Job Description

The Role:

Protecting our digital footprint takes expertise, collaboration and a commitment to keeping people safe. Leading the team responsible for safeguarding NEXT's IT assets, you will support 15,000 colleagues and £4.9 billion in revenues across our retail stores and eCommerce platform. Working closely with the Security Operations Manager and cross-functional engineering teams, you will drive daily threat response, proactive threat hunting and security control improvements. We offer a hybrid working setup balancing office life with home flexibility, alongside continuous opportunities to collaborate with specialist teams to support your professional growth.

What You'll Take On:

• Manage and mentor a team of up to 10 Security Analysts, overseeing daily workloads, shift rotas and development reviews.
• Lead incident response and remediation efforts as the primary escalation point, ensuring alerts are investigated within defined SLAs.
• Oversee forensic evidence collection and collaborate with Threat Management specialists to run realistic security simulations.
• Drive the continuous improvement of technical security controls, procedures and regular performance reporting packs.
• Support 24/7 environment monitoring through out-of-hours escalation cover and assist with seasonal budget management.

What You'll Bring:

• Proven Information Technology experience, ideally within a corporate or retail environment.
• Leadership experience managing teams, including performance reviews and resource planning.
• Demonstrable comprehension of information security concepts, including malware, attack vectors and emerging threats.
• Familiarity with industry security standards such as PCI-DSS or ISO27001, backed by relevant security certifications.
• Strong communication skills, acting as a calm, clear bridge between technical teams and senior management under pressure.
• Experience creating operating procedures, automation processes and reporting packs to measure team progress.
• Commercial awareness to manage seasonal budgets and adapt flexibly during peak trading periods or unsociable hours.
• A collaborative mindset focused on mentoring colleagues, driving technical skill development and maintaining high professional standards.