Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
Deputy Director of Enterprise Security & Risk Management
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Job Summary
Shape how one of the UK's largest organisations understands and responds to security risk.
This is a unique opportunity for an experienced governance, risk and assurance leader to shape how DWP understands, manages and acts on security risk. We are looking for someone who can bring clarity, pace and innovation to enterprise security risk management; who is confident working with complex evidence, assurance and threat information; and who can translate that insight into decisions that influence senior leaders across the whole organisation. The function is already mature and well-respected; you will have the opportunity to build and shape the credibility of the function across the Department, Government and the wider industry.
You will be a natural relationship builder, comfortable operating in a large, complex delivery organisation in either the public or private sector. You will need to inspire confidence with Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, the Departmental Audit, Risk and Assurance Committee, senior colleagues and your own teams through the quality of your judgement, the strength of your evidence, and your ability to help the organisation act on the risks that matter most. This is a role for someone who cares deeply about impact: not simply reporting risk and assurance, but changing behaviour, improving resilience and enabling better outcomes for millions of citizens.
We are looking for an inclusive, credible and ambitious senior leader to support me in leading the teams that provide proportionate, well-informed security and risk advice to the Department and its senior leaders. Values and making Security & Data Protection Directorate within DWP a brilliant place to work will be important to you. You’ll thrive on delivering outcomes and making wider contributions to Government Security and the Civil Service.
To learn more about this opportunity, hear directly from Mike Fell, Chief Security Officer and vacancy holder.
For more information about DWP and this role, please see the Candidate Pack attached.
Job Description
Hear more about DWP
As Deputy Director of Enterprise Security & Risk Management, the accountabilities of the postholder include:
- Enterprise Risk Management - Lead the organisation’s security risk function, ensuring enterprise-level security risks are identified, assessed, prioritised and effectively managed in alignment with the organisation's risk appetite or agreed risk tolerance.
- Security Oversight – Develop and deliver the department’s enterprise security governance model and associated boards, ensuring alignment with corporate strategy, governance, regulatory requirements and risk appetite.
- Governance, Risk & Compliance - Lead Governance Risk & Compliance (GRC) activities, ensuring it is aligned, proportionate, transparent, compliant and business-centric. Provide programme and service-specific risk advice aligned to policy and risk appetite. Work closely with Security Policy & Awareness teams to deliver joined up security.
- Third-Party Security Assurance - Responsible for the organisation’s multi-tiered supplier assurance programme, ensuring all third-party security risks are assessed, monitored and actively managed throughout the contract lifecycle in a proportionate, risk-based manner.
- IT Security Assurance - Deliver a holistic, balanced programme of independent assurance over IT security architecture and associated controls providing confidence in technology-driven risk including mandatory external and internal assurance and compliance activity.
- Physical Security Assurance - Responsible for evaluating, testing and verifying the organisation’s physical security measures across circa 850 locations ensuring site- and enterprise-level resilience measures are robust, risk-aligned and compliant with external requirements.
- Regulatory & Audit Engagement - Acts as the primary interface with internal audit, external auditors, and wider government bodies, ensuring clear evidence of security risk management and control effectiveness.
- Leadership of a Dispersed Workforce - Lead a team of 90 security, risk and assurance professionals across multiple UK locations, building a unified culture, clear accountability and high performing team.
- Strategic Advisor - Advises the Chief Security Officer, Executive Team and other boards on systemic risks and strategic investment priorities to manage those risks.
- Management – Accountable for the efficient running of the team, including a multi-million-pound budget, accurate forecasting, and HR, finance and commercial compliance.
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Person specification
The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate their knowledge, experience and skills against the following essential criteria:
- Proven senior security leadership experience, with a track record of leading and inspiring large, geographically dispersed teams through an engaging, authentic and adaptable leadership style. The successful candidate will demonstrate exceptional interpersonal and influencing skills, with the credibility to build trusted relationships at all levels of the organisation. They will possess high levels of emotional intelligence, sound judgement, executive presence, diplomacy and adaptability.
- Security Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) expertise – recognised expertise in security GRC, with experience establishing and leading enterprise-wide, cross-domain security governance, risk management and compliance frameworks within complex organisations. This will include deep knowledge of relevant regulations, frameworks and standards, together with experience of managing risk across both legacy and modern technology environments. This expertise should be evidenced through relevant professional qualifications and memberships (e.g. CISM, CISA, CISSP, CRISC, GRC(A), Chartered Security/Cyber Profession status).
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence senior leaders and communicate complex security and risk issues clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience leading security assurance across complex supply chains and outsourced service models, ensuring effective governance, risk management and resilience across third-party environments.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Delivering at Pace
Alongside your salary of £86,000, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £24,914 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:
- Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
- Generous annual leave – at least 25 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
- Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
- Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
- Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
- Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
- An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.
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Reasonable Adjustments
At DWP we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, especially those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, please contact senior.recruitment@dwp.gov.uk as soon as possible, before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process.
Disability Confident Scheme
Role
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. DWP is recognised as a Disability Confident Leader, demonstrating the departmental commitment to attracting, recruiting and retaining disabled people and supporting them in achieving their full potential. We run the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria for the advertised role. To be considered for an interview, you must have:
- a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial and long term (over 12 months) adverse effect on your ability to carry out normal day to day activities; or a long-term health condition; and demonstrated that you meet all the minimum qualifying criteria set out in the advertisement for the post at the application and testing stages.
A full definition and examples of conditions can be found on this webpage. You will be asked at the initial application stage if you wish to apply via the scheme
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.
Application Process
To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application via Saxton Bampfylde process outlined below no later than Monday the 31st of August at 23:55:
- A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years;
- A personal statement (maximum 1250 words), explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities, and experience provide evidence of your suitability
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