Cyber Security Practice Lead

Flexible location with London office attendance a few times a month.

Company & Role

This opportunity sits with a Microsoft focused Managed Service Provider serving mid market organisations across professional services, public sector and regulated industries. Security sits at the centre of how the business differentiates in the market, and Microsoft Security is the backbone of the technical stack. This is a newly created role built specifically to evolve and mature that capability. You will step into a newly formed security practice as the first dedicated hire. To begin with this is a player/leader role without a team beneath you, but the direction of travel is clear. The stronger the practice performs, the faster it grows, and the person in this seat will be the natural choice to build and lead that team. The role spans three connected areas: shaping the managed security service portfolio built around the Microsoft Security stack, delivering those services to clients hands on, and supporting sales with pre sales expertise on security led opportunities.

Why This Role Stands Out

• Genuine ownership of a Microsoft led managed security practice as it takes shape, not inheriting someone else's structure.
• Real influence over service design, GTM positioning and how Sentinel, Defender, Entra and Purview are packaged and sold.
• Player/leader remit today with a clear route into practice leadership as the function grows.
• Broad scope covering portfolio development, delivery, pre sales and technical authority rather than being boxed into a single lane.
• Working within a Microsoft aligned MSP where security is a strategic priority, not a bolt on.
• Direct exposure to Microsoft co sell activity and to the commercials of the practice, including margin, attach rates and recurring revenue.

Key Responsibilities

• Shape and evolve the managed security services portfolio across MDR, SIEM, Identity, Compliance and AI SOC, anchored around Microsoft Sentinel, Defender, Entra and Purview.
• Productise services with clear scope, SLAs and pricing, and align them to the wider service catalogue.
• Develop the security attach strategy so that Microsoft Security is embedded across Modern Work and Cloud propositions.
• Lead hands on delivery of managed security services, including Sentinel deployment and tuning, Defender for Endpoint, Identity, Office 365 and Cloud, and Entra based identity protection.
• Build out standardised delivery processes for Microsoft Security engagements, reducing reliance on bespoke approaches.
• Work within the automated remediation stack, integrating Sentinel and Defender with Tenable, NinjaOne and HaloPSA, and identify opportunities to extend automation further.
• Support the sales team on security led opportunities, leading technical discovery, scoping and solution design across the Microsoft Security portfolio.
• Produce proposals, Microsoft Security assessments and bid responses, and present at board level where required.
• Develop sales enablement content, including service overviews, battle cards and objection handling material focused on the Microsoft Security stack.
• Act as the senior technical voice on security across delivery, sales and client engagements, and represent the business in Microsoft co sell activity and vendor relationships.

Ideal Experience

• Strong background designing and delivering managed security services within an MSP or MSSP environment, with Microsoft Security at the core.
• Deep hands on expertise across Microsoft Sentinel, the Defender suite (Endpoint, Identity, Office 365, Cloud) and Entra.
• Working knowledge of Purview and Microsoft compliance capabilities.
• Experience with vulnerability management tooling such as Tenable, and a good grasp of remediation workflows.
• A track record of building and standardising service delivery, not just configuring tooling.
• Commercially aware, comfortable thinking in terms of margin, attach rates and recurring revenue.
• Confident communicator, able to lead technical pre sales conversations and present credibly to senior stakeholders.
• Microsoft Security certifications such as SC 200, SC 300 or SC 400.
• Experience with HaloPSA or similar PSA platforms and workflow automation.
• Automation scripting and integration of security tooling via API or workflow platforms.
• Familiarity with compliance frameworks including ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials Plus, NIST or DORA.
• Background working with mid market UK organisations or regulated sectors such as Legal, Finance or Public Sector.

If you have built a career in Microsoft Security and want the chance to help shape a managed security practice as it takes form rather than slot into someone else's, this is a strong one to look at.