Network Security Lead

Accenture is looking for an exceptional Network Security Lead to join our Network Infrastructure Engineering practice. This is a senior individual contributor and client leadership role for someone who combines deep enterprise network security expertise with the commercial instinct and communication skills to win trust at the highest levels of a client organisation. You will be the go‑to security authority within the network practice — the person clients call when they need to understand how to modernise their security architecture, navigate a compliance challenge, or respond to an evolving threat landscape. You will own relationships with a portfolio of blue‑chip enterprise clients, guiding them on their journey toward Zero Trust, SASE, and SSE adoption, whilst shaping and delivering the work that follows. This role demands someone who is equally comfortable white‑boarding a ZTNA architecture with a room full of CCIEs, presenting a business case to a CISO, and rolling up their sleeves to produce the proposal, design, or deliverable that gets the deal done. Versatility is not optional — it is the role.

Key Responsibilities

• Client Relationship & Advisory
  • Own and develop trusted senior relationships across a portfolio of blue‑chip enterprise clients, acting as their primary network security advisor within Accenture.
  • Advise clients at CISO, CTO, and VP Infrastructure level on network security strategy, architecture modernisation, and risk posture improvement.
  • Lead client workshops, discovery sessions, and executive briefings, facilitating complex technical and strategic conversations with confidence and clarity.
  • Serve as a trusted thought partner as clients navigate regulatory compliance requirements, security frameworks (e.g. NIST, ISO 27001, NIS2, DORA), and evolving threat environments.
  • Identify and shape new opportunities within existing accounts, recognising client challenges and translating them into well‑formed propositions.
• Technical Leadership
  • Provide authoritative guidance on enterprise network security architecture, with particular depth across:
  • SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) — architecture, vendor landscape, migration strategies
  • SSE (Security Service Edge) — SWG, CASB, DLP, RBI and integration patterns
  • ZTNA / Zero Trust — principles, frameworks, identity‑centric access, micro‑segmentation
  • Next‑Generation Firewall & IPS/IDS — policy design, segmentation, east‑west traffic control
  • Network Access Control (NAC/802.1X, Cisco ISE, Aruba ClearPass)
  • Secure SD‑WAN and the convergence of networking and security in modern enterprise WAN
  • Cloud Security Networking — VPC security, cloud‑native firewalling, private access patterns across AWS, Azure, and GCP
  • PKI, certificate management, and encryption standards at scale
  • Stay ahead of the vendor landscape (Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, Cisco, Fortinet, Cloudflare, Netskope, etc.), providing clients with impartial, outcome‑driven guidance.
  • Act as a technical escalation point for the wider network engineering team on security‑related matters.
  • Contribute to internal capability development, helping upskill the team on emerging security technologies and methodologies.
• Proposals, Pursuits & Deliverables
  • Lead the development of security proposals, RFP responses, and solution designs, from initial shaping through to final submission and presentation.
  • Create high‑quality client‑facing deliverables — architecture documents, current‑state assessments, roadmaps, business cases, and executive presentations — to a standard that reflects Accenture's positioning.
  • Collaborate with sales and account teams to shape win strategies, define differentiated propositions, and structure commercial approaches that resonate with technical and business buyers alike.
  • Be willing and able to personally produce deliverables where required — this is not a role that delegates everything downward. The ability to create compelling, polished outputs directly is essential.
• AI Proficiency & Innovation
  • Leverage AI tools and platforms (including generative AI) to accelerate the production of proposals, assessments, research, and client communications — demonstrating practical, day‑to‑day AI fluency.
  • Advise clients on the security implications of AI adoption within their environments, including data exposure risks, access control considerations, and governance frameworks.
  • Critically evaluate AI‑generated outputs, understanding where AI adds velocity and where human judgement and expertise remain essential — and communicate this distinction clearly to clients and colleagues.
  • Champion the pragmatic use of AI within the network practice to improve team productivity and the quality of deliverables.

Required Experience & Qualifications

• Technical
  • Extensive hands‑on and advisory experience across enterprise network security, with demonstrable depth in SASE, SSE, Zero Trust, and secure networking architectures.
  • Strong understanding of enterprise networking fundamentals (routing, switching, SD‑WAN, WAN architecture) — able to engage credibly with network engineers, not just security practitioners.
  • Experience designing or advising on large‑scale security transformation programmes in complex, multi‑site, or multi‑cloud enterprise environments.
  • Familiarity with compliance and regulatory frameworks relevant to enterprise clients (NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, PCI‑DSS, NIST CSF).
  • Working knowledge of at least two or more leading security vendors at an architectural level (e.g. Palo Alto/Prisma, Zscaler, Cisco Umbrella/Duo, Fortinet, Netskope, Cloudflare).
• Commercial & Communication
  • Proven ability to write and present high‑quality proposals and technical documents to senior client audiences.
  • Track record of owning client relationships in a consulting, vendor, or managed services context — with demonstrable examples of account growth and client satisfaction.
  • Ability to command technically complex rooms — earning credibility with engineers through substance, not authority.
  • Commercially aware, with an understanding of how to frame security investments in terms of risk, compliance, and business value rather than purely technical merit.
  • Adaptable communication style — equally effective presenting to a CISO or a junior analyst, and able to read the room and adjust accordingly.
• AI & Tools
  • Actively proficient with AI‑assisted tools for content creation, research, and analysis (e.g. Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, or equivalent).
  • Clear‑eyed understanding of the limitations and risks of AI‑generated output, particularly in technical and client‑facing contexts.

Qualifications

• Degree in Computer Science, Information Security, Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• One or more of the following certifications highly desirable: CISSP, CISM, or CCSP CCIE Security Vendor certifications: Palo Alto PCNSE, Zscaler ZDTA/ZCCA, Cisco SCOR, Fortinet NSE 7/8.
• Familiarity with SABSA, TOGAF, or equivalent security/enterprise architecture frameworks advantageous.

The Ideal Candidate

You are not a pure architect who hands off to others, nor a pure account manager who relies on technical colleagues to fill the gaps. You occupy a rare middle ground — someone who has earned their stripes technically and subsequently developed the judgement, communication skills, and commercial instincts to lead at a strategic level. You are energised by variety. One day you are presenting a Zero Trust roadmap to a financial services CISO; the next you are deep in a proposal for a global manufacturing client's SASE migration; the following week you are in a workshop facilitating a threat‑modelling exercise with a team of network engineers. You do not just direct — you do. You understand that AI is a tool, not a replacement for expertise, and you use it intelligently to move faster and produce better work — without compromising quality or accuracy. Most importantly, you genuinely care about helping clients improve their security posture, meet their compliance obligations, and protect what matters most to their business.

What You Will Own

• Area Ownership
• Client Relationships Portfolio of blue‑chip enterprise accounts
• Security Advisory SASE, SSE, ZTNA, Zero Trust strategy and architecture
• Proposals & Pursuits End‑to‑end security bid leadership and content creation
• Technical Authority Network security escalation point for the practice
• AI Enablement Practical AI adoption within the team and client advisory
• Compliance Guidance Regulatory alignment across client security programmes

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We believe that no one should be discriminated against because of their differences. All employment decisions shall be made without regard to age, race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, disability status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, citizenship status or any other basis as protected by applicable law. Our rich diversity makes us more innovative, more competitive, and more creative, which helps us better serve our clients and our communities.