Head of SOC; Cybersecurity & Security Operations UAE

Driving advanced cybersecurity operations, security orchestration, and threat intelligence leadership in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Innovations Group is actively seeking an accomplished Head of SOC for a yearly renewable project professional engagement. In this vital executive leadership role, you will take full operational, tactical, and strategic ownership of Security Operations Center (SOC) management, threat detection engineering, incident response governance, and SOC analyst team development.

Bringing 10+ years of progressive professional experience in cybersecurity and enterprise security operations, you will empower a premier multinational financial and corporate enterprise to achieve uncompromised threat visibility, rapid incident mitigation, and robust regulatory compliance. This prestigious career opportunity offers competitive executive remuneration, international project exposure, and career growth within a leading global technical recruitment and consulting enterprise.

As a Head of SOC supporting Innovations Group on an on-site basis in Abu Dhabi, UAE, you will take full operational, tactical, and strategic ownership of 24/7 security monitoring, threat hunting protocols, SIEM/SOAR platform optimization, and cross-functional leadership. Your day-to-day responsibilities include directing skilled SOC analysts and security engineers, formulating enterprise SOC strategies, overseeing incident lifecycle management, interfacing with executive banking stakeholders.

• Direct and oversee all regional Security Operations Center (SOC) functions, threat intelligence operations, and incident response life cycles.
• Lead, mentor, and manage multidisciplinary teams of SOC analysts, threat hunters, and security engineers across 24/7 rotational shifts.
• Architect, implement, and optimize enterprise security information and event management (SIEM) and security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) platforms.
• Drive proactive threat detection, vulnerability analysis, forensic investigation, and rapid incident containment protocols.
• Establish and enforce rigorous SOC strategies, operational governance frameworks, key performance indicators (KPIs), and service level agreements (SLAs).
• Collaborate seamlessly with enterprise risk management, IT infrastructure squads, compliance officers, and executive banking stakeholders.
• Ensure strict adherence to global cybersecurity frameworks, regulatory standards, and financial sector security baselines.
• Maintain meticulous executive security reports, incident post-mortem ledgers, threat intelligence feeds, and operational runbooks.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Information Assurance, or related technical discipline.
• Minimum of 10+ years of progressive professional hands-on experience in cybersecurity, with at least 5 years in a managerial or Head of SOC leadership role.
• Strong, demonstrable operational expertise in SOC operations, threat detection engineering, and incident response management.
• Comprehensive working knowledge and practical proficiency in SIEM, SOAR, EDR, and modern threat intelligence platforms.
• Deep practical experience managing SOC analysts, security engineers, and operational budgets in high-stakes enterprise environments.
• Solid practical grasp of international cybersecurity frameworks (NIST, ISO 27001, CIS Controls) and banking security standards.
• Exceptional leadership aptitude, crisis management capabilities, and professional stakeholder communication skills.
• Mandatory legal work authorization and physical availability for on-site executive leadership operations in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

• Profe…