Deputy Chief Information Security Officer

Location:
Croydon | Manchester | Glasgow | Sheffield | Cardiff

Salary: £90,000- £105,000

Advert close: 11:55pm 8th November 2026

The Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (Cyber Strategy, Governance, Risk and Compliance) is the senior accountable owner for the Home Office cyber governance, risk and compliance (GRC) function, cyber strategy, cyber security professional practice, and cyber business management function. The postholder provides enterprise-wide leadership and second-line assurance over cyber risk management, policy, standards and reporting, ensuring cyber risk is understood, owned and managed proportionately across the organisation.

Reporting directly to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), the role sets the strategic direction and operating model for cyber GRC, strategy, professional practice and business management, ensuring effective governance and decision-making through clear risk appetite, metrics and management information.

The role has leadership responsibility for the heads of governance, risk, compliance, business management, strategy and professional practice functions, ensuring the delivery of an integrated, high-performing capability that supports Home Office cyber security objectives.

The role leads capability planning, recruitment, career pathways and deployment of cyber professionals across Product Family Groups and Platforms, so the right skills and capacity are aligned to service criticality, delivery priorities and the threat landscape.

This is a senior strategic leadership role with enterprise-wide accountability for cyber security governance, risk and compliance and ownership of the Home Office cyber security professional practice. As the Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (Cyber Strategy, Governance, Risk and Compliance), you will provide leadership across cyber GRC and professional practice, ensuring they align with and enable delivery of the overall Home Office Cyber Strategy.

You will ensure that policies, standards, assurance and reporting remain aligned to the threat landscape, business priorities and government policy.

In addition, the role provides strategic leadership for the Cyber Business Management function, ensuring effective financial management, workforce planning, performance reporting, governance support, resource prioritisation and organisational effectiveness across the cyber security function. The postholder will ensure these activities operate effectively across the function and support delivery of the Home Office Cyber Strategy.

You will lead the cyber security professional practice, with accountability for capability planning, recruitment, career pathways, deployment and effective use of cyber professionals across the central cyber function and within digital delivery teams. Your leadership will thereby ensure the right skills and capacity are aligned to risk, service criticality and delivery priorities.

• Owning and evolving the cyber security GRC and cyber practice strategy, ensuring alignment with Home Office priorities, Digital First Transformation Programme and cross government policy.
• Providing strategic leadership of second line cyber risk and assurance, including setting assurance priorities, aggregating and analysing enterprise cyber risk, and reporting clear, actionable insights to senior leadership and governance forums.
• Setting, maintaining and assuring enterprise cyber security policies, standards, frameworks and reusable patterns, ensuring they are proportionate, risk based and consistently applied across Product Family Groups and Platforms.
• Owning the cyber reporting framework, including defining metrics, dashboards and management information to support effective oversight of cyber risk, maturity and performance.
• Leading the cyber security professional practice, including capability and workforce planning, recruitment, standards, career pathways, professional assurance and succession planning. Including, overseeing the prioritisation and allocation of cyber professionals, balancing demand, capacity and capability.
• Building and sustaining strong, trusted relationships with senior business, digital, technology and security leaders across the Home Office and wider government, including representing the cyber GRC and practice function externally with bodies such as NCSC & UK Cyber Security Council.
• Deputising for the CISO as required, including representing the function on the CISO…