At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead cyber security initiatives for water utilities, ensuring compliance and enhancing operational resilience.
- Company: Join a leading global IT services provider with a focus on critical infrastructure.
- Benefits: Competitive day rate, hybrid working model, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic role with significant impact on national infrastructure and regulatory compliance.
- Why this job: Make a real difference in protecting essential services while advancing your career in cyber security.
- Qualifications: Proven experience in cyber security management within regulated environments is essential.
The predicted salary is between 63000 - 77000 £ per year.
Our client, a leading global supplier for IT services, requires an experienced Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities) to be based at their client’s office in Snodland, Kent UK. This is a hybrid role – you can work remotely in the UK and attend the Snodland, Kent office 1-2 days per week. This is a 6+ month temporary contract to start asap.
The Role:
This role holds end-to-end accountability for the client’s Network and Information Systems (NIS) Programme, protecting ring-fenced AMP8 capital funding while simultaneously driving the broader maturation of their enterprise-wide cyber security posture. Operating as the central bridge between IT, OT Engineering, Operations, and Corporate Risk, this role oversees a complex, blended portfolio. You will manage both Enhanced technical capital deployments (e.g., site modernisations, PLC replacements, network segmentation) and ‘Base’ operational initiatives (e.g., business continuity overhauls, supply chain cyber resilience, and governance). Your ultimate mandate is to ensure all physical, logical, and procedural deliverables collectively meet the stringent targets of the DWI Regulatory Notice and the eCAF Sector-Specific Profile.
Key Responsibilities
- Blended Portfolio & Benefits Alignment: The ability to orchestrate a complex portfolio of both Enhanced capital projects and Base operational initiatives, ensuring every output directly contributes to achieving the required status for the enhanced CAF sector-specific profile of the NIS CAF v4.
- Cross-Functional Resource Management: Highly skilled at orchestrating dedicated project resources in a matrixed environment. You must be able to negotiate and resolve friction between Capital Delivery and Planned Maintenance teams, ensuring field deployment squads are effectively ring-fenced from BAU firefighting to hit hard regulatory deadlines.
- Dynamic Risk Mitigation: A proactive approach to identifying, quantifying, and mitigating interconnected regulatory, cyber, and operational risks. Capable of balancing aggressive deployment schedules against live site environments, ensuring network isolation and upgrades do not disrupt essential water supply functions.
- Transformational Change Management: Expertise in driving profound organisational and behavioural change across field teams, engineering departments, and the supply chain. You must be able to overcome cultural resistance to new cybersecurity protocols (e.g., MFA, jump-boxes, least-privilege access) and embed secure-by-design processes into daily operations.
- Financial & Totex Acumen: The skill to manage multi-million-pound budgets, specifically protecting ring-fenced AMP8 funding, while navigating the nuances of strict regulatory capital versus operational business costs, ensuring all projects remain financially viable and protected from clawback.
- Executive & Tactical Communication: The ability to articulate complex IT/OT challenges, regulatory risks, and strategic benefits to the Executive Sponsor (SRO), external regulators, and operational site staff in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner.
Key Requirements
Essential:
- Critical Infrastructure Leadership: A proven track record of successfully leading complex IT/OT convergence or transformation programmes within Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) or heavily regulated utility environments.
- Sector-Specific Regulatory Expertise: Deep practical knowledge of the UK NIS Regulations and a demonstrated track record of delivering compliance against the enhanced CAF sector-specific profile of the NIS CAF v4. Familiarity with ISA/IEC 62443 industrial automation security standards is highly desirable.
- OT Architecture & Field Delivery: Evidence of operating within structured Operational Technology environments, possessing a firm grasp of Purdue Model segmentation, SCADA systems, PLCs, and telemetry network modernisations.
- Governance & Evidence Engine Management: Experience building and managing robust compliance frameworks (e.g., Master Action Trackers, evidence repositories) that translate technical field deployments into robust audit evidence for external technical assurance partners and regulators (e.g., DWI, Ofwat).
- Industrial Vendor Management: Experience managing complex relationships with Tier-1 industrial engineering partners, OT framework vendors (e.g., Siemens, Ovarro), and external assurance auditors, navigating high-stakes SLAs and strict compliance deliverables.
- Enterprise Cyber Maturation: Experience elevating an organisation’s holistic cyber posture beyond just technical hardware, including leading business continuity overhauls, driving third-party supply chain resilience, and executing enterprise-wide cyber culture campaigns.
Desirable:
- End-to-End Programme Delivery: Manage the comprehensive NIS portfolio, spanning IT, OT, and Operations, from initiation to closure. Ensure all physical, logical, and procedural deliverables collectively achieve the required status for the enhanced CAF sector-specific profile of the NIS CAF v4 by the mandated regulatory deadlines.
- Hub-and-Spoke Execution: Direct the hybrid delivery structure, overseeing both central PMO governance and the ring-fenced field deployment squads responsible for executing site communications modernisations and complex AMP8 PLC replacements.
- Capital Protection & Financial Control: Manage the overall financial health of the ring-fenced AMP8 capital allocation. Make strategic decisions to optimise spending, rigorously separate Enhanced regulatory spend from Base operational costs, and demonstrate a clear return on investment to ensure regulatory compliance.
- Operational Risk & Dependency Management: Take ownership of the complex interdependencies between site deployments, network boundary hardening, and legacy IT systems. Proactively mitigate programme-level risks to ensure operational resilience and zero disruption to essential water services during commissioning windows. Lead the enterprise-wide procedural changes required to support technical deployments. Secure buy-in across all levels to overhaul Business Continuity Plans (BCP), establish manual operational overrides, and enforce critical supply chain cyber resilience.
- Regulatory Reporting & Assurance: Oversee the central evidence repository and Master Action Tracker (MAT). Ensure all workstream outputs pass rigorous internal gateways and external technical assurance audits, ultimately preparing the internal draft assurance and annual DWI progress submissions for Executive Sponsor sign-off. Actively manage the expectations of a wide range of stakeholders, from field technicians up to the Executive Technical Committee. Nurture strategic relationships with key external delivery partners, regulators, and technical assurance bodies.
Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities) in Snodland employer: Project Recruit
Join a dynamic global financial information business that values early-career professionals and offers a supportive work culture. As a Finance Data Analyst, you'll benefit from hands-on experience in financial market data and account management, with opportunities for professional growth and development. Our collaborative environment fosters innovation and ensures that your contributions are recognised and valued.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities) in Snodland
✨Get Engaged in Cybersecurity Communities
Dive into online forums or local meetups, like OWASP events or Cybersecurity conferences. These spaces are packed with pros who can share insights and might even know about temporary roles at places like Project Recruit.
✨Showcase Your Skills Publicly
Link your GitHub or create a series of blogs sharing your knowledge on cybersecurity topics. It’s a great way to demonstrate your expertise and attract attention from hiring managers, especially when they see your passion in action.
✨Stay On Top of Temp Opportunities
Keep an eye on platforms that list temporary positions specifically in tech. Websites focusing on contract roles in cybersecurity can lead straight to employers like Project Recruit.
✨Make Contact with Recruiters Specialising in Cybersecurity
Reach out to recruitment agencies that focus on cybersecurity roles. They often have insights into temporary roles before they’re advertised and can put your name forward to companies like Project Recruit.
We think you need these skills to ace Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities) in Snodland
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Technical Skills:In cybersecurity, it's vital to highlight your skills with relevant tools and technologies. Make sure your CV showcases your experience with firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and any cybersecurity frameworks you've worked with. This gives Project Recruit a clear view of your capabilities right off the bat.
Certifications Matter:If you’ve got any cybersecurity certifications, like CompTIA Security+ or CISSP, flaunt them! These not only validate your skills but also show that you’re committed to the field. Add a section to your CV specifically for this, because in a temporary role like this, those credentials can really set you apart.
Tailor Your Cover Letter to the Role:For a temporary position, we want to see your willingness to learn and adapt quickly. Make your cover letter specific to the role at Project Recruit; mention why you’re excited about the opportunity and how it fits your career goals. A personal touch can make a big difference!
Don’t Forget the Soft Skills:In cybersecurity, technical skills are crucial, but so are soft skills like teamwork and communication. Make sure to weave examples of how you've collaborated with teams or communicated complex ideas into your application. This shows that you're not just a tech whizz but also a great team player, perfect for a temporary role at Project Recruit.
How to prepare for a job interview at Project Recruit
✨Brush Up on Technical Skills
Make sure you’re familiar with the latest cybersecurity tools and techniques, like firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and malware analysis. During the interview with Project Recruit for the Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities), be prepared to discuss specific scenarios where you tackled security threats or vulnerabilities.
✨Show Your Problem-Solving Prowess
Cybersecurity is all about thinking on your feet. Expect technical questions that require you to demonstrate your problem-solving abilities. You might be presented with a mock security breach scenario, so practising your responses to potential threats can be a game changer!
✨Demonstrate Your Adaptability
As this is a temporary role, showing that you're adaptable and quick to learn is crucial. Talk about times you've picked up new skills or reacted to changing situations quickly. Employers want to know you can hit the ground running and keep things secure during your short stay at Project Recruit.
✨Bring Relevant Certifications
If you have any relevant cybersecurity certifications, like CompTIA Security+ or CEH, be sure to mention them. This can really help you stand out during a temporary hiring process, as it showcases your commitment to the field and your readiness to take on the Cyber Security Programme Manager (NIS / OT – Water Utilities) role at Project Recruit.
