Exercise Lead Specialist - Programma Gcap in Reading

Leonardo is seeking an Exercise Lead Specialist for the GCAP Headquarters located in Reading (UK), with experience and certifications in cybersecurity, threat emulation, and red team operations. The role involves planning and executing advanced security exercises, with responsibilities for reporting and collaboration with multidisciplinary teams. This opportunity offers a pathway for international growth in a technologically advanced context, with a permanent contract and hybrid working arrangements.

OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT: The Exercise Lead Specialist supports the planning, execution, and continuous improvement of adverse security assessment activities within the organization. The role assists the Exercise Manager in designing realistic threat emulation scenarios and ensures that red team operations produce significant evidence and insights to strengthen the company's defensive posture.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The resource will be part of the Operations function for the JV and will report directly to the Exercise Manager.

• Support end-to-end red team operations, including reconnaissance, threat modeling, scenario design, and post-exercise analysis.
• Collaborate with blue teams, purple teams, and relevant stakeholders (e.g., Thames Valley Police) to ensure safe, controlled, and effective execution.
• Support operational security, risk management, and deconfliction processes during exercises.

Reporting and Communication:

• Draft clear and operational reports, translating technical results into business-relevant insights.
• Present results to senior management, including risk assessments and recommended remediation strategies, including strengthening system security where appropriate.
• Collaborate with defensive teams to validate any gaps in detection mechanisms and support purple team improvement cycles.

Governance and Compliance:

• Ensure that all red team activities comply with legal, ethical, and organizational guidelines.
• Maintain documentation, authorizations, and traceability (audit trail) for all exercises.
• Contribute, when necessary, to incident response preparedness and tabletop exercises.

Success Indicators:

• Red team exercises capable of truly challenging the organization and identifying concrete and realistic vulnerabilities.
• Strong collaborations with defensive teams that result in measurable improvements in detection and response capabilities.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Educational Qualification in line with the activities foreseen by the role.
• Certifications such as Global Information Assurance Certification (GIAC) Red Teaming (GRT) or equivalent.
• Experience in threat intelligence, incident response, or purple teaming activities.
• Familiarity with enterprise security controls, SIEM systems, EDR tools, and detection engineering.
• Experience in regulated sectors or large enterprise environments.

Technical and Soft Skills and Competencies:

Essential Requirements:

• Strong stakeholder management skills, with proven experience in communicating with senior management across different functions, both internal and external.
• Ability to make pragmatic decisions and to operate in close collaboration with the business.
• Proven problem-solving skills (forward and lateral thinking) applied to complex issues.
• Ability to independently manage one's areas of responsibility within a project, with full awareness of individual responsibilities.

Preferential Requirements:

• Analytical, structured, and detail-oriented approach.
• Discretion and reliability, with strong judgment in managing sensitive information.
• Confident communicator, capable of simplifying complex concepts for diverse audiences.
• Proactivity, curiosity, and commitment to continuous improvement.
• Ability to combine strategic vision and operational execution.

Language skills: English C1