M&A Cybersecurity Principal: Due Diligence & Risk

American Health Packaging; Woking; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Cencora is seeking a Senior Secure MA&D Principal to lead pre-close cybersecurity due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. You will assess security postures, identify risks, and translate them into business impacts, coordinating with Finance, Legal, IT, and Security teams.

Strong communication and cost-estimation skills are essential. The role requires extensive experience in security leadership, risk management, and vendor oversight, with a focus on Day 1 readiness and

Qualifications

• 10+ years of experience in cybersecurity, information risk, security consulting, M&A due diligence, or security program leadership.
• Experience leading cybersecurity assessments, risk reviews, diligence activities, or integration planning.
• Strong understanding of core security domains (IAM, endpoint security, vulnerability management, cloud security, data protection, security operations, GRC, third-party risk).
• Ability to explain cyber risks in business terms and connect findings to cost, timing, compliance, and operational impact.
• Experience developing high-level remediation, integration, and run-cost estimates.
• Strong vendor-management and stakeholder-management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including executive-level summaries and decision materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead pre-close cybersecurity due diligence for assigned MA&D transactions.
• Review target-company security posture, documentation, interviews, and assessment results.
• Identify key cyber risks, control gaps, compliance concerns, and Day 1 readiness issues.
• Translate technical findings into clear business, operational, and financial impacts.
• Manage third-party cybersecurity diligence providers, including scope, timelines, deliverables, and quality of findings.
• Develop preliminary cost estimates for remediation, integration, tooling, licensing, labor, and ongoing run support.
• Partner with Finance, Corporate Development, Legal, IT, and Information Security teams to validate risks, assumptions, and costs.
• Transfer diligence findings, risks, and open items to security capability owners before close.
• Support Day 1 readiness planning by identifying minimum required controls, dependencies, and immediate post-close actions.
• Maintain clear documentation of risks, decisions, assumptions, action items, and handoffs.
• Improve Secure MA&D diligence templates, playbooks, cost models, and reporting materials.

Skills

Cybersecurity leadership

M&A due diligence

Vendor management

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Risk assessment

Security domains knowledge

Education

Bachelor’s degree preferred

PMP or equivalent

CRISC

CISSP/CISM/CISA/CCSP

Job description

Cencora is seeking a Senior Secure MA&D Principal to lead pre-close cybersecurity due diligence for mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures. You will assess security postures, identify risks, and translate them into business impacts, coordinating with Finance, Legal, IT, and Security teams.

Strong communication and cost-estimation skills are essential. The role requires extensive experience in security leadership, risk management, and vendor oversight, with a focus on Day 1 readiness and