Defence Intelligence Academy - IT Security Officer

Job summary

The Defence Intelligence Academy IT Security Officer (DIA ITSO) plays a critical role in ensuring the protection and resilience of DIA Communications and Information Systems (CIS). Accountable to the Senior Cyber IT Security Officer (CyITSO), the DIA ITSO is responsible for delivering effective governance, assurance, and oversight of all CIS security activities across the site.

This role is central to safeguarding Defence systems against a continuously evolving and persistent cyber threat landscape. The DIA ITSO ensures that all systems, processes, and personnel adhere to Ministry of Defence (MOD) security policies, standards, and regulatory requirements. Through risk management, compliance activities, the DIA ITSO helps to maintain the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of critical information assets.

In addition to governance and assurance responsibilities, the DIA ITSO provides subject matter expertise on cyber security matters, supporting both local site operations and broader enterprise initiatives. The role involves coordinating security activities, managing risk assessments, contributing to security assurance processes.

The DIA ITSO also acts as a key point of contact between the site and external security authorities, ensuring alignment with wider business unit security strategies and directives.

By fostering a strong security culture and enabling informed decision-making, the DIA ITSO ensures that cyber risks are effectively understood, managed, and mitigated. This position is essential to maintaining operational effectiveness and supporting the organisational mission in an increasingly contested digital environment.

This is a great opportunity for someone seeking to challenge themselves, diversify their ability from new experience and exposure to new challenges.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Due to the nature of the role, part time and job share arrangements may be considered, subject to the requirement that full-time hours are fully covered (or business needs are met).

Job description

The DIA ITSO is responsible to Senior Cyber IT Security Officer (CyITSO) in oversight and governance of all CIS security at DIA and lodger units.

• Management of Cyber and IT Security Risks
• Ensuring IT systems follow the Secure by Design continuous process
• Liaison with internal and external stakeholders in relation to Cyber System Security principles throughout their lifecycle.
• Provide advice and guidance on cyber and IT security issues.
• Identify, assess, and report Cyber and IT security risks.
• Support the development and maintenance of a strong security culture across the organisation.
• Temporary responsibility to provide oversight for systems assurance and governance at another location (travel required).
• Temporary cover of Asset Management (Incl. AINU), with support from local system engineers.

Person specification

The individual we are seeking ideally would be able to demonstrate the following aptitude:

• Proactive approach to identifying and addressing security risks and vulnerabilities.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and security best practice.
• Strong stakeholder focus and ability to build effective working relationships.
• High levels of integrity, professionalism and discretion when handling sensitive information.
• Working knowledge of cyber and IT security principles, threats, vulnerabilities and risk management methodologies.
• An understanding of Secure by Design concepts throughout the system lifecycle.
• Working knowledge of IT governance, compliance requirements and information assurance processes.
• Understanding of security controls, risk assessment techniques and mitigation strategies.

Essential criteria:

• Experience of engaging with technical and non-technical stakeholders to provide security guidance and recommendations.
• Ability to work well with others in a supportive and constructive manner, leading through others to meet compliance and assurance for system integrity.
• Experience of identifying, assessing and managing cyber and IT security risks within complex IT environments.

Desirable criteria:

• Ability to provide advice on cyber security issues, incidents or vulnerabilities.
• Ability to develop security documentation, reports, risk registers and assurance artifacts.
• Experience of applying IT security principles and risk management methodology on systems
• Demonstrable understanding of cyber security frameworks, standards and best practices (e.g. NIST, ISO 27001, Secure by Design principles). Relevant qualification in Cyber Security, Information Security.
• Due to the nature of role a driving licence would be desirable for travel between sites.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and working from home as part of a non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. All office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to site capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of office attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this and other flexible working arrangements may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Applicants should apply for this role online, via the website.

Assessment at sift and interview will be based on meeting any defined skill/qualification requirements along with a Success Profile element assessment, as detailed in the job advert. The Success Profile elements to be assessed will be outlined within the job advert. The Civil Service Success Profile Framework is available here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles

At sift, applicants will be sifted against the following:

Behaviours:

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Making Effective Decisions

Experience:

• Experience will be assessed using Personal Statement.
• Experience will be assessed using CV

Personal Statement

All applicants will need to provide a personal statement, of no more than 500 words, including evidence of the essential and desirable criteria requested within the job advert.

When completing your personal statement, please read and understand the requirements described in the Person Specification section thoroughly, as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against.

Your layout is entirely your preference; you may choose narrative, bullets, etc. You may choose to address each criteria separately or have examples that cover and evidence several criteria. Please ensure you evidence the requirements and what you have done that relates to the requirements. You don’t have to explain the whole process, focus on what you have done and the skills and experience you have used. Share with us what makes you suited to this role and why, what you can do and the technical and behavioural skills you have that correspond to the requirements, and life experience or passion you have that are linked to this role.

CV

A CV will be required for this position; this cannot be uploaded to the advert. You will submit using the CV template provided on the CS Jobs dashboard in part two of your application, detailing job history, previous experience, and skills.

At interview, applicants will be sifted against the following Civil Service Behaviours

Behaviours:

• Delivering at Pace
• Leadership
• Seeing the Bigger Picture

Should there be a large number of applicants the sift will be based on Personal Statement only

We would generally expect Behaviour examples to follow the STAR structure and encourage candidates to use this throughout their application.

Application/Interview Scoring System

We adopt a scoring system of 1-7 for Behaviours, and Experience.

7- The evidence provided wholly exceeds expectation at this level

6 – Substantial positive evidence; includes some evidence of exceeding expectations at this level

5 – Substantial positive evidence of the competency or behaviour

4 – Adequate positive evidence and any negative evidence would not cause concern

3 – Moderate positive evidence but some negative evidence demonstrated

2 – Limited positive evidence and/or mainly negative evidence demonstrated

1 – No positive evidence and/or substantial negative evidence demonstrated

The sift should take place within two weeks of the job closing and candidates will be informed of the results, at all stages, via the website. Interview dates are to be confirmed.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

If the successful candidate does not hold the necessary clearances, they will be made a provisional job offer and asked to undergo our vetting procedures. Once the relevant clearances have been obtained a formal job offer will be made and start dates can be discussed. Should the candidate fail to obtain the relevant clearances the provisional job offer will be rescinded. It should be noted that this process can take several months

Cyber & Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) generates and operates specialist capabilities, ready to fight across all domains to make the UK secure at home and strong abroad.

Always on, we are across every UK operation, delivering the capabilities you don’t usually see - or those you can’t.

From cyber warriors and medics to intelligence analysts, special forces, educators, and Defence attachés, our collective expertise delivers the warfighting edge Defence needs to deter threats and secure the nation today and prepare for tomorrow.

CSOC unites Defence’s cyber and specialist capabilities under a single, military command alongside the Royal Navy, British Army, and the Royal Air Force - acting as the UK’s fourth Military Command. For more information, please see here.’

Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (CSOC) is going through a significant transformation programme which aims to design the way in which the new Military Command conducts its business and delivers for Defence and the nation. As a consequence of this, posts within CSOC are/or may become subject to review and potential changes as we continuously improve across the period of the transformation programme. These changes may be minor or could be more substantive and will generate new opportunities. Throughout, the Command’s transformation programme is committed to following the MOD’s framework on managing and supporting people through the change process and places an emphasis on early and open consultation and engagement with the Command’s personnel and Trade Unions.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : DI-PeopleTeam
• Email : DI-PeopleTeam@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-ResourcingTeam5@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email:

Attachments

CSOC Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 1777kB)Candidate Information Opens in new window (docx, 32kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)Defence Civil Service Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)