Manager, Cyber Readiness & Exercises

Citizens; Charlotte (NC); Hybrid; USD 175,000 - 205,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

Medical benefits

Dental & vision coverage

Retirement benefits

Education reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Citizens is seeking a Manager, Cyber Readiness & Exercises to lead the enterprise cyber exercise and simulation program, maturing strategy, governance and compliance. You will supervise design, execution and evaluation of exercises across technical and executive audiences, and manage a library of realistic scenarios.

You will guide talent acquisition, workforce planning and governance while partnering with senior leaders to ensure alignment with enterprise standards, threat intel and evolving

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in security, CS, IT or related field or equivalent experience.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CRISC or AI/security credentials preferred.
• 8–12 years of progressive cybersecurity, operations, resilience or program management experience.
• 3+ years of people leadership and talent management experience.
• Experience designing, facilitating, executing and evaluating cyber exercises.
• Knowledge of NIST CSF, CRI Profile and exercise frameworks.
• Experience in large, highly regulated organizations.
• Ability to influence senior leaders and drive cross‑function collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategy, governance, maturity and continuous improvement of the enterprise cyber exercise program.
• Oversee design, development, execution and evaluation of exercises for technical, operational and executive audiences.
• Develop and maintain a cyber scenario library aligned to organizational capabilities and gaps.
• Establish program methodologies, templates, playbooks, and audit-ready documentation.
• Ensure scenarios reflect risks, threat intelligence and evolving adversary tactics.
• Define, track and report program metrics and maturity measures.
• Deliver findings, after action reports and executive briefings with actionable recommendations.
• Assign, track and remediate findings and corrective actions to sustainable resolution.
• Manage a high-performing team through talent acquisition and performance development.
• Collaborate with Cyber Security, Enterprise Resilience, Technology and Risk Management leaders to align with strategy and policy.

Skills

Cybersecurity leadership

Exercise design & facilitation

Program governance

Stakeholder engagement

Talent management

NIST CSF knowledge

Regulated environments

Influence senior leaders

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Security or related field

CISSP/CISM/CRISC or similar certifications

Job description

Description

Manager, Cyber Readiness & Exercises

The Manager, Cyber Exercises & Simulations is responsible for establishing, leading, and continuously maturing the enterprise wide cybersecurity exercise and simulation program. This role oversees the strategy, development, execution, governance, and continuous improvement of cyber exercises and simulations designed to validate organizational preparedness, response capabilities, operational resilience, and alignment with enterprise cyber defense objectives.

The Manager, Cyber Exercises & Simulations leads a team of cybersecurity professionals responsible for designing, developing, executing, and assessing exercises across multiple audiences and organizational levels. The role also oversees talent acquisition, development, workforce planning, program governance, documentation, metrics, reporting, and stakeholder engagement to ensure exercises produce measurable outcomes that strengthen organizational cyber resilience.

This position is well suited for a cyber exercise and simulation leader who understands how to build and execute realistic and impactful scenarios that strengthen response readiness against cyber threats.

Work Arrangement

Locations & Work Arrangement: Remote is not an option, candidates must be willing to commute to one of the following hub locations with a hybrid schedule of 4 days onsite and 1 day remote per week with flexibility in one of the following hubs:

• Phoenix, AZ




• Charlotte, NC




• Johnston, RI




• Boston or Westwood, MA




• Marlton, NJ

Primary Responsibilities

• Lead the strategy, governance, maturity, and continuous improvement of the enterprise Cyber Security Exercise & Simulation Program, ensuring alignment with organizational objectives.




• Oversee the design, development, execution, and evaluation of cyber exercises and simulations across technical, operational, executive, and business stakeholder audiences.




• Develop and maintain a cyber scenario library that incorporates the current state of organizational functions, capabilities, and known gaps.




• Establish and maintain program methodologies, procedures, templates, playbooks, and documentation to ensure consistency, quality, and audit readiness.




• Ensure exercise scenarios incorporate organizational risks, threat intelligence, emerging cyber threats, industry trends, and evolving adversary tactics, techniques, and procedures.




• Define, track, and report program metrics, maturity measures, and effectiveness measures to demonstrate improvements in organizational preparedness and resilience.




• Oversee the creation and delivery of exercise findings, after action reports, executive briefings, and recommendations that drive actionable risk reduction and capability enhancement.




• Ensure identified findings, gaps, and corrective actions are properly assigned, tracked, remediated, and validated through due diligence processes to achieve sustainable resolution.




• Manage and develop a high performing team through talent acquisition, workforce planning, coaching, mentoring, performance management, and career development initiatives.




• Partner and collaborate with Cyber Security, Enterprise Resilience, Technology, Risk Management, and senior leadership teams to ensure exercises align with enterprise strategies, policies, standards, regulatory expectations, and emerging threat landscapes.

Experience and Skills

• 8 to 12 years of progressive experience in cybersecurity, cyber operations, incident response, threat intelligence, resilience, security program management, or a related discipline.




• 3 or more years of people leadership and talent management experience.




• Experience designing, facilitating, executing, and evaluating cybersecurity exercises and simulations.




• Strong understanding of cyber defense, incident response, threat intelligence, vulnerability management, and operational resilience concepts.




• Experience developing and managing enterprise programs, governance processes, metrics, and reporting.




• Knowledge of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and Standards, CRI Profile, and cybersecurity exercise frameworks.




• Experience working within large, complex, highly regulated organizations.




• Demonstrated ability to influence senior leaders and drive collaboration across functions.

Education, Certifications and Other Professional Credentials

• Bachelor’s Degree in Security, Computer Science, Information Technology, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.




• A combination of relevant industry certifications, including but not limited to CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CBCP, or emerging AI and security focused credentials.

Pay Transparency

The salary range for this position is from $175,000 to $205,000 per year, plus an opportunity to earn an annual discretionary bonus. Actual pay is based on various factors including but not limited to, the budget, work location, relevant skills, and experience.

We offer competitive pay, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, retirement benefits, maternity and paternity leave, flexible work arrangements, education reimbursement, wellness programs, and more. Citizens’ paid time off policy exceeds the mandatory paid sick or paid time away policies of local and state jurisdictions in the United States. For an overview of our benefits, visit our Careers site - https://jobs.citizensbank.com/benefits.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Citizens, its parent, subsidiaries, and related companies (Citizens) provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all colleagues and applicants for employment without regard to age, ancestry, color, citizenship, physical or mental disability, perceived disability or history or record of a disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, genetic characteristic, marital or domestic partner status, victim of domestic violence, family status/parenthood, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, pregnancy/childbirth/lactation, colleague’s or a dependent’s reproductive health decision making, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or any other category protected by federal, state and/or local laws. At Citizens, we are committed to fostering an inclusive culture that enables all colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day and everyone is expected to be treated with respect and professionalism. Employment decisions are based solely on merit, qualifications, performance and capability.

Why Work for Us

At Citizens, you'll find a customer-centric culture built around helping our customers and giving back to our local communities. When you join our team, you are part of a supportive and collaborative workforce, with access to training and tools to accelerate your potential and maximize your career growth.

Background Check

Any offer of employment is conditioned upon the candidate successfully passing a background check, which may include initial credit, motor vehicle record, public record, prior employment verification, and criminal background checks. Results of the background check are individually reviewed based on legal requirements imposed by our regulators and with consideration of the nature and gravity of the background history and the job offered. Any offer of employment will include further information.