Head of Cyber Security: Intelligence, Innovation & Risk

Head of Cyber Security: Intelligence, Innovation & Risk

Organisation: Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)

Salary: £69,500 – £90,600

Location: Hanslope Park (Milton Keynes) or London (Westminster) – hybrid, min 60% in the office

Terms: Permanent, Grade 6

Benefits: 25 days annual leave, Civil Service pension scheme (28.97%)

Allen Lane is supporting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in their search for a Head of Cyber Security: Intelligence, Innovation & Risk on a permanent basis.

This is a Grade 6 vacancy in growing function within the Information and Cyber Security Department. We are growing our team to take on the ever-changing global security challenges and deliver innovative security solutions that will enable and empower the FCDO to succeed.

The Head of Security: Intelligence, Innovation and Risk is responsible to the Chief Information Security Officer to define, lead and deliver through their team the timely and effective delivery of FCDO’s Cyber and Information Security.

As Head of Cyber Security: Intelligence, Innovation and Risk, you will lead the strategic development, integration, and continuous improvement of the organisations core cyber services – ensuring they are risk informed, intelligence led and future ready. You will oversee the following service lines:

• Innovation and Applied Research and Development
• Intelligence Analysis
• Enterprise Security Risk Management
• Supply Chain Risk Management

You will drive the operational and strategic alignment of cyber services across programmes, supporting secure delivery and resilience in a rapidly evolving threat and technology landscape.

The Head of Cyber Security: Intelligence, Innovation and Risk will be a member of the ICSD Senior Leadership team and IDD Extended Leadership Group; and is expected to lead engagement and reporting for their workstreams, working across the IDD to improve ways of working both internally and externally. The successful candidate will be expected to represent the CISO at various HMG and external events where necessary.

Full details of the duties and responsibilities for this position are detailed in the candidate pack.

We are looking for those who are able to engage on all Minimum Criteria with the potential to develop further in some areas.

• Strategic Information Security Risk Management: Supporting the definition and execution of enterprise-wide information security strategies by ensuring strategic security risks are identified, assessed and mitigated whilst ensuring the achievement of enterprise objectives for creating value.
• Operational Information Security Risk Management: Leading organisation wide information security risk management activities, ensuring operational security risks are identified, assessed and effectively mitigated whilst ensuring projects and services are successfully delivered within time and resource constraints.
• Threat Intelligence, Assessment and Threat Modelling: Managing threat intelligence and assessment teams, overseeing complex analysis and reporting to deliver actionable intelligence used to reduce risk and prevent incidents.
• Innovation and Improvement: Defining and managing applied research and development activities to better understand the information security opportunities and risks presented by the potential adoption of business, digital and security innovation and improvements.
• Third Party Management: Supporting the identification, assessment and mitigation of information and cyber security risks presented by third-party relationships, advising senior stakeholders and ensuring suppliers deliver against security compliance and risk management expectations.
• Management, Leadership and Influence: Shaping Information and Cyber Security leadership, strong stakeholder influence, and the management of high performing teams, whist championing professional development. Demonstrable experience fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous learning across an organisation.

Qualifications encouraged: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CCSP, CISA.

The FCDO is a corporate member of CIISec and we actively encourage all staff to engage with its professional standards and actively work towards recognised accreditation to support their ongoing development and contribution to the cyber profession.

How to apply:

You will be required to complete and submit an application to FCDO@allenlane.co.uk by the closing date of Monday November 3rd at 09:00.

This must include a CV detailing your career history (including any relevant qualifications). CVs will be assessed against the Minimum Criteria outlined in the Person Specification section of this Pack. You should also provide a Personal Statement of up to 1,000 words, and a completed online diversity monitoring form.

Your Personal Statement should explain how your skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with specific reference to the Minimum Criteria. We are looking for those who are able to engage on all of the Criteria with the potential to develop further in some areas. These responses will be explored further during the interview process for shortlisted candidates.

This role can be based at one of our offices in Hanslope Park (Milton Keynes) or London (Westminster). Hybrid working is available, there is an expectation of 60% office time as a minimum.

The salary for this role at Grade 6 starts at £69,500 per annum. If based in Milton Keynes, there will be an additional, non-pensionable, non-consolidated location allowance of £1,750. A specialist allowance of up to £10,800 per annum (non-contractual, non-consolidated and non-pensionable) may be offered based on the candidate’s demonstrated skills, competence and experience at interview. This allowance will be subject to regular review and may be changed or removed with written notice. The maximum total remuneration for this role will not exceed £90,600 per annum.

The terms of the employment include access to the Civil Service pension scheme (employer contribution of 28.97%) and annual leave starting at 25 days leave per annum.

If successful you must hold, or be willing to obtain, security clearance to DV level. All offers of appointment will be subject to achieving DV level clearance. You must have been resident in the UK for five out of the last ten years immediately prior to your application.

We want the modern FCDO to reflect the very best of 21st century Britain. We encourage applications from all suitably qualified applicants, irrespective of background or circumstances.