Graduate Security Analyst

Job summary

Your Future Starts here

Student Loans Company is a non-profit making Government-owned organisation to provide loans and grants to students in universities and colleges in the UK. Since 1989, we have enabled our customers to invest in their futures by delivering secure, accurate and efficient assessment, payment and repayment services.

Our Values

Culture is at the heart of everything we do at SLC and we are guided by our five values which help make SLC a great place to work:

• Honesty: We act with integrity and transparency, sharing information openly and addressing challenges with courage.
• Empowerment: We enable people to take initiative, make impactful decisions, and continuously learn and grow.
• Accountability: We deliver on commitments, own our successes and mistakes, and strive for quality outcomes.
• Respect: We value diverse perspectives, actively listen, and create an inclusive environment where everyone belongs.
• Trust: We collaborate across teams, build dependable relationships, and work as one to deliver for our customers.

These values are more than words—they guide our decisions, shape our collaborations, and strengthen our impact on the students we serve.

Job description

About the role

The Security department at SLC brings together a wide range of specialist teams, all working collectively to safeguard the organisation from threats and to protect SLC’s technical infrastructure and data at every level.

As a Graduate Cyber Security Analyst, you’ll play an important role in supporting day‑to‑day operational activity, contributing to continuous improvement work, and helping deliver key projects within Security or across wider business initiatives. As part of this 24‑month rotational programme, you’ll gain hands‑on exposure to critical business activities while developing core skills aligned to Cyber Security.

If you’re driven by problem‑solving, excited by technology, and motivated by helping protect systems and data that millions rely on, this programme is designed for you.

Through a mix of structured learning and real on‑the‑job experience, you’ll build strong technical knowledge, develop professional confidence, and contribute meaningfully to strengthening SLC’s security posture.

During the programme, you’ll rotate through six specialist teams — Security Operations, Engineering, Governance, Assurance, Identity, and Risk — giving you unparalleled exposure to the full breadth of modern security disciplines. This rotational experience will help you understand how each area works together to defend the organisation and manage threats proactively.

This is a fantastic opportunity to explore diverse security specialisms before deciding where you want to build your career, while working in an environment that takes your development seriously.

You’ll collaborate closely with experienced professionals, receive ongoing coaching and mentorship, and take part in activities that support and enhance SLC’s security capabilities across the organisation.

Person specification

What you bring:

Essential

• Degree-level qualification in Cyber Security, Networking or related field at 2.2 and above, anticipated by Summer 2026 or gained within the last two years
• Ability to;
  • communicate and collaborate effectively with colleagues and customers by actively listening and delivering quality information timely
  • manage, interpret, and use data to support decision making and drive effective outcomes
  • use digital tools and technologies to communicate, access information, and solve problems
  • identify, assess and manage risks to minimise potential impacts
  • demonstrate readiness to new ways of working and remain effective in ambiguous situations while identifying opportunities for continuous improvement
• A clear interest in Cyber and Information Security
• Awareness of common security threats and the importance of common security concepts (RBAC, Encryption, Secure Protocols, Vulnerability Management, Logging and Monitoring etc) via education or experience
• Understanding and basic experience of infrastructure systems administration (UNIX, Windows) and common Networking protocols via education or experience
• Awareness of security frameworks and standards such as CAF, NIST, PCI DSS and OWASP via education or experience
• Effective problem-solving skills and attention to detail
• Ability to follow documented procedures and contribute to technical documentation

Desirable

• Internship or placement experience in a related field
• Industry recognised certifications relating to Information Security, cloud services or networking
• Membership with a relevant professional body (e.g. ISC2, ISACA, BSC)

• Ability to triage, escalate and remediate security incident based on criticality
• An understanding of a wide range of security controls such as PAM, NAC, IAM, XDR etc
• Understanding of cloud platforms and their security features (AWS, Azure)
• Understanding of laws, regulations, policies, and ethics as they relate to cybersecurity and privacy
• Awareness of Risk Management methodologies, and risk assessment techniques, e.g. risk appetite, gap analysis, control identification and implementation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,252, Student Loans Company contributes £8,764 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

You can expect more from a career with SLC. We support colleagues to unlock their potential through our Career Pathways development programme and offer an excellent benefit and rewards package that includes:

• 28 days annual leave plus 8 public holidays
• Option to buy/sell annual leave
• Flexi-time and enhanced flexible working options available
• Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme
• Life insurance cover for 4 x annual salary
• Enhanced company sick pay and family leave including maternity, paternity and adoption
• Contributory lifestyle benefit options including discounts at hundreds of retailers, cycle to work scheme, access to the Civil Service Sports and Leisure Club for discounted gym memberships, and an optional dental insurance scheme
• To find out what’s it’s like to work at Student Loans Company click here SLC Careers

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

Further Information

We will be hosting two information webinars for candidates who would like to know more about the Security programme and the recruitment process. If you would like to attend, please register for one of the sessions below;

Thursday 5th February 4.30pm-5.30pm Use this link to join the call at 4:30pm. You do not need to register beforehand. If you have problems joining the session please choose the option to join without an account.

Tuesday 24th February 4:00pm - 5:00pm - please email and we will send a link for this session.

The Legal Bits

We’ll need you to confirm you have the right to work in the UK. If we offer you a job and you accept, there are some background checks we need to complete before you can start with us. This will include employment history, criminal record check, credit reference check and fraud check.

SLC are committed to ensuring our recruitment processes are inclusive for all candidates and will make reasonable adjustments for those who consider themselves to have a disability or long-term condition in line with the Equality Act 2010. Our application process provides candidates with the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments but if you would like to discuss this in more detail, please email ask_recruitment@slc.co.uk.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

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.

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

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 : Emerging Talent Team
• Email : Emerging_Talent@slc.co.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Emerging_Talent@slc.co.uk