Security Risk and Assurance Lead (SEO)

The MoJ Information Security Team sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice, enabling good security practices through the provision of security policies, guidance and education, by understanding cyber security risks from all parts of the Ministry of Justice and providing assurance to the departmental SIRO, the Permanent Secretary and other senior stakeholders that these risks are being effectively managed in the delivery of MoJ objectives.

The role of the Security Risk and Assurance Lead is to lead the programme of cyber security assurance for their assigned area of the organisation, highlighting non-compliance with required standards and providing appropriate challenge to the owners of cyber security risks arising from control gaps. 

The Security Risk and Assurance Lead may also mentor and support others in good risk management practices to enable them to manage residual risk well, identify trends resulting from risk and assurance activities and use these to initiate and lead improvements to processes, policies and guidance, and own the resolution of tactical requests to the team.

All members of the team are expected to help develop the MoJ Security Function as a centre of excellence for the department and to contribute to building a brilliant and diverse team that is a welcoming place for all.

Typical role expectations and responsibilities

• Lead the security Incident Management Improvement Project (e.g., ServiceNow reporting form, process implementation and continuous improvements across MoJ, lessons learned, education, training).

• Provide line management, including setting objectives, supporting development and wellbeing, and managing performance in line with MoJ policies.

• Conduct assurance investigations on MoJ systems to identify potential issues.

• Lead the implementation and delivery of security assurance processes, including GovAssure and supplier assurance activities for their assigned area, to support the overarching assurance programme.

• Lead on the communication of assessment and assurance outcomes to stakeholders in ways that support effective security, risk management and decision-making, and advise stakeholders on their approach to risk assessment in the context of their business outcomes.

• Play a leading role working with Justice Digital and Information Assurance colleagues (or supervise third party suppliers) to gather evidence of the performance of technical services and organisational processes against security baselines, controls and requirements, using key performance indicators.

• Analyse relevant data to provide an informed opinion on the quality of evidence provided and effectiveness of controls in place, with a focus on business-critical services and associated operational areas.

• Identify and report on trends arising from assurance assessments in their assigned area of the organisation and make sure appropriate remediation plans are in place and being actively managed.

• Lead on ensuring that Cyber Security risks for the business area are appropriately documented and reflect outcomes of the assurance work to enable senior stakeholders to make appropriate evidence-based decisions.

• Align risk decisions and advice with relevant regulation, policy and standards to provide proportional, practical advice that is tailored to the local environment, and advise on any residual risk.

• Escalate risks to more senior stakeholders when needed and take responsibility for closure of follow up actions.

• Provide input into the development and enablement of security policy and security culture by collaborating with the Security Policy, Culture, Awareness and Education team through insights on trends identified from security assurance activities.

• Assure the ongoing appropriateness of policy in accordance with regulation and wider departmental and government policies.

• Lead risk-related work and enable compliance and governance.

• Play a leading role in building the network of security partners across government and national technical authorities, and within industry.

• Contribute to submissions and reports for senior MoJ officials and play a leading role in efforts needed to respond to requests and advisories received from government partners.

• Monitor the efficiency and effectiveness of security processes across the organisation, and lead continuous improvement efforts, including improving methods of escalation or reporting where necessary.

About you:
You will need experience of working well within a security, technology or risk team, and preferably be able to demonstrate successful prior experience of leading, mentoring and motivating a small team. You will be able to demonstrate examples of your own motivation to grow your leadership and management skills and abilities.

You will demonstrate an understanding of cyber security and technology, showing willingness to continue to grow your awareness of current and emerging technologies and their impact on existing security practices.

You will be able to communicate well and confidently with a variety of stakeholders, up to board level, and relay technical information to a non-technical audience.

You will possess excellent analytical and problem-solving skills, adopting a positive approach and displaying flexibility of mind when encountering new situations.

You will display attention to detail and discretion in dealing with confidential topics and senior stakeholders.

You will have experience of, or a strong interest in, emerging technologies and their security implications, including artificial intelligence (AI), post-quantum cryptography/computing, and cloud concepts (for example shared responsibility models, identity and access management, and secure-by-design cloud services).

You will need to be analytical and inquisitive, probing for information where appropriate to understand business context and reasoning. You will be a trusted partner for your areas of the organisation and demonstrate an understanding of how to appropriately challenge security decisions, including those made by senior stakeholders.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership

• Delivering at Pace

• Making Effective Decisions

• Seeing the bigger picture

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

We may assess your current level of knowledge of cyber security and risk management during the selection process.