Staff IT Security Consultant

Taco Bell Corp.; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 152,000 - 178,000; Full time

Job summary

Taco Bell is seeking a Staff IT Security Consultant to serve as the primary cybersecurity advisor and relationship owner for one or more brands within Yum! Brands.

You will translate cyber risk into practical business decisions and coordinate the right security capabilities at the right time. You will lead governance activities, foster a strong security culture, and partner with business teams to balance risk, customer experience, and delivery speed while supporting franchisee and third-party

Qualifications

• 7+ years in cybersecurity or IT with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
• Strong relationships, communication, and executive briefing skills.
• Experience translating complex risks into practical business guidance.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the trusted cybersecurity advisor to assigned business and technology leaders.
• Build relationships and understand business priorities, roadmaps, and initiatives.
• Translate cybersecurity risks into clear business guidance for executives and stakeholders.
• Prioritize and reduce cyber risk while balancing business value, customer experience, cost, and delivery speed.
• Coordinate cross-functional collaboration to deliver a security program aligned with executive expectations.
• Coordinate AI governance and security guidance for responsible AI adoption.
• Embed cybersecurity into projects, products, and strategic initiatives early in lifecycle.
• Lead governance activities including risk tracking, audits, reporting, policy exceptions, incident response, and resilience exercises.
• Foster a positive security culture by building trust and promoting risk-informed decisions.
• Support franchisee and third-party facing security initiatives

Skills

Relationship-building

Executive communication

Cross-functional leadership

Strategic thinking

Prioritization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Information Security/CS

CISSP/CISM/CISA or similar certifications

Job description

Position Summary

As a Staff IT Security Consultant supporting Yum! Brands, you will serve as the primary cybersecurity advisor and relationship owner for one or more Brands, Markets, or Product organizations. You will partner with business and technology leaders to help them achieve their objectives securely by translating cyber risk into practical business decisions and coordinating the right cybersecurity capabilities at the right time.

Key Responsibilities

• Serve as the trusted cybersecurity advisor to assigned business and technology leaders.
• Build strong relationships and maintain a deep understanding of business priorities, technology roadmaps, and strategic initiatives.
• Translate cybersecurity risks and technical concepts into clear business guidance for executives and stakeholders.
• Partner with business teams to identify, prioritize, and reduce cyber risk while balancing business value, customer experience, cost, and delivery speed.
• Coordinate cross-functional collaboration involving cybersecurity and non-technical teams to deliver a business experience consistent with the Global Business Information Security Office.
• Enable responsible AI adoption by coordinating AI governance and security guidance with the appropriate cybersecurity teams.
• Embed cybersecurity into projects, products, and strategic initiatives early and throughout the lifecycle.
• Lead governance activities by tracking business risks, audits, security initiatives, executive reporting, policy exceptions, incident response, and resilience exercises.
• Foster a positive security culture by building trust, promoting collaboration, and helping teams make risk-informed decisions.
• Support franchisee and third-party facing security initiatives

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in cybersecurity, information technology, risk management, or a related field with at least 2 years in a leadership role.
• Strong relationship-building, communication, and executive presentation skills.
• Ability to influence cross-functional teams without direct authority.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities while adapting to changing business needs.
• Experience translating complex technical issues into practical business recommendations.
• Working knowledge of cloud security, application security, identity and access management, enterprise risk management, AI technologies, AI governance principles, and modern software delivery practices.
• Familiarity with security frameworks such as NIST, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, SOC 2, or similar.
• Restaurant, retail, digital commerce, or customer-facing technology experience is preferred.

What We're Looking For

The ideal Staff IT Security Consultant is a business partner first and security expert second—curious, collaborative, pragmatic, and focused on understanding business objectives before recommending solutions.

We are looking for someone who believes cybersecurity exists to enable the business—not slow it down. Rather than defaulting to enforcement, they help leaders understand risk, present practical options, explain tradeoffs, and support informed business decisions.

Successful candidates build trust through sound judgment, flexibility, and strong relationships.

Education & Certifications

• Bachelor's degree in Information Security, Computer Science, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• CISSP, CISM, CISA, or similar certifications are preferred but not required.

Salary Range: $151,600 to $178,400 annually + bonus eligibility. This is the expected salary range for this position. Ultimately, in determining pay, we'll consider the successful candidate’s location, experience, and other job-related factors.