Senior Cyber Policy Advisor

As the Cyber Directorate, our mission is to protect public services and the wider government from cyber threats, and set strategic direction for government and the public sector on cyber security. This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in UK national security by ensuring that core-government functions are resilient to cyber attack, thereby strengthening the UK as a sovereign nation and delivering the government’s vision for modern digital government.

In this high-profile role, you will be working in the Policy & Supply Chain Team where you will help to deliver the Government Cyber Security Strategy, through directly shaping and developing cyber security policy. In this role you will be delivering on the key ministerial priority for the UK to continue to be a leading cyber power, able to protect its interests in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

The policy and guidance products you develop will have a real impact on increasing the cyber resilience of HMG, as the security community grapples with big picture issues like the threats and opportunities posed by emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum cryptography, and the increasing commercial availability of offensive cyber tools.

The Government Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team plays a critical role in achieving this aim, by ensuring government has the right policies and guidance in place to drive organisational resilience, as well as enhance cross-government collaboration and harness shared capabilities to deliver on the objectives in the Government Cyber Security Strategy.

You will be joining a growing directorate and team, with one HEO Cyber Policy Advisor working directly to you.

The Government Cyber Unit functions as a convenor and co-ordinator for cyber security and resilience across the whole of the UK government, and the Government Cyber Policy & Supply Chain Team is no different. You will work with a wide variety of stakeholders, including central government departments, Arms Length Bodies (ALBs), the National Cyber Security Centre (a part of GCHQ), the Devolved Administrations, as well as industry and overseas partners.

This is an exciting opportunity to play a pivotal role in UK National Security by ensuring that core government functions are resilient to cyber attack, thereby strengthening the UK as a sovereign nation and delivering the government’s vision for modern digital government. In this role, you will craft and define the strategic target states for cyber security and digital resilience across the entire public sector, set priorities that will shape the future of governmental functions, and integrate the transformative outcomes of the Government Cyber Security Strategy (GCSS) into wider departmental objectives, unlocking opportunities for successful delivery.

If you are passionate about making a real impact and motivated to contribute to creating a safer digital environment for the UK, this role offers a unique opportunity to shape the future of digital resilience and security across the public sector.

As a Senior Cyber Policy Advisor you will:

• Support the development of policy, guidance and standards that underpin the Government Cyber Security Strategy – collaborating with subject matter experts and using insights from government assurance processes and other intelligence to develop and maintain a programme of policy work that continues to address government\’s most pressing challenges.

• Provide professional and expert policy advice and briefing senior officials and ministers on long-term strategic policy issues, as well as more reactive policy responses to requests as they arise.

• Contribute towards answering Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial correspondence and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests as required.

• Have line management responsibility for one HEO Cyber Policy Advisor

The constantly changing nature of cyber security risk and threat means that you will need to be reactive to changing circumstances and rapid commissions. as such this post will appeal to individuals who are comfortable managing and responding to change at pace.

The Public Sector Policy Team is a hybrid team based across multiple locations. We are committed to creating a collaborative, inclusive team, so this post will require occasional travel to other GDS locations (e.g. once a month) so that we can work together face-to-face.