with a genuine interest in how systems work and why they fail.
• Pragmatic; able to distinguish material risks from theoretical or low-value issues.
• Commercially aware, balancing security with cost, usability and business needs.
• Able to influence and gain commitment from teams that do not report to them.
• Comfortable challenging existing practice constructively and with evidence.
• A clear communicator with both technical and non-technical audiences, in writing and in person.
• Calm, methodical and decisive during security incidents.
• Able to work independently while collaborating closely with Technology colleagues.

Additional information

The role is a full-time permanent position

Salary:

£100,000-£125,000 pa

The role is based at our London office 50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP on a hybrid-working pattern of 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred).

For best results, please use a desktop to apply as some mobile browsers may not fully support the application portal.

Bloomsbury reserve the right to close the role early if we exceed the required number of applications

Bloomsbury Benefits

As well as a fantastic opportunity to join a global award-winning organisation, Bloomsbury offers the following competitive benefits package:

Working Pattern

• Hybrid working pattern of: 2 days office based / 3 days home based (or fully office based if preferred)

Holidays

• 25 days holiday
• 3.5 days Christmas company holiday

Other Benefits

• Two paid Personal Wellness Days
• Flexible Fridays – take Friday afternoon off by working an additional 3 hours and 30 minutes earlier in the week
• Work Anywhere Fortnight - For two weeks of any calendar year. The minimum period for Working Anywhere is one week, the maximum period is two weeks.
• Season Ticket Loan
• Learning & Development - Free access to LinkedIn Learning, BookMachine Campus, InRehearsal & IPG Skills Hub
• Share Save Scheme
• AXA Healthcare Plan (Private Medical Insurance)
• Ride to Work Scheme
• Peppy Health App
• In-house Doctor
• Eye Care Voucher Scheme
• EAP Advice and Counselling

Company culture

Company culture – Employee Voice Meetings, Staff Networks (Bloom, Accessibility, Mental Health, Pride, and Parents, Guardians and Carers, Multi-Faith) and Mental Health First Aiders trained across the UK offices, Publishing Events and access to free Publishing Resources

Bloomsbury is a place where anyone of any background, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, gender identity, age, ability, or socio-economic status can thrive, feel comfortable, and be heard and accepted. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are willing to make any reasonable adjustments throughout the recruitment process, please flag to the recruitment team if required

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK.