Senior Security Engineer

Senior Security Engineer

Permanent

Grade D - £45,091 – £53,460

Consultation grade - subject to formal evaluation under the Equal Pay Programme

Working 36.5 hours per week

As a Senior Security Engineer of a small and highly specialised team responsible for safeguarding the Council's cybersecurity posture, you will play a key role in protecting the organisation's networks, systems, and information assets. The role carries significant responsibility for providing strategic and operational leadership across cybersecurity activities, while supporting the development and performance of colleagues within the team.

You will lead on the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements and industry best practice. You will oversee critical technical functions, including vulnerability management, penetration testing, risk assessment, and incident response activities, providing expert guidance and assurance to senior stakeholders.

A key aspect of the role involves building strong relationships across Digital and Technology Services and the wider Council, influencing decision-making, and communicating complex cybersecurity risks and recommendations through reports, presentations, and briefings to senior managers and leadership teams.

Working closely with the Council's outsourced Security Operations Centre (SOC) and other strategic partners, you will oversee the investigation and management of potential threats, vulnerabilities, and security incidents, ensuring timely and effective responses to minimise risk and protect Council services, data, and users.

In addition, you will provide leadership, mentoring, and people management responsibilities within the team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement, professional development, and collaborative working. You will support workforce planning, performance management, and the development of cybersecurity capability, helping to ensure the Council maintains a resilient and effective security function.

The team has various obligations to ensure the security of the council's IT systems. This includes conducting regular vulnerability scans, coordinating with other departments to address any issues promptly, and providing assistance to new and ongoing projects to implement robust security measures at the outset, which may require arranging penetration tests for new web applications. Additionally, you will oversee the council's phishing testing and awareness program and report the outcomes to senior management.

• Provide strategic leadership in the development, implementation, and ongoing governance of the Council's cybersecurity policies, standards, and procedures, ensuring alignment with regulatory requirements, industry best practice, and organisational objectives.
• Act as the senior point of escalation and subject matter expert for all cybersecurity-related matters, providing professional advice, guidance, and assurance to senior leaders, managers, and operational teams across the Council. Build strong stakeholder relationships and influence decision-making to ensure security risks are effectively managed and mitigated.
• Lead the operational management and oversight of the Council's security monitoring capabilities, ensuring that security tools, controls, and processes are operating effectively. Direct and coordinate the investigation, prioritisation, and resolution of security incidents, vulnerabilities, and emerging threats, escalating significant risks and incidents to senior management where appropriate.
• Provide leadership and management to cybersecurity staff, fostering a high-performing team culture through mentoring, coaching, performance management, workload prioritisation, and professional development. Support succession planning and the continuous enhancement of the Council's cybersecurity capability.
• Participate in and oversee the out-of-hours cyber incident response and escalation process, including involvement in the on-call rota.
• Act as a senior escalation point for incidents identified by the Security…