Lead Cyber Security Risk Manager– Head of Secure Design


Company:	Government Recruitment Service
Salary:	£75,026 to £92,522 a year
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	NE98 1YX
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	23 Oct 2026
Closing date:	8 Nov 2026

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Summary

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. For further information, please see 'Selection process details'.

Within Working Age Services Digital, we are responsible for several existing services which support the core of society and is the department’s highest profile benefit service, Universal Credit. We are looking for an outstanding Lead Cyber Security Risk Manager-Head of Secure Design who can make a positive impact and want to contribute to one of the most demanding and important Government services for the UK. 

Let’s be clear about the impact of your work, the products we build are changing the face of public services with the potential to dramatically transform the future of millions of people. Our services need to have security strength in depth principals at its core both from cyber, fraud and error viewpoints.

We need someone who enjoys a challenge. Working Age Services is undergoing a period of technical change in line with our strategy aiming to become more consistent in our ways of working, more standardised in our security stacks and transforming some of our service's monolithic architectures into microservices.

You will oversee the team that identify controls and make recommendations to address security vulnerabilities and control weaknesses in products, projects and programmes, working with product owners and Subject Matter Experts to enable them to make well informed risk-based decisions whilst leading and influencing the management of tactical and strategic risks.

This role will play a vital role in the management of overall technical and fraud risk operations and the oversight of our security tooling framework. Your primary responsibilities will include the development and maintenance of security protocols, the mitigation of fraud risks and the actionable oversight of our various security tools. This position requires an individual with extensive experience in information security, web enabled fraud risk management.

You will be a hands-on leader spanning the secure design delivery team but also working with multiple multidisciplinary service teams to ensure that the Working Age Services security strategy, that you help shape, is being enacted. A key aspect of this role will be to work with wider (Department for Work and Pensions) DWP Digital Security Risk Management (DSRM) functions to ensure we have alignment of cyber controls approach. This will also need to ensure we provide controls metrics to enable departmental views of cyber rigour and clear and transparent.

If this sounds like you, apply today!

As Lead Cyber Security Risk Manager-Head of Secure Design, you will consider applicable standards for Security technical and fraud roadmaps, ensuring that high quality, secure and consistent solutions for Working Age Service benefits (incorporating Universal Credit) are delivered that meet the needs of our agents and claimants. We’re looking for an outstanding security leader, who wants to play a major role in the design and implementation of exciting modern digital services for the UK Government. You’ll be part of a team dedicated to the creation of Universal Credit which is actively delivering for 8.6 million citizens every day.

In this role you will:

Provide leadership to ensure effective security and fraud Risk expertise, advice and support is delivered to include business managers, Senior Risk Owners and the Working Age Services SLT within DWP.
Establish and manage the Working Age Services security posture and initiatives, ensuring the protection of information assets from internal and external threats.
Develop, manage, and enhance the fraud risk management framework to minimize the department’s exposure to fraud risks.
Oversee the implementation, management, and proper utilisation of security tools such as intrusion detection systems, vulnerability management, anti-virus software, and data encryption.
Assess and manage the identification and mitigation plans of existing and emerging security threats, vulnerabilities, and risks.
Maintain of awareness in information security technologies and fraud risk management methodologies, applying best practices and drive knowledge through Working Age Services.
Lead security awareness and education programs to encourage all employees to maintain a high level of vigilance.

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