Head of Department – Cyber & Information Resilience

Financial Conduct Authority

. Set the strategic direction for Cyber and Information Resilience .

Posted 10/7/2026full-timeLondon • United KingdomLead💰 £140,000 - £190,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

Use this summary to align your resume positioning with the role.

Demonstrates expertise in Cyber Security and Information Resilience, with a strong focus on strategic planning, governance, and risk management. Capable of leading cross-functional teams and engaging with senior stakeholders to drive performance and ensure compliance with regulatory expectations.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Cyber Security Risk ManagementGovernance ReportingStrategic JudgementDepartmental PlanningSenior Stakeholder Engagement

ATS Keywords

Tailor your resume

Applicant Tracking System Keywords

Tip: use these terms in your resume and cover letter to boost ATS matches.

Hard Skills

Cyber SecurityInformation ResilienceTechnology RiskAssuranceIncident ResponseVulnerability ManagementSSDLCPolicy DevelopmentAI SecurityControl Frameworks

Soft Skills

Effective CommunicationRelationship ManagementTeam LeadershipStrategic Advising

Certifications & Qualifications

CISMDV Clearance

Industry Keywords

FCAEnterprise RiskOperational ResilienceCyber DefenceGovernance ForumsCross-Organisation Control ImprovementEmerging Cyber RisksAI-Enabled ThreatsCloud SecurityPrivileged Access Risk

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

CloudCyber Security

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Set the strategic direction for Cyber and Information Resilience
Align priorities, operating model, controls and capability plans with FCA risk appetite, enterprise priorities and regulatory expectations
Own departmental planning, including prioritisation, workforce and capability planning, budget and FTE considerations, delivery commitments, performance reporting and dependency management
Deliver delegated SMF responsibilities on behalf of the accountable senior executive
Ensure cyber and information resilience risks, controls, issues and decisions are visible, evidenced and escalated through appropriate governance
Manage senior engagement with Technology and Data, enterprise governance forums, audit and risk
Provide clear judgement on material cyber risks, trade-offs and control expectations
Provide mandate, prioritisation and escalation support to the Deputy CISO and C&IR management team
Ensure C&IR operates as an integrated department across cyber defence, assurance, governance, security expertise and related teams
Connect strategic cyber risk, operational insight, assurance findings, change demand, incident learning and external threat intelligence into a coherent action plan
Lead a strategically important FCA department responsible for cyber security, information resilience, assurance and operational cyber capability

Requirements

What you’ll need

Significant experience leading cyber security, information resilience, technology risk or comparable enterprise risk functions in a complex organisation
Ability to drive team performance across detection and response, assurance, SSDLC, policy and AI Security
Experience translating cyber and information resilience risk into senior-level decisions, priorities, control expectations and accountable delivery plans
Experience with departmental planning, workforce planning, budget prioritisation, governance reporting and cross-cutting dependency management
Experience operating with delegated senior management accountabilities, evidencing decisions, escalating material risks and maintaining governance disciplines
Experience leading through senior managers, deputies or management teams
Strong strategic judgement and ability to advise senior stakeholders clearly
Ability to lead planning and prioritisation across multiple teams
Strong understanding of cyber security risk management, security governance, control frameworks, assurance, incident response, vulnerability management and technology change
Highly effective communication and relationship management skills
Ability to provide mandate, escalation support and constructive challenge to a Deputy CISO and management team
Capable of obtaining and maintaining UK national security vetting at DV level
Experience shaping cyber operating models, security portfolios, strategic workforce plans, governance forums or cross-organisation control improvement programmes
Understanding of emerging cyber risks, including AI-enabled threats, enterprise use of AI, cloud security, privileged access risk, operational resilience and third-party technology risk
Relevant professional qualification or equivalent experience, such as CISM, or comparable senior cyber credentials or experience (desirable)
Must obtain and retain DV Clearance if successful

Benefits

Comp & perks

30 days holiday per year plus bank holidays
Private healthcare with Bupa
Non-contributory Pension of at least 8% of basic salary each month, increasing up to 12% a month once you reach age 35
Life assurance of eight times your basic salary
Income protection
Personalised benefits package allowance, including options such as dental or cycle to work, or taking the allowance as cash
Flexible working arrangements, including job shares
Reasonable adjustments and accessibility support during recruitment