Duration: contract to run until 30/11/2026
Location: Preston. Hybrid 2 days per week onsite
Rate: up to £600 p/d Umbrellainside IR35
Clearance required: Must Be MOD SC Cleared And Be A Sole UK National. SC must have been actively used within the last 12 months and must have 3 months left on the clearance
The Cyber Security Process Alignment & Supplier Onboarding Consultant operates within the Operational Integrator (OI) function to support the onboarding of new service providers into a multi-supplier (SIAM) environment within a Defence programme.
The role focuses on translating established security processes, policies, and governance into structured onboarding materials, ensuring that incoming suppliers clearly understand their obligations and are aligned from day one.
Working closely with Security Assurance, Incident, and Vulnerability Management leads, the consultant ensures that supplier processes are understood, integrated, and evidenced, rather than redesigned. The outcome is a consistent, controlled onboarding approach that enables suppliers to operate effectively within the existing security operating model.
This is a governance, integration, and enablement role, not a hands‑on operational security or engineering function.
Key Responsibilities
Supplier Onboarding & Process Integration
* Develop structured onboarding packs for new suppliers covering:
o Security processes (e.g. incident management, vulnerability management, assurance)
o Policies, standards, and governance expectations
o Reporting and escalation requirements
* Define and agree:
o Supplier roles and responsibilities
o Interaction models between Supplier, SI, OI and Client
* Act as the central integration point for onboarding suppliers into the SIAM security model
Process Alignment (SIAM / OI Model)
* Work with Security Assurance, Incident and Vulnerability leads to translate defined processes into supplier-consumable guidance
* Ensure suppliers adopt and align to existing processes, with minimal change
Compliance & Assurance Enablement
* Support the assessment of supplier:
o Security Management Plans
o Compliance reporting and outputs
* Evidence requirements:
o Assurance expectations
o Audit and governance processes
o Provide confidence that suppliers can demonstrate compliance from Day 1 of service commencement
Governance & Communication
* Support onboarding for multiple Service Commencement Dates, working across:
o Client stakeholders
o Transition teams
* Ensure security expectations are:
o Clearly communicated
o Consistently applied
o Understood at both operational and governance levels
Documentation & Knowledge Transfer
* Produce clear, structured documentation including:
o Process packs
o Supplier guidance materials
o Governance and reporting expectations
* Consistent across all suppliers
* Aligned to NIST CSF and Secure by Design principles
* Suitable for reuse in BAU onboarding
Transition Support
* Support phased onboarding aligned to transition timelines
* Help ensure continuity between:
o New supplier responsibilities
* Contribute to establishing a repeatable onboarding model for future suppliers
Service Management & Operational Readiness Enablement
* Support the onboarding of suppliers across core IT Service Management processes, ensuring alignment with client operational standards and governance
* Work with service management and security leads to ensure supplier readiness in areas such as:
o Incident and vulnerability management
o Backup and recovery
o Monitoring, alerting and operational reporting
o Access control and service request processes
* Ensure suppliers are able to:
o Demonstrate operational readiness for Service Commencement (including ORR and service readiness assessments)
o Provide appropriate evidence to support operational baselines and ongoing updates
* Coordinate with transitioning and exiting providers to validate:
o Service baselines
o Alignment to agreed operational and security expectations
Key Skills & Experience
* Experience in cyber security governance, GRC, or security process roles
* Experience working in multi-supplier or SIAM environments
* Strong understanding of security processes such as:
o Vulnerability Management
o Security Assurance
o Ability to interpret operational outputs (e.g. SOC reporting) without direct tool ownership
* Strong stakeholder engagement and coordination skills
* Experience supporting audit, compliance, and assurance activities
* Experience working in transition or transformation programmes
* Knowledge of:
o NIST Cyber Security Framework (CSF)
o Secure by Design principles
o NCSC / UK Government security guidance
* Experience in defence or other high-security environments
* Supplier onboarding packs aligned to security processes and governance
* Standardised supplier interaction model within SIAM
* Supplier-aligned process documentation and guidance
* Verified supplier readiness for Service Commencement
* Repeatable onboarding approach for future suppliers
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