Operational Security Lead

£42,593pa-£48,245pa, with potential for further progression to £54,317pa with our pay progression scheme.
Published on 11 April 2025. Deadline 2 May 2025.

To protect the data and systems within our care from cyber-attacks and data breaches. This is essential to enable and support our organisation in successfully achieving its objectives and maintaining and enhancing our legal compliance and reputation.

The Operational Security Lead will play a key role in protecting customer data and essential functions by monitoring our technology environment, and ensuring controls are effective in preventing, detecting, and responding to threats and vulnerabilities.

As part of a growing Cyber Security team, you will provide subject matter expertise on operational security risks and opportunities, and use your skills and experience to define, achieve, maintain, and improve technical and organisational security measures.

Reporting to the Operational Security Manager, and leading a small team of cyber security officers, you will work closely with colleagues in our wider Digital, Data and Technology team, as well as relevant authorities, and support partners, to drive and deliver effective cyber security.

Key responsibilities:

• Monitoring of system and network activity to identify unauthorised actions by users or potential intrusion by an attacker.
• Preparation for, handling of, and following up of cyber security incidents, to minimise the damage to our organisation and prevent recurrence.
• Management of the configuration of protected systems to ensure that any vulnerabilities are understood and managed.
• Assessment, validation and reporting of information on current and potential cyber threats to maintain the organisation’s situational awareness.
• Management of cyber security risks in line with business objectives and regulatory requirements.
• Management of cyber security education and awareness programme.
• Management of cyber security performance measures.

Person specification

Essential criteria assessed at application stage:

• Experience relevant to the role requirements, as described in the role responsibilities and person specification, and accumulated through any combination of academic or vocational qualifications or experience.
• Desirable: Professional certifications in good standing, including but not limited to: CISSP, CCSP, CISM. Or equivalent proven Level of experience.
• Minimum of two years’ experience in a similar role.
• Working experience of security operations and incident management.
• Working experience of risk management and mitigation.
• Working experience of developing and delivering security education and awareness programmes.
• Desirable: Experience of working in a public sector or highly regulated organisation.
• Good time management skills, and an ability to remain calm under pressure and manage complex workloads.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills with people at all levels, and an ability to influence change at an organisational level.
• Self-motivated and dynamic with the ability to identify issues and own remediations.
• Knowledge of security operations and incident management, including configuration, operation, and maintenance of secure systems, detection and response to incidents, and collection and use of threat intelligence.
• Knowledge of security management systems and organisational security controls, including standards, best practices, and approaches to risk assessment and mitigation.
• Knowledge of human factors, including usable security, social and behavioural factors impacting security, security culture and awareness, as well as the impact of security controls on user behaviours.
• Desirable: Knowledge of Microsoft security tools, including Defender XDR, and Defender for Cloud.

Essential criteria assessed during interview:

• Minimum of two years’ experience in a similar role.
• Working experience of security operations and incident management.
• Working experience of risk management and mitigation.
• Working experience of developing and delivering security education and awareness programmes.
• Desirable: Experience of working in a public sector or highly regulated organisation.
• Good time management skills, and an ability to remain calm under pressure and manage complex workloads.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills with people at all levels, and an ability to influence change at an organisational level.
• Self-motivated and dynamic with the ability to identify issues and own remediations.
• Knowledge of security operations and incident management, including configuration, operation, and maintenance of secure systems, detection and response to incidents, and collection and use of threat intelligence.
• Knowledge of security management systems and organisational security controls, including standards, best practices, and approaches to risk assessment and mitigation.
• Knowledge of human factors, including usable security, social and behavioural factors impacting security, security culture and awareness, as well as the impact of security controls on user behaviours.
• Desirable: Knowledge of Microsoft security tools, including Defender XDR, and Defender for Cloud.

Equality, diversity, and inclusion

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity, and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. We are championing this through our Equality Diversity and Inclusion Board together with a number of staff networks. Read more about our commitment on our website.

Candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria for this vacancy will be invited to interview as part of the ICO’s commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme.

If you are disabled or have an impairment and require an alternative application method, please email the HR team at recruitment@ico.org.uk.

Closing Date

Please submit your CV and cover letter detailing your suitability to the role by 23:59, Friday 2nd May.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy before this date should we receive sufficient applications. Please apply as soon as possible to ensure your application is considered.