Chief Security Officer Full Time

Our new role and responsibilities mean our risk posture is significantly changing. So, we are looking for an experienced security leader to be our Chief Security Officer and be dedicated to developing and driving our current security strategy and advocating for an organisation wide culture of cyber security awareness and best practices.

This is a varied and visionary role where there is an abundance of opportunities for the new Chief Security Officer to leverage the latest cyber security solutions, professional networks and innovations and create value for Companies House by enhancing our security resilience.

If you are interested in developing your professional network and career in the cyber security field and want to work for an organisation that offers flexible working and is people centric, then come join the team!

As Chief Security Officer you’ll be building relationships with every member of the Executive Board in order to protect our assets, ensure the integrity and confidentiality of our services and foster a culture of security across the organisation.

As well as leading the Cyber Security team, the role encompasses our:

• physical and personnel security,
• incident management, business continuity and disaster recovery
• counter fraud, corruption and bribery remit.

On any given day you would be leading your teams in:

• Developing and Implementing Security Policies: Designing and implementing comprehensive security policies and procedures in alignment with UK government standards and best practices.
• Risk Management: Continually assessing security risks and vulnerabilities of our projects and services, and developing strategies to mitigate them effectively, ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of sensitive information and assets.
• Security Operations: Overseeing day-to-day security operations, including incident response, threat detection, and security monitoring, to promptly identify and address security incidents.
• Security Awareness and Training: Develop and deliver security awareness programs to educate staff on security best practices and promote a culture of security awareness throughout the organisation.
• Compliance and Assurance: Ensure compliance with relevant security regulations and standards, conducting regular security audits and assessments to maintain a high level of security assurance.
• Incident Management: Responding to incidents where there is a major threat to our services, people or reputation, plus ensuring the readiness of business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Partner & Supply Chain Security: Managing relationships with external security partners and service providers, ensuring that contracted services meet security requirements and standards.
• Continuous Improvement: Continuously evaluate and improve security processes, technologies, and practices to adapt to emerging threats and evolving security landscape. Ensure we learn lessons from any incidents.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborating with internal stakeholders (such as Digital, Intelligence and Operational colleagues) and external stakeholders (including other government departments, law enforcement agencies, and industry partners) to enhance security capabilities and share threat intelligence.
• Reporting: Prepare regular reports on security metrics, incidents, and our compliance status for key governance forums and government authorities.
• Financial Management: Planning and managing the security budget, allocating resources effectively to address security priorities and achieve security objectives.

To fulfil the role of Chief Security Officer we are looking for someone who is an engaging leader who can guide through a time of change. We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate the following experience and behaviours:

Experience:

• Extensive experience in security management, preferably in governmental or highly regulated environments.
• Successful track record of leading security teams and implementing robust security strategies.
• Familiarity with UK government security policies, procedures and functional standards.
• Certifications such as Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or Certified Information Security Manager (CISM).

Leadership Skills:

• Strong leadership abilities with the capability to inspire and motivate teams.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, to effectively convey security risks and strategies to stakeholders at all levels.
• Ability to build collaborative relationships with internal and external partners.

Making Effective Decisions:

• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills to identify security vulnerabilities and develop effective mitigation plans.
• Strategic mindset to anticipate future security challenges and implement proactive measures.
• Able to remain level-headed in the handling of incidents

Changing & Improving:

• Ability to adapt to evolving security threats and regulatory requirements.
• Flexible approach to work in a dynamic and fast-paced environment.
• Open and progressive attitude to risk when assessing opportunities for change.

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions

Join us at Companies House and experience the difference of working within a culture that values you, not only as an employee, but as an integral part of our Companies House team.

We believe that our success is driven by the well-being and satisfaction of our team members at all levels of the organisation. At Companies House we’re committed to providing a comprehensive benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary, ensuring your career journey with us is not only fulfilling, but also rewarding. We pride ourselves on offering a quality work-life balance with our employee wellbeing being central to our working practices.

Head to Our benefits – Working for us – Recruitment (companieshouse.gov.uk) to find out more about the fantastic benefits package we have at Companies House.

We celebrate diversity…

As an equal opportunity employer, we celebrate diversity, being committed to ensuring we’re representative of the citizens we serve and creating an inclusive environment. Everyone in Companies House brings something different, and so will you. To fulfil our commitment to recruiting and attracting diverse talent we welcome applications from underrepresented groups. We also welcome applications from Welsh speakers.

We are proud to be a disability confident leader. Our recruitment process is fully inclusive and we can make adjustments as needed through our process. These could include having an interview buddy, extra time at interviews/assessments and receiving interview questions in advance, to name a few. We will be happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments, please contact us by emailing recruitmentCH@companieshouse.gov.uk

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service