Cyber Security Manager in Sunderland

Cyber Security Lead – (Entra ID, Defender, Purview, SIEM, SOC, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, NIST, CISSP, Hands-On, 3rd Party Management) – Permanent – Home Based
Charles Simon Associates are currently recruiting for a Technical Cyber Security Lead for one of our key clients, a fast-growing UK business with sites across the country. This is a great opportunity to own cyber security across the organisation in a hands-on role that comes with real influence over how security gets done from here on.
The successful candidate will be the internal technical lead for security. The official title is Manager, but this isn't a people management role. They will manage the outsourced SOC and SIEM providers, choose the security tools the business uses going forward, lead Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification, and decide whether SOC and SIEM stay outsourced or come in house.
Location:
Home Based (UK) with occasional travel to sites Salary:
£55,000 to £65,000 per annum D.O.E + benefits
Skills/Requirements for the Technical Cyber Security Lead: Strong hands-on security experience in a Microsoft environment, including M365, Entra ID, Defender, Purview, Azure and Windows endpoints and servers Experience managing outsourced SOC, MDR or SIEM services Previous experience taking a business through Cyber Essentials Plus and/or ISO 27001 certification Experience leading or supporting cyber security incident response and investigations Good grounding in infrastructure and networking, including Active Directory, DNS, virtualisation, cloud and firewalls Working knowledge of frameworks such as NIST CSF or CIS Controls Experience writing and maintaining IT and information security policies and procedures Confident managing and challenging third-party security suppliers Cyber security certifications such as CISSP, CISM, Security+ or Microsoft security certifications (SC-200, SC-100, AZ-500) are desirable
Start date is January 2027 for the Technical Cyber Security Lead
The Technical Cyber Security Lead will be responsible for: Configuring, hardening and remediating security across Entra ID, Purview and Defender Managing the performance of the outsourced SOC, MDR and SIEM providers and challenging them on quality Leading the technical response to incidents, from investigation and containment through to root cause Owning vulnerability management and coordinating penetration testing Leading the business through Cyber Essentials Plus and ISO 27001 certification Building the business case for keeping SOC and SIEM outsourced or bringing them in house, including costs Selecting the security technologies the business will use going forward Building and running the security improvement roadmap Running onsite security awareness sessions with staff a couple of times a year Reporting on risk, incidents and progress to non-technical stakeholders
About You: Hands-on by nature and happy to get into the detail, not just oversee it Pragmatic, with a focus on proportionate security rather than perfect security Confident challenging suppliers and holding them to account Strong communicator who can explain technical risk to a non-technical audience Able to work independently and take ownership in a remote role
Please send an up-to-date copy of your CV to be considered for the Technical Cyber Security Lead
Cyber Security Lead – (Entra ID, Defender, Purview, SIEM, SOC, Cyber Essentials Plus, ISO 27001, NIST, CISSP, Hands-On, 3rd Party Management) – Permanent – Home Based
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