Principal Security Risk Assurance Manager

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); Cardiff; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a Head of Physical Security Assurance to provide strategic leadership for its security assurance function. You will lead a specialist team delivering second-line assurance across a dispersed estate, ensuring robust evaluation of controls and timely improvement actions.

The role requires senior stakeholder engagement, cross-government collaboration, and a frontline ability to challenge risk owners while supporting ESRM transformation.

Qualifications

• Senior leadership experience in security-related functions including strategic direction and delivery.
• Experience in security risk assurance, integrating physical security with cyber, information and personnel security.
• Ability to lead geographically dispersed teams and work across organisational boundaries.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for the Physical Security Assurance function.
• Oversee delivery of assurance activities across DWP locations with consistent standards.
• Engage with senior stakeholders and present clear assurance findings and recommendations.
• Support ESRM transformation activities and future operating models for enterprise security.
• Travel frequently to DWP sites and maintain operational continuity during changes.

Skills

Senior stakeholder influence

Security leadership

Security risk assurance

Travel readiness

Cross-functional collaboration

Job description

Please note: this vacancy is only open to existing civil servants

This is a unique opportunity to lead and mature physical security assurance across one of the UK's largest and most geographically dispersed estates, while helping shape the future of security assurance within government.

DWP is responsible for delivering some of the UK's most critical public services. With circa. 90,000 employees, around 850 locations and responsibility for hundreds of billions of pounds in annual payments, maintaining effective physical security is fundamental to protecting our people, services, information and assets.

The Head of Physical Security Assurance provides strategic leadership for DWP's physical security assurance function, leading a specialist team responsible for delivering independent second-line assurance across the department's estate.

The role ensures DWP maintains a robust understanding of the effectiveness of its physical security controls, identifies vulnerabilities and emerging risks, and provides clear, evidence-based assurance and improvement recommendations to senior leaders.

This role is also expected to play an important transitional leadership role. Working closely with the other senior leaders within ESRM including Head of Security Risk, you will help maintain operational stability while supporting the evolution of DWP's future Enterprise Security Risk Assurance operating model.

This role provides senior leaders with confidence that physical security risks are understood, controls are effective and security vulnerabilities are identified and addressed. Through impartial assurance and strategic oversight, the postholder helps protect DWP's people, assets, services and operational resilience.

Strategic Leadership & Direction

• Provide senior leadership for DWP’s Physical Security Assurance function
• Maintain and continually improve a risk-based approach to physical security assurance
• Ensure assurance activity remains aligned with departmental priorities, emerging threats and business risks
• Lead a geographically dispersed team of physical security assurance professionals, creating a culture of professionalism, collaboration and continuous improvement.

Physical Security Assurance Delivery and Oversight

• Oversee delivery of physical security assurance activity across DWP and other relevant locations
• Ensure assurance reviews are evidence-based, proportionate and delivered to consistent standards
• Maintain oversight of physical security findings, recommendations and management actions
• Identify systemic weaknesses, recurring themes and opportunities to improve physical security and resilience
• Provide expert challenge and support to physical security risk owners and security stakeholders across the department.

Security Collaboration

• Work closely with the Head of Security Risk to ensure physical security assurance activity informs enterprise security risks assessments
• Contribute to enterprise-wide assurance reporting, ensuring that physical security risks and assurance findings are made visible to key decision-makers and Departmental Security Board as required
• Collaborate with Estates, People Safety, Business Continuity & Resilience, and other stakeholders to promote a joined-up approach to security risk management and assurance across the DWP estate.

Executive and Senior Stakeholder Engagement

• Build trusted relationships with senior leaders and stakeholders across DWP
• Present assurance findings, trends and recommendations in clear business-focused language
• Provide credible advice on physical security risks, vulnerabilities and control effectiveness
• Support governance forums and senior discussions relating to physical security assurance and resilience.

Supporting organisational transition

• Ensure continuity of physical security assurance throughout design and implementation of ESRM transformation activities.
• Help shape future operating models by providing professional expertise and lessons learned from physical assurance activity.
• Support integration of physical security assurance into wider enterprise assurance approaches where appropriate.
• Maintain service quality, stakeholder confidence and operational effectiveness throughout periods of organisational change.
• Develop productive relationships with government partners and security communities
• Share best practice and contribute to the development of physical security assurance approaches
• Support relevant cross-government security initiatives and programmes.

Given the geographic spread of teams and stakeholders, the role will require frequent travel (including some overnight stays) to other DWP sites.

Must hold a minimum of Security Check at the time of application

Person specification

We would love to hear from you if you can demonstrate evidence across all the following:

• Senior stakeholder influence and communication, including experience presenting business-focused security insights to senior leaders
• Leadership experience in one or more of the following: physical security, security assurance, or oversight function including responsibility for strategic direction, service delivery, and team leadership
• Experience operating within a security risk assurance environment, including understanding how physical security integrates with cyber, information, personnel and supply chain security
• Leadership of geographically dispersed or specialist teamWorking collaboratively across organisational boundaries, building effective relationships with diverse stakeholders and delivery partnersLeading change or continuous improvement initiatives, while maintaining operational delivery and stakeholder confidence.

Must hold a minimum of Security Check at the time of application