Lead Security Architect

Grade: Grade 7 (B2)

Salary: £57,670

Digital Skills Allowance: The base salary for this grade is £57,670. Offers above this will be made up of a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £15,300 per annum for exceptional candidates.

Security: DV – Reserved – Sole UK National

Summary

As Lead Security Architect, you’ll provide a cohesive, consistent and managed approach, in the provision of professional Cyber support, to programmes and projects which require key assistance with Secure by Design (SbD) requirements and assurance activities, to adhere to cyber good practice and SbD principles.

You’ll advise RAF Digital’s Chief Digital Technology Officer (CDTO) and Assistant Heads, to ensure that Air’s Digital Architecture includes appropriate security measures and controls.

This post is eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £15,300 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with MOD policy.

Passionate about using your skills to make a critical difference? Your next career move could be here.

Job description

Main areas of responsibility include:

· Responsible for coordinating Cyber Security advice and activity in support of Air Command and Space Command Equipment Programme Senior Responsible Owner(s) (SRO).

· Assure, advise and support Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) / Defence Digital (DD) in delivering security products and documentation in support of HQ Air Senior Responsible Owners (SROs) and Responsible Senior Owners (RSOs).

· Manage Air Command contracts, to provide additional professional support to programmes, where required (including supporting the production of a Security Aspects Letter (SAL).

· Advise the CDTO and Assistant Heads to ensure that Air’s Digital Architecture includes appropriate security measures and controls, including Crypt Key.

· Contract management responsibility.

· Generating and/or reviewing Cyber Risk Assessments and Defence Assurance Risk Assessment Tool (DART) collateral.

· Overseeing pen-test scoping and post-testing remediation.

· Oversight of programme/project policy compliance.

· Security in innovation (e.g., AI and Quantum Computing).

· Establish and maintain working relationships with the MOD Cyber Security Design Authority (CSDA), the Air Physical Security Advisor (Air PSyA) and the Crypt Key Enterprise Agency (CKEA).

· This role may have line management responsibilities in the future.

Person specification

This role should appeal to someone who has broad equivalency and experience at Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) 8 Framework:

· Level 5 – ‘Ensure & Advise’

and/or

· Level 6 – ‘Initiate & Influence’

Please see the attached SFIA document for details.

We are committed to encouraging and enabling our staff to develop in and above their role and we will support you in undertaking further learning and development opportunities, within your designated field and beyond. Wherever possible, we will provide upskilling and learning opportunities and further training to support your continuous professional development.

Desirable qualifications, accreditation, memberships or skills:

· NPSA Protective Security

· Certificate in Information Security Management Principles (CISMP)

· Certified Information Security Systems Professional (CISSP)

· Certified Cyber Professional (CCP)

· Membership of CIISP, CIISec, BCS or recognised equivalent

Ideally, you’ll also have the following:

· The ability to build long term relationships with key internal and external stakeholders.

· Highly effective networking and the ability to advise and influence people.

· Experience of leading and managing a team.

· Ability to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences, synthesising information to portray key messages and facilitate effective decision making.

This post is eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £15,300 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with MOD policy.

This job role may be suitable for hybrid working, which is an informal, non-contractual and voluntary arrangement, blending a balance of attendance in the workplace (your permanent duty station, which is based on business assessment of where the work is best done) and working from home as a personal choice (if the role is suitable for this). If you are successful, any opportunities for hybrid working will be discussed with you prior to you taking up your post.

Dependent on the business need, there may be a requirement to travel to meetings within the UK (or potentially occasional overseas visits).

If not already held, successful candidates will be required to undergo DV clearance. Please note this position is open to sole UK Nationals only.

Qualifications (Essential only)

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Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed.

The level of security needed is .

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

To apply, please complete the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard. The sift will be conducted on your CV, assessed against your relevant skills, knowledge and experience for the role and on your personal statement, assessed against the essential criteria listed below.

All applicants will also need to provide a personal statement (max. 1250 words) and it is essential that this includes evidence of the following essential criteria. Each one will be scored 1-7 and make up part of your overall score to assess your suitability to be invited to interview:

1. Describe your experience of managing cyber security requirements and assurance activities within an organisation, including any application of Secure by Design methodology.

2. Provide an example of when you have shaped and influenced cyber security strategy, policy or processes.

3. Tell us about your ability to create, build and maintain strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

Interviews

We’ll assess you against these behaviours, technical skills & experience during the interview process:

Presentation

You will be asked to prepare and deliver a 5-minute (max) presentation on a role-related subject. Further details will be sent prior to interview.

Behaviours

· Making Effective Decisions

· Managing a Quality Service

Technical Skills

· Security architecture

· Applied security capability

· Information risk assessment and risk management

· Protective security

The Government Security Profession Career Framework and the Cyber Security Advisory – Security Architect role used in this vacancy can be found at: Government Security Profession career framework.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Benefits

This post is eligible for a Digital Skills Allowance of up to £18,000 per annum. Eligibility for this allowance will be assessed at interview against 4 core technical skills only and reviewed annually in line with MOD policy.

Our benefits include:
Learning and development tailored to your role with a dedicated minimum of 5 days per year
25 days paid annual leave rising (by 1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of five years’ service
Ability to roll up to 10 days annual leave per year
In addition to eight public holidays per year, you will also receive leave for HM The King’s birthday
* A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
* Parental and Adoption Leave
* Discounts on a range of services within and external to the civil service – Defence Discount Service, Civil Service societies for Sports and Leisure, Healthcare, Insurance, Motoring, Company discounts with Virgin, Vodafone, and Microsoft Office.
* In year rewards and ‘thank you’ schemes such as vouchers and gift cards
* A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
* Please see Benefits Leaflet for more detail

Equality and Diversity

Our people are at the heart of everything we do at Defence Digital. It’s vital that our workforce reflects the diversity of both our audience and the wider society in the UK, so we’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and we actively seek candidates from diverse backgrounds and communities. We also recognise the importance of a good work life balance, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including part-time and job shares for all our roles. Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process if this is something you want to explore.

Defence Digital operates an organisation model in which every individual belongs to a Government Profession. The successful applicant will be posted into one of the defined Government Professions on Standard Terms of Reference for the grade. Defence Digital reserves the right to move individuals between roles, within their allocated profession, to meet the needs of the business and in support of agile resourcing.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: From £57,670.00 per year

Benefits:
* Company pension
* Flexitime
Schedule:
* Monday to Friday

Work Location: In person