Chief Information Security Officer - CISO - Higher Education

Our client is seeking an experienced and immediately available Interim Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) to provide strategic and operational cyber security leadership during a critical phase of security and risk maturity.

This is an excellent opportunity for a seasoned security leader who has operated within complex, highly regulated, research-led, public sector or mission-driven environments. It would be ideal if you had experience in the Higher Education space but sectors such as Charity, Research & Development, Scientific Research, Government, Not-for-Profit, Public Sector or Similar Organisations would be considered.

The successful candidate will be responsible for leading and enhancing the organisation's cyber security capability across operational security, governance, risk management, cyber assurance, security strategy and stakeholder engagement.

The organisation currently operates within a managed SOC environment, and the incoming CISO will be expected to maximise the effectiveness of existing security operations while driving strategic improvements across the wider security function.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide executive leadership for the information and cyber security function.
• Develop and execute a pragmatic cyber security strategy aligned to business and organisational objectives.
• Lead cyber governance, risk management and security assurance activities.
• Oversee operational security capabilities, including management of a third‑party SOC and associated security providers.
• Establish and maintain effective security policies, standards and control frameworks.
• Deliver security reporting and risk updates to Executive Leadership Teams, Boards, Audit Committees and key stakeholders.
• Lead security incident preparedness, response oversight and resilience planning.
• Drive cyber maturity improvements across people, process and technology.
• Manage security risk assessments and remediation programmes.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulatory, legal and governance requirements.
• Provide expert guidance on emerging threats, vulnerabilities and cyber risk exposure.
• Collaborate with technology, data protection, risk and business leaders to embed security across the organisation.

Required Experience

• Previous experience operating as a CISO, Interim CISO, Head of Cyber Security, Director of Information Security or equivalent senior leadership role.
• Higher Education experience benifical
• Demonstrable experience leading enterprise‑wide cyber security programmes.
• Strong background covering:
• Operational Security
• Security Governance
• Cyber Assurance
• Security Strategy
• Third‑Party Security Management
• Experience overseeing or working alongside managed SOC services.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to engage both technical and non‑technical audiences.
• Proven ability to influence executive leadership and board‑level stakeholders.
• Experience operating within complex, federated, research‑led or highly regulated environments.

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