Cyber Defence Operations Director

This senior role, reporting directly into the CISO is accountable for driving the strategic direction of Detect & Response function, delivering outstanding performance and ensuring we are resilient against an evolving threat landscape! In addition to operations, you will lead cyber crisis management, C-Suite level stress testing, team development, and top-level cybersecurity thought leadership.

Responsibilities:

• Own and deliver the strategic roadmap for cyber incident and vulnerability detection & response in line with threat profile and business objectives. You will guide and develop a high-performing team, driven with context of emerging threats and strategic objectives.
• Ensure Threat Intelligence, Proactive Security Testing and Security Analytics functions develop under your leadership to deliver maximum context into the operational team, as well as enabling real time risk validation and actionable security insights.
• Continue delivering automation and detection as code for security operations, enabling increased scalability and efficiency. Whilst maximising data insights and intelligence to inform operational and strategic decision making.
• Drive collaboration across the business and external vendors as we embed a shared understanding to deliver our cyber strategies. Provide strategic input and collaborate with IT, Enterprise Security, and business leadership to inform security roadmaps, governance, and operating models.
• Maintain a balanced, comprehensive framework of processes, governance, and performance metrics (e.g., SLAs) for operations. Coordinate security testing, audit, governance, and operational reporting.
• Champion a culture of continuous learning, training, and professional development across the team, including handling wellbeing and performance for an agile, high-impact environment!
• Maintain awareness of internal and external technology development, particularly across emerging AI use, enabling continuous improvement and innovation.

Required skills and experience:

• 10+ years of experience in a security role focused on the entire threat lifecycle with demonstrated experience designing and implementing Security Operations strategies within a sophisticated enterprise and disparate technological landscape. Demonstrated leadership in high-stress, fast paced operational environments.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to convey complex security issues to senior leadership, including the executive committee. Deep understanding of enterprise security domains and how they can be used as a force multiplier for a technology business strategy, with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Extensive people management experience, fostering a culture focused on mentoring, wellbeing and trust.
• Experience leading security transformation initiatives, as well as handling third-party vendors and external security partnerships for large scale organisations with a considerable global digital footprint.