Head of Cyber Security

Head of Cyber Security

Up to £89,000 + local government pension scheme + excellent annual leave. Glasgow - Relaxed Hybrid. Permanent.

Hays are on the lookout for a Head of Cyber to provide both strategic and operational leadership across a multi‑organisation shared service environment. This role supports a partnership of public sector organisations and reports directly to the Chief Information Officer (CIO).

You will be accountable for shaping cyber strategy, overseeing governance and risk management, and leading incident response capabilities, while providing assurance on organisational cyber resilience at executive and board level.

• Develop and deliver a cyber security strategy and roadmap aligned to organisational priorities and relevant government resilience frameworks.
• Oversee cyber security operations, including incident response, threat monitoring, vulnerability management, and third‑party security services.
• Act as the senior cyber authority, offering expert guidance and clear assurance on cyber risk, compliance, and resilience to senior leadership, audit committees, and boards.
• Lead, develop, and inspire specialist cyber security teams, promoting a strong security culture across the organisation.
• Embed security‑by‑design principles across enterprise architecture, digital initiatives, and service delivery.
• Maintain effective cyber governance, policies, and performance metrics, ensuring alignment with recognised standards such as ISO 27001, NIST, CAF, and Cyber Essentials Plus.

• Demonstrable experience leading a cyber security function covering strategy, operations, and incident management.
• Mergers and acquisitions experience would be useful for the cyber due diligence involved in expanding the partnerships.
• Strong knowledge of risk, governance, compliance, and security architecture within complex environments.
• A technical cyber security background.
• Proven ability to engage, influence, and advise senior stakeholders, including executive teams and boards.
• Experience with in public sector organisations or shared service/multi‑entity environments is desirable.

• A salary between £80,000 – £89,000.
• Government pension scheme >20%.
• Excellent annual leave allowance.
• Great flexibility and hybrid availability.