Operations Lead - Microsoft Cybersecurity

DEFEND; Christchurch; Hybrid; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

KiwiSaver 3.5%

Health Insurance

Hybrid work environment

Home office allowance

Employee assistance program

Job summary

DEFEND in New Zealand is seeking a Microsoft Cybersecurity Operations Lead to govern and optimize the Microsoft security ecosystem across Managed Services customers, ensuring maximum value and a robust security posture.

You will collaborate with engineering and security teams, configure Conditional Access and Intune, and lead continuous improvement, incident response, and governance while supporting a hybrid work environment with a strong commitment to learning and customer outcomes.

Qualifications

• Experience configuring and governing Microsoft security ecosystems.
• Proven ability to implement Conditional Access and Intune policies.
• Strong knowledge of identity security and Zero Trust principles.

Responsibilities

• Lead administration, configuration, and optimization of Microsoft security platforms.
• Collaborate to develop security baselines, policies, and industry-aligned standards.
• Drive continuous improvement of services delivered to customers.
• Monitor platform health and performance, identifying improvement opportunities.
• Translate customer security objectives into practical Microsoft controls.
• Support incident response with platform expertise and insights.
• Coordinate with engineering, detection, and response teams to ensure security controls operate across environments.

Skills

Identity security

Zero Trust

Intune policy

Conditional Access

Stakeholder engagement

Security leadership

Incident response

Tools

Azure AD

Microsoft Defender

Intune

Job description

At DEFEND, we provide top-tier cyber resilience through expert security operations, proactive risk reduction, and the effective management of modern security platforms.

Our Microsoft Cybersecurity Operations Lead is responsible for the configuration, optimisation, governance, and operational effectiveness of Microsoft's security ecosystem for our Managed Services customers.

Through strong technical leadership and continuous improvement, they ensure customers maximise value from their Microsoft security investments while maintaining a robust cybersecurity posture.

Requirements

In this role you'll...

• Lead the administration, configuration, and optimisation of Microsoft security platforms and related technologies.
• Work with the wider DEFEND team to develop and maintain security baselines, policies, and standards aligned to industry frameworks and best practices.
• Drive continuous improvement of our products and services that we deliver to our customers.
• Monitor platform health, performance, and effectiveness, proactively identifying opportunities for improvement.
• Collaborate with customer stakeholders to understand security objectives and translate them into practical Microsoft security controls.
• Analyse emerging platform capabilities and recommend enhancements that improve security outcomes.
• Support incident response activities by providing platform expertise and security control insights.
• Coordinate with engineering, detection, and response teams to ensure security controls operate effectively across customer environments.

You’ll bring...

• Expert knowledge with Microsoft cybersecurity products.
• Deep understanding of identity security, device management, and Zero Trust principles.
• Experience designing and implementing Conditional Access and Intune policy.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills.
• Proven ability to balance operational support with strategic platform improvement.
• Strong documentation, reporting, and governance capabilities.
• Commitment to continuous learning and platform optimisation.

Benefits

About DEFEND:

Our dream at DEFEND is to improve everyday life by creating a cyber resilient world. Over the last few years, we've experienced phenomenal growth, working with a wide variety of customers and winning several industry awards, including Microsoft's Global Partner of theYear for 2025!

Why DEFEND?

We believe in investing in our employees' growth and providing them with opportunities to advance their skills and careers. We offer a collaborative workplace culture, and we are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where innovative thinking is encouraged.

By joining our innovative and creative team you will have the opportunity to contribute a variety of cybersecurity outcomes, from culture & awareness of cyber resilience, through to offensive & defensive security. No matter what your role, everyone at DEFEND contributes towards our dream ofcreating a cyber resilient world.

The benefits of working at DEFEND

In addition to workingfor a growing, dynamic NZcompany, DEFEND offers the following benefits to all ourDEFENDers

• 3.5%Kiwisaveron top of your base salary

• Southern Cross Health Insurance coverage

• Mobile and Broadband discounts for yourself and family

• Flexible, hybrid work environment

• An allowance to contribute to your home office setup

• Access to EAP services to support youacross a range of wellbeing needs

Diversity & Inclusion:

At DEFEND, we celebrate a variety of perspectives and experiences. We know from experience that people from underrepresented groups often don't apply for roles they don't feel they meet all the criteria for. We're committed to creating an environment that enables all our team to thrive. If you think you have what it takes, but don't check every single box, please consider applying. We'd love to hear how you might contribute to the team and being our next DEFENDer.