Security Manager - SOC

Tesco UK; Welwyn Garden City, Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 100,000 - 125,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading supermarket and technology company in Welwyn Garden City seeks a Security Operations Lead to manage a high-performance team, drive improvements in security operations, and respond to incidents. The ideal candidate has over 4 years of experience and a strong grasp of security technologies. This hybrid role offers an annual bonus, extensive benefits, and a commitment to flexible working arrangements.

Benefits

Annual bonus scheme up to 20%

25 vacation days plus Bank holidays

Private medical insurance

24/7 virtual GP service

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• 4+ years leading a high-performance security team.
• Experience with enterprise security technologies and cloud environments.
• Strong understanding of security threats and incident challenges.

Responsibilities

• Lead a Security Operations Centre (SOC) service for security alerts.
• Guide team through complex operations and implement service improvements.
• Collaborate with cybersecurity, technology, and business teams.

Skills

Leadership in security teams

Security operations

Technical analysis

Incident response

Communication skills

Education

SANS LDR551, SEC504, FOR508, ITIL certifications

Tools

EDR

SIEM

SOAR

Python

PowerShell

Job description

Overview

Tesco UK – Welwyn Garden City • Hybrid • Full-Time. You can expect to spend around 60% of your time in office locations or local sites and the rest remotely. Tesco supports flexible working arrangements.

Responsibilities

• Lead an effective and efficient Security Operations Centre (SOC) service that delivers timely detection, analysis, and response to security alerts and incidents.
• Ensure continuous improvement and alignment of new initiatives with the broader security strategy, reporting on implementation.
• Stay ahead of the cyber threat landscape within Tesco verticals (retail, transport, fuel, pharmacy) and guide the team through complex operational landscapes and incidents.
• Develop team leadership skills and technical capabilities; encourage industry-leading investigative analysis through comprehensive response playbooks, detection use cases, automations, and research/ tooling enhancements.
• Lead service improvements through projects with clear plans, implementation, and progress updates.
• Monitor and assess managed security service provider performance, ensuring alignment to contracted services and SLAs.
• Maintain high-quality standards through regular audits, evaluations, and continuous improvement.
• Collaborate closely with cybersecurity, technology, and business teams across Tesco.

Requirements / Qualifications

• Demonstrable experience (4+ years) leading a high-performance security team, including analysts at all levels.
• Proficiency in security operations, technical analysis, investigations, and incident response in large-scale, on-premise and cloud environments.
• Strong understanding of security threats facing large enterprises and the challenges these present to the SOC.
• Experience with enterprise security technologies (EDR, SIEM, SOAR) and with operating systems, networks, cloud, and complex architectures.
• Familiarity with at least one scripting language (e.g., Python, PowerShell).
• Aware of how AI can be applied in threat detection and incident response to enhance security posture.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; ability to think critically and lead technical investigations; ability to perform under pressure with integrity.
• Training/certifications such as SANS LDR551, SEC504, FOR508, ITIL are desirable but not required.

What’s in it for you

• Annual bonus scheme of up to 20% of base salary
• Holiday starting at 25 days plus a personal day (plus Bank holidays)
• Private medical insurance; 26 weeks maternity and adoption leave (after 1 year’s service) with 13 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay or Statutory Adoption Pay, plus 4 weeks fully paid paternity leave
• Free 24/7 virtual GP service
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) for you and your family

About us

We’re a supermarket, technology company, and more. Our colleagues work to make every day better for customers, colleagues, and communities worldwide. We champion flexible working and inclusion; talk to us about what works for you.