Director of Security & Compliance

About this role

Director of Security & Compliance | London | £110-140k + Benefits

A high-profile organisation with a complex international operating environment is looking for a Director of Security & Compliance to take ownership of its security, governance, risk and compliance function as it enters its next phase of maturity.

This is a newly created senior leadership position, reporting directly to the CTO. With Cyber Essentials Plus already achieved and a 24/7 outsourced SOC in place, the organisation is now focused on achieving ISO 27001 certification, strengthening its governance and compliance framework, and ensuring the secure adoption of a rapidly expanding enterprise AI estate.

You'll become the senior accountable owner for security certifications, organisational risk, business continuity, AI security and governance, and information security - acting as the authoritative voice on cyber and security matters across the organisation.

*Location:*London, hybrid (2-3 days onsite)

*Package:*£110,000-140,000 + excellent benefits

Key Responsibilities

• Own security monitoring, incident response and security tooling, working closely with the outsourced SOC
• Line manage the IT Security Engineer and lead the organisation-wide security awareness programme
• Define identity, access and authentication standards, including RBAC, MFA and SSO
• Own the IT governance framework and regulatory/standards compliance posture
• Lead the programme to achieve ISO 27001 certification, including defining and managing scope
• Own the central digital and data security risk register in partnership with Legal & Risk
• Develop and maintain data classification, retention and GDPR operating frameworks
• Own disaster recovery and business continuity planning, including RTO/RPO requirements for critical systems
• Lead security governance across the enterprise AI estate, including access controls, data protection, prompt injection, jailbreaking and third-party AI risk
• Own and develop the organisation's Responsible Use Policy for AI
• Lead the DevSecOps security function, including secrets management, vulnerability scanning, pipeline security and workload protection
• Own third-party security assessments and ongoing supplier/vendor security monitoring
• Develop and mature the organisation's wider security strategy, policies and control environment

What You'll Bring

• Significant senior leadership experience across security, cyber, governance, risk and compliance
• Experience operating within a mid-to-large, complex or internationally distributed organisation
• Deep, demonstrable ISO 27001 expertise, ideally having led or owned a successful certification programme
• Strong working knowledge of SOC 2, NIST CSF and other recognised security frameworks
• Strong technical understanding across SIEM, EDR, IAM, vulnerability management and DevSecOps
• Proven GDPR and data protection experience, ideally within a multi-jurisdiction environment
• Strong understanding of AI security and governance, including prompt injection, model risk and third-party AI vendor risk
• Experience establishing and managing enterprise-level security and risk registers
• Excellent executive stakeholder management and communication skills
• A pragmatic approach to security, with the ability to balance risk management with business delivery
• Experience managing security professionals and outsourced security partners
• The credibility to operate as the organisation's senior security authority while remaining commercially and strategically focused

Certifications

One or more of the following certifications is required

CISSP | CISM | ISO 27001 Lead Implementer | CIPP/E | CIPM | CRISC | CGEIT | CCSP | AIGP

Please note: candidates must have the legal right to work in the UK.

Apply now for immediate consideration.

About compliance & regulatory roles for ex-police

Compliance, AML and regulatory roles. Working to PACE, RIPA and CPIA is a stronger regulatory grounding than most civilian applicants can offer — firms increasingly recognise this.