IT Assurance Lead in Reading, Berkshire

IT Assurance Lead

Reading

6-Months

Paying up to £108p/h (Inside IR35)

Please note - due to the nature of the work, you will need to hold or be eligible to obtain a high level of UK Security clearance - please only apply if suitable

Key Responsibilities:

• Security by Design & Compliance: Be responsible for safeguarding applications, infrastructure, and cloud environments throughout their lifecycle according to the Security by Design framework and principles. Ensure knowledge and application of relevant standards, including but not limited to (ISO 44001, NIST 800-53, 800-171, 800-172, NIS2, DEFSTAN, JSPs).
• Secure Development: Define and follow secure development guidelines. Collaborate with development teams to embed requirements and guarantee controls to protect critical data. Cohere technical solutions to mitigate vulnerabilities during development and in production.
• Monitoring & Assurance: Assure infrastructure and cloud through continuous compliance with established standards and procedures.
• Risk Management: Oversee risk management and recommend tactical and strategic improvements to systems and processes, aligned to best practice.
• Cross Functional Leadership: Work cross functionally and use collaborative leadership skills to assure secure solutions aligned with programme objectives.
• Continuous Improvement: Lead security enhancements and initiatives that strengthen assurance and advance compliance across the programme.

Required Skill set & Experience

• Further education and experience, ideally in IT Assurance, or extensive experience in a Defence IT or similarly "complex" industry.
• Deep knowledge and practical experience of managing IT assurance and compliance.
• Excellent communicator with good interpersonal skills and a collaborative working style across all functions of the programme.
• Excellent time management and organisation skills, facilitating the prioritisation and running of multiple tasks in parallel against challenging requirements.
• Expert knowledge and practical application of major IT Assurance frameworks and standards (ISO 44001, NIST 800-53, NIST 800-171, NIST 800-172, NIS2, DEFSTAN, JSP).
• Deep understanding and experience in implementing the Security by Design framework across the full development lifecycle.
• Management experience of tools and technologies for infrastructure, cloud, and application protection.
• A proven ability to manage solutions to mitigate vulnerabilities in both development and production environments.
• Assurance skills for identifying and managing risks and incidents.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across development, operations, and programme teams.
• Ability to travel to customers, suppliers, or other company sites if required.