Cyber Security Lead – Security Assurance
The Cyber Operations Sub-directorate consists of four operational areas: Cyber Security Operations Unit (CSOU) – SIO; Cyber Delivery Unit (CDU); Cyber Improvement Programme; Chief Information Security Office Function (CISO).
The CISO Function comprises four teams: CISO Portfolio Office, Secure (by Design), Security Assurance, and Security Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC).
The post of Cyber Security Lead – Security Assurance has been awarded a Recruitment and Retention Premia (RRP) in response to current labour market conditions. In recognition of this, the role attracts an additional monthly RRP payment equal to 30% per annum. Please note that RRP is non-contractual and subject to review.
Role
This role is part of the Security Assurance team, which acts as a second line of defence and provides evidence-based confidence in the effectiveness of NHS England’s cyber security controls, processes, and systems. It supports informed assurance by:
* Evaluating control effectiveness through testing, validation, and review against defined security frameworks (e.g., NCSC CAF, ISO 27001, NIST).
* Conducting assurance reviews across systems, suppliers, and internal functions to identify risks, control gaps, and areas for improvement.
* Driving remediation by working with control owners and delivery teams to ensure findings are addressed and closed effectively.
* Providing assurance ratings based on the maturity and implementation of controls, feeding into governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) reporting.
* Supporting decision‑making by presenting findings in a structured, prioritised manner aligned to business risk and impact.
* Ensuring compliance with regulatory and organisational standards, including DSPT, NIS Regulations, GovAssure, and internal security policies.
* Enabling continuous improvement by identifying systemic issues, trends, and opportunities to uplift security posture across the organisation.
Additional information
The NHS England Board has set out its top-level purpose for the organisation. This includes enabling local systems and providers to improve health outcomes, reducing health inequalities, making the NHS a great place to work, ensuring the workforce has the right knowledge and behaviours to deliver compassionate care, and optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band. Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person. If you are successful at interview, an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) will be run in the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) system to support onboarding, including statutory and mandatory competency status, continuous service dates, and annual leave entitlement. You will have the opportunity to inform us if you do not consent.
For further details / informal visits contact: Nick Cooney, Security Principal, england.cyberoperationsrecruitment@nhs.net
Seniority level
* Mid-Senior level
Employment type
* Contract
Job function
* Engineering and Information Technology
Industries
* Hospitals and Health Care
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