Head of Security and Platform Engineering
Salary: Starting from £95,000 dependant on experience
Location: UK - Newcastle
Who we are hiring for: Permanent, Full Time vacancy.
The Vacancy
Role Purpose
This pivotal role takes the lead in delivering breakthrough improvements in reliability and performance across our technology platforms, ensuring our systems consistently exceed expectations. As the leading force behind our cyber security agenda, you will champion a step change in modern security controls—introducing cutting-edge measures that protect our business.
You will lead four core technology towers, and inspire teams to set bold targets, measure progress, and celebrate success as we raise the bar for platform resilience, scalability, and security. You will be instrumental in embedding a proactive and dynamic security culture, building robust governance frameworks, and driving NorthStandard towards a future defined by measurable reliability and world-class cyber resilience.
What will you be doing?
Key Responsibilities:
* Strategic Leadership & Governance
o Define and drive the vision, strategy, and roadmaps for Platform towers, aligned with NorthStandard’s business objectives and risk appetite.
o Oversee integration and collaboration across the four core platform towers:
+ Digital Workspace Services (DWS)
+ Support and System Reliability Engineering (SSRE)
+ Platform and Cloud Engineering (PaCE)
+ Security & Network Operations (SNOPs)
o Establish and socialise theCyber Security Strategy and Roadmap, ensuring alignment with enterprise resilience and regulatory requirements
Cyber Security Leadership
* Shape the NorthStandard cyber security vision and build a corresponding technical roadmap which delivers a world class security controls across cloud infrastructure, networks, end points, identity & access management, application security, and threat detection.
* Collaborate closely with the SNOPs Lead to adapt the SNOPs roadmap priorities in line with shifts in industry, evolving threat landscape and regulatory requirements.
* Ensure effective 24/7 security operations (inc. security incident management)
* Collaborate closely with theEnterprise Resilience function(1st Line of Defence) to ensure integrated risk management and incident response.
* Promote stakeholder engagement and cross-functional collaboration to embed a culture of security awareness and ownership across the organisation.
Operational Oversight
* Ensure high availability, performance, and security of all technology systems and infrastructure.
* Monitor and improve service levels, incident resolution times, and system reliability metrics.
* Lead cross-functional coordination for escalations, major incidents, and service continuity planning.
* Provide leadership and direction to platform tower leads
* Foster a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and innovation across all teams.
* Support recruitment, onboarding, and capability development to meet evolving technology needs.
* Oversee the delivery and lifecycle management of:
o Microsoft 365 and collaboration platforms
o Cloud platforms (design, automation, cost optimisation)
o Network and security operations (compliance, threat management)
o Monitoring, observability, and backup/recovery systems
* Ensure alignment with architectural standards and regulatory requirements (e.g., DORA, Cyber Essentials Plus).
Stakeholder Engagement
* Act as the escalation point for unresolved issues across platform towers.
* Collaborate with product teams, business units, and external vendors to ensure service excellence and alignment with user needs.
* Represent Technology in all relevantInformation Security, Risk and project Committees, ensuring visibility and accountability for and robust management of cyber security risks.
* Represent Security and Platforms and in governance forums such as the Architectural Review Board (ARB).
About you
Skills/Qualifications/Experience
* Proven leadership in managing cyber security and cross-functional technology teams in a complex, global environment.
* Deep understanding of IT infrastructure, cloud platforms (e.g., Azure), and enterprise collaboration tools (e.g., Microsoft 365).
* Strong grasp of ITIL-based service management, including incident, change, and problem management.
* Expertise in security and compliance frameworks, including DORA and Cyber Essentials Plus.
* Prior hands-on experience in delivering security solutions within enterprise environments
* Knowledge of disaster recovery, business continuity, and vulnerability management.
* Excellent communication, stakeholder management, and vendor negotiation skills.
Qualifications
* Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
* Relevant cloud certifications (e.g., Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, AWS Certified Solutions Architect).
Experience
* 10+ years in IT leadership roles, with at least 5 years managing platform or infrastructure services.
* Demonstrated success in leading digital transformation or cloud migration initiatives.
* Experience working in regulated environments with a strong focus on security and compliance.
The Company
Welcome to NorthStandard, one of the largest and most influential marine insurers in the International Group.
We\'re more than just a workplace. We\'re a global community of passionate maritime professionals driven and defined by our empowered, inquisitive, courageous and giving principles, and our commitment to excellence.We believe in fostering a diverse, inclusive and dynamic work environment where everyone can be themselves, thrive, and contribute their unique talents to delivering our best for colleagues, members, customers, and the communities we serve.
You will be empowered to focus on your progression, have access to development opportunities designed to fast-track your career from the day you start, and the ability to contribute to and shape our employee experience. In return, we offer a competitive salary and benefits package, while benefitting from a hybrid approach in our collaborative office spaces around the world.
We’re committed to continuous learning and development, building long-lasting internal and external relationships, and driving service excellence.
The Benefits
The usual stuff
The usual stuff
A competitive salary, discretionary annual bonus plan and benefit arrangements for everyone.
Flexible working
We offer a best in market hybrid working policy and are open to considering a range of flexible opportunities. This includes job-sharing, part-time roles and remote working.
Taking care of you
Our people are the most important part of our club and we constantly strive for our culture and working environment to show how much we value the contribution you make. We do this through our Employee Resource Groups, learning and development opportunities, inclusive policies and our Employee Assistance Programmes.
Social events
We host a range of get-togethers throughout the year as we believe that bringing our people together is a great way to motivate each other, inspire success, and build a stronger foundation for the club.
The Values
Empowered By being trusted, inspired and developed
Giving Showing we care by sharing our attention, experience and expertise
Courageous Challenging relentlessly to create better outcomes
Inquisitive Embracing diverse perspectives and fresh possibilities
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