Job summary
Cyber Operations purpose is to support safe care and build public trust by building NHS England's cyber resilience and enabling the wider health system to be cyber resilient, supporting Transformation Directorate's purpose of delivering the best care and outcomes for the NHS.
The Cyber Operations sub-directorate consists of 4 operational areas:
- Cyber Security Operations Unit (CSOU) - SIO
- Cyber Delivery Unit (CDU).
- Cyber Improvement Programme.
- Chief Information Security Office Function (CISO)
The CISO Function consists of four teams, these are 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 be aware that RRP is non-contractual and subject to review.
Main duties of the job
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.
About us
The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
- Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
- Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
- Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
- Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
- Delivering value for money.
If you would like to know more or require further information, please visithttps://www.england.nhs.uk/.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
If you are successful at interview, we will run an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) in the Electronic Staff Record system (ESR). This transfer gathers valuable information from a previous or current NHS employer to support the onboarding process, including; statutory and mandatory competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You will have the opportunity throughout the recruitment process to inform us if you do not consent.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information about the role and responsibilities. Please ensure your supporting statement includes demonstratable evidence and specific examples on how you meet the criteria for each of the key skills specified. This will be used in both the shortlisting and interview processes
Important: Please be aware there are residency requirements you need to meet:
All NHS England Cyber Security personnel must hold Security Clearance level as a minimum. This role requires you to hold Developed Vetting (DV) Clearance.
To meet National Security Vetting requirements for DV Clearance, you must have resided in the UK for a minimum 10 continuous years, immediately preceding from the point of application.
Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.
Please make sure you meet these requirements before applying for this role. You dont need to have Developed Vetting already, however, failure to achieve the requirements for Developed Vetting after offer, will result in the job offer being withdrawn.
For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc
Please be aware that should you be successful in this position, you will be hired to the job title of Security Lead and this job title is advertised to attract the right skills needed for the role.
Please note that the reason for the fixed term of this contract isshort term vacancy
If you like what you have read and think you have the skills and experience, we need then don't delay, apply today! We get lots of applications for our roles and so we sometimes have to close our posts early. Don't miss out!
Secondment
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information about the role and responsibilities. Please ensure your supporting statement includes demonstratable evidence and specific examples on how you meet the criteria for each of the key skills specified. This will be used in both the shortlisting and interview processes
Important: Please be aware there are residency requirements you need to meet:
All NHS England Cyber Security personnel must hold Security Clearance level as a minimum. This role requires you to hold Developed Vetting (DV) Clearance.
To meet National Security Vetting requirements for DV Clearance, you must have resided in the UK for a minimum 10 continuous years, immediately preceding from the point of application.
Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.
Please make sure you meet these requirements before applying for this role. You dont need to have Developed Vetting already, however, failure to achieve the requirements for Developed Vetting after offer, will result in the job offer being withdrawn.
For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc
Please be aware that should you be successful in this position, you will be hired to the job title of Security Lead and this job title is advertised to attract the right skills needed for the role.
Please note that the reason for the fixed term of this contract isshort term vacancy
If you like what you have read and think you have the skills and experience, we need then don't delay, apply today! We get lots of applications for our roles and so we sometimes have to close our posts early. Don't miss out!
Secondment
Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.
Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential
- In-depth knowledge of domestic and international laws governing informatin security; ability to interpret and take action on the aspects of information security laws that impact the business.
- Extensive knowledge of the strategies, accountability framework, organizational structure and processes used to encourage proper behaviour in IT activities and operations, and ability to implement IT systems and controls to meet business needs and requirements.
Desirable
- Detailed knowledge of the processes, tools and techniques of information security management, ability to deploy and monitor information security systems, as well as detect, resolve and prevent violations of IT security, to protect organisational data.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of the strategies, accountability framework, organizational structure and processes used to encourage proper behaviour in IT activities and operations, and ability to implement IT systems and controls to meet business needs and requirements.
Desirable
- Proven knowledge of processes, tools and techniques for assessing and controlling an organization's exposure to risks of various kinds; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Qualifications
Essential
- CISM or equivalent qualification from a recognised security focussed professional body
Person Specification
Knowledge
Essential
- In-depth knowledge of domestic and international laws governing informatin security; ability to interpret and take action on the aspects of information security laws that impact the business.
- Extensive knowledge of the strategies, accountability framework, organizational structure and processes used to encourage proper behaviour in IT activities and operations, and ability to implement IT systems and controls to meet business needs and requirements.
Desirable
- Detailed knowledge of the processes, tools and techniques of information security management, ability to deploy and monitor information security systems, as well as detect, resolve and prevent violations of IT security, to protect organisational data.
Skills and Experience
Essential
- Extensive knowledge of the strategies, accountability framework, organizational structure and processes used to encourage proper behaviour in IT activities and operations, and ability to implement IT systems and controls to meet business needs and requirements.
Desirable
- Proven knowledge of processes, tools and techniques for assessing and controlling an organization's exposure to risks of various kinds; ability to apply this knowledge appropriately to diverse situations.
Qualifications
Essential
- CISM or equivalent qualification from a recognised security focussed professional body
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
