Statewide CISO — Enterprise Cybersecurity Leader

West Virginia; Charleston (WV); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, and vision insurance

Retirement benefits

Paid holidays

Generous annual and sick leave

Job summary

West Virginia seeks a Chief Information Security Officer to lead the Cybersecurity Office within the Office of Technology. The CISO will set policies, supervise the SOC, and coordinate statewide risk management and incident response.

The role requires a mobile strategic leader with experience in policy, governance, and cross-agency collaboration, reporting to the CIO and advising the Governor’s Office.

Qualifications

• Ten (10) years of progressive experience in information security or IT risk management, including at least five (5) years in a leadership role.
• Bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity, information technology, computer science, information systems, or a related field. A master’s degree may substitute for two years of general experience.
• Experience implementing enterprise cybersecurity policies, risk assessment programs, and incident response capabilities in large organizations.
• Experience with frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework and NIST SP 800-53; familiarity with IRS 1075, FBI CJIS, HIPAA Security Rule.
• Ability to advise senior executives, build cross-organizational partnerships, and communicate complex risk clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead the enterprise cybersecurity program: set policies, standards, and risk framework and approve agency requests for exceptions.
• Oversee annual cybersecurity program reviews with each agency and report posture to Governor and Legislature.
• Direct the Security Operations Center (monitoring, protection, vulnerability management, incident response, forensics) and coordinate statewide responses.
• Run statewide cyber incident reporting for state agencies and local entities.
• Build security into modernization, procurement, and data governance with the CIO and agency IT leaders.
• Manage cybersecurity vendors and contracts, evaluate proposals, negotiate terms, and oversee funding of security initiatives.
• Oversee the AI Director and the state’s AI security strategy and governance.
• Build partnerships with federal and state agencies and represent the state on privacy, security, and risk committees.
• Recruit and retain Cybersecurity Office staff and lead user security awareness training.
• Serve as state’s primary contact for legislative, federal, and audit inquiries on cybersecurity.

Skills

Leadership

Cyber policy

NIST Framework

Risk management

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in cybersecurity/IT/computer science/IS

Master's degree may substitute for two years experience

Job description

West Virginia seeks a Chief Information Security Officer to lead the Cybersecurity Office within the Office of Technology. The CISO will set policies, supervise the SOC, and coordinate statewide risk management and incident response.

The role requires a mobile strategic leader with experience in policy, governance, and cross-agency collaboration, reporting to the CIO and advising the Governor’s Office.