Principal Cyber Security Risk Manager

DVSA.GOV; Leeds; Hybrid; GBP 56,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Employer pension 28.97%

25 days annual leave + 8 bank holidays

Flexible working

Job summary

DVSA is seeking a Principal Cyber Security Risk Manager to lead risk management activities across a multi-product service portfolio. You will guide governance, assurance, and security strategy, working with Service Owners and senior leadership to embed secure practices throughout the development lifecycle.

The role requires Chartered status or progression toward it, with cloud security experience (AWS or Azure) and strong leadership in a matrix, cross-government environment.

Qualifications

• Chartered Cyber Professional or working toward charter.
• Experience in cloud security on AWS or Azure; willingness to cert.
• Ability to lead risk management activities across complex services.
• Experience guiding senior security leadership and service owners.

Responsibilities

• Lead risk management activities against complex scenarios.
• Provide leadership to risk managers and share best practice across government and industry.
• Lead analysis and derivation of complex security needs.
• Guide Cyber Security governance arrangements and assurance activities.
• Provide evidence-based recommendations to Service Owners and senior leadership.
• Support development of security profession and strategic influence.

Skills

Chartered Cyber Professional

Cloud security (AWS/Azure)

Risk management leadership

Stakeholder engagement

Security governance

Job description

Principal Cyber Security Risk Manager

Location: Bristol, Swansea, Leeds, Nottingham, Newcastle, Oldham (Chadderton), Birmingham Garretts Green) or Uxbridge.

Salary: £57,515 per annum

Vacancy Type: Permanent, Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Closing Date: 28th of September 2026

The DVSA are continuing to strengthen security capability across the business. This role will form a part of a growing Cyber function continuing to embed and maintain an assurance and response function protecting our Services and customer data.

Our work also supports the DVSA Data Strategy which has recently been refreshed. This sets the direction for making the Agency an evidence based and data driven organisation whilst maintaining an appropriate level of security of our services and data.

You will work with the wider Security function as well as supporting Service Owners and multi-disciplinary teams to ensure that security is built into the service development lifecycle and strategic planning. You will be responsible for providing the consolidated risk picture for the Products within that Service and recommending risk acceptance aligning with defined risk appetites. You will lead a small service group team of security professionals to support the assurance as well as engage as necessary with the Enterprise Architecture processes via the Security Architecture function to influence pattern adoption.

Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:

• Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary.

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King s birthday.

• Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.

Job description

Your responsibilities will include, but aren t limited to:

• Lead and undertake risk management activities against the hardest or most novel scenarios, while applying the fundamental principles of risk management to a range of complex scenarios, and lead regulatory or legislative compliance activities.

• Guide and direct specialist activities of others, actively promoting development in the applicable skills, providing leadership to other risk managers, and sharing best practice widely across government, the public sector, and industry.

• Lead the analysis and derivation of complex security needs.

• Lead Cyber Security related risk assessments and other expert risk management activities, including providing guidance on establishing the organisation s Cyber Securityrelated governance arrangements.

• Provide guidance to ensure ongoing confidence that fundamental organisational security needs have been met, including integrating a range of assurance approaches and techniques to give continued confidence to the risk, service or system owner.

• Shape leadership decision-making through:

1. effective reporting and communication regarding the effectiveness of security processes across an organisation
2. providing recommendations to highly complex problems
3. acting an SME for complex cyber risk management concerns, issues and problems

Great line management is important to us as an organisation, and we will equip and support line managers to develop the skills set out in the Civil Service Line Management Standards.

For further information on the role, please read the attached role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.

Person specification

Required experience:

• A Chartered Cyber Professional or be willing to work towards becoming Chartered.

• Demonstrate experience in cloud security across at least one platform of AWS or Azure and be willing to undertake formal training and certifications in this area.

• As a Principal Cyber Risk Manager you are inquisitive and enjoy understanding the context of the full service and product suite you are supporting. You work in a matrix team with roles such as developers, User experience and service design, business analysis to bring a rounded approach to a Service.

• You are good at making evidenced based recommendations to both Service Owners and Senior Security Leadership roles around the level of security risk being managed within each Product.

• You are part of a wider Security profession and support the development of that profession as part of a leadership role in the organisation and are able to bring strategic influence to your local Services and Products.