Principal Cyber Security Consultant (Ref: 14702)

Job summary

This position is based Nationally

Job description

Principal Cyber Security Consultant

Location: National*

Closing Date: 23rd February

Interviews: after w/c 9th March

Grade: Grade 7

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary (for more information, please refer to the T&Cs at the bottom):

London: £63,343 - £78,225 (which may include an allowance of up to £14,882)

National: £58,511 - £73,450 (which may include an allowance of up to £14,939)

Working pattern: Full-time/Part-time/Flexible working

Contract Type: Permanent

Vacancy number: 14702

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

The Role

We’re recruiting for a Principal Cyber Security Consultant here at Justice Digital, to be part of our warm and collaborative Digital Cyber team within the Office of CTO.

This role aligns against Security Architect from the Government Digital and Data Framework

The Digital Cyber team plays a central role within Justice Digital, collaborating directly with various products and services to ensure the secure delivery of justice. These offerings span the entire Ministry of Justice, from legal aid applications to prison education programs, and we operate across multiple domains to provide specialist security expertise.

The Office of the CTO comprises technical and security professionals dedicated to shaping, assuring, and enhancing the digital services offered by Justice Digital. By integrating our collective skills, we function as a cohesive multidisciplinary unit, leveraging our combined knowledge and expertise while valuing the contributions of every team member.

Individuals who are motivated to contribute in an environment where their problem-solving abilities, security acumen, and communication skills are in high demand will find the Digital Cyber team an exceptional place to advance their careers.

To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital please take a look at our blog and our Digital and Technology strategy 2025.

Key Responsibilities

This role will provide proactive hands-on security leadership combined with expert advice in the scoping, development and ongoing improvement of Justice Digital products and services. These can be a mix of complex transformational digital services to targeted products, which address a specific need, and everything in between.

You’ll be expected to develop a deep understanding of wider Government strategy (inc Secure by Design and Cyber Assurance Framework), MoJ security policy and industry best practices to ensure that new technology is built to support them, ensuring that cyber security risks are identified and mitigated to acceptable levels by effective security controls and pertinent practices.

As someone who can work independently, under broad direction with functional alignment to different agencies, you will also take an active security lead on designated projects, providing technical expert cyber security oversight and guidance to both service owners and developer colleagues, ensuring strong collaboration and the unification of security across Justice Digital.

Using your security expertise and experience, you’ll support teams in achieving their goals, acting as an enabler to support delivery of MoJ products and services. We are here to help teams navigate the broad, complex field of cyber security, and we are looking for individuals who understand the bigger picture and see the success of other teams as their own.

The ideal person will:

• Support the design, development, improvement and evolution of a wide ranging portfolio of products and services in Justice Digital. This may include working with both internal and external stakeholders from project initiation through to delivery.

• Triage security requests with a positive mindset, anticipating needs and challenges.

• Provide technical advice, guidance and support from high to low level that enables business outcomes.

• Use cyber risk as an engine to drive meaningful conversations about cyber security with senior stakeholders, ensuring that discussions are grounded in the organisation’s risk landscape and aligned with business objectives.

• Challenge the status quo and work with the Central MOJ Information Security Team to develop and evolve MoJ Policy and risk practices based on organisational needs.

• Take a key role in the promotion of strategic cyber security initiatives, influencing and aligning stakeholders to the MoJs security aims and objectives.

• Act as a key point of contact for product teams, facilitating queries and providing sound security advice, utilising industry best practices, recognised frameworks and government policy as the foundation for your decision making.

• Be proactive in sharing knowledge, mentoring junior members of the team and documenting processes and techniques.

• Be responsible for the line management of Civil Servants and Contractors.

If this feels like an exciting challenge, something you are enthusiastic about, and want to join our team please read on and apply!

Benefits

• 37 hours per week and flexible working options including working from home, working part-time, job sharing, or working compressed hours.

• A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best in class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.

• Staff have 10% time to dedicate to develop & grow.

• Generous civil service pension based on defined benefit scheme, with employer contributions of 28.97% from April 1st 2024 (Contribution Rates).

• 25 days leave (plus bank holidays) and 1 privilege day usually taken around the King’s birthday. 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service.

• Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

• Wellbeing support including access to the Calm app.

• Nurturing professional and interpersonal networks including those for Carers & Childcare, Gender Equality, PROUD and SPIRIT.

• Bike loans up to £2500 and secure bike parking (subject to availability and location).

• Season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers.

• 5 days volunteering paid leave.

• Some offices may have a subsidised onsite Gym.

Person Specification

Essential:

• An analytical and inquisitive mind, making sense of broad statements and a keen eye for detail.

• Software Development and Technical Proficiency including; information security compliance (ISO27001, NIST, CIS, NCSC CAF); Secure by Design; Common languages; API/Microservice architecture; OWASP.

• Strong understanding of cyber risk and management, incident response and threat and vulnerability management.

• Negotiation skills and the ability to develop working relationships.

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

• Ability to make technology-led recommendations to support difficult/time-bound decisions.

• Understanding and awareness of project, change and business improvement techniques.

• A drive to continuously look to challenge and improve processes

Willingness to be assessed against the requirements for SC clearance.

We welcome the unique contribution diverse applicants bring and do not discriminate based on culture, ethnicity, race, nationality or national origin, age, sex, gender identity or expression, religion or belief, disability status, sexual orientation, educational or social background or any other factor.

Six Months in – Building the Women in Engineering Working Group.

Our values are Purpose, Humanity Openness and Together. Find out more here about how we celebrate diversity and an inclusive culture in our workplace.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.

How to Apply

1. Candidates must submit a CV and Cover Letter (750 words max), which describes how you meet the requirements from the essential criteria, set out below:

• Software Development and Technical Proficiency including; information security compliance (ISO27001, NIST, CIS, NCSC CAF); Secure by Design; Common languages; API/Microservice architecture; OWASP

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Please note, failure to provide the documents as requested for the specific role, will result in a rejection of your application.

2. Your application will be reviewed against the Person Specification above by a diverse panel.

3. Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 90-minute panel interview held via video conference.

Candidates will also be required to provide a 7-minute presentation with 5 additional minutes for panel questions during the interview stage. Details of the presentation will be sent across prior to interview, with sufficient notice for candidates to prepare.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession CapabilityandSuccess Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Seeing the bigger picture

• Making effective decisions

• Communicating and influencing

• Changing and improving

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on “Software Development and Technical Proficiency including; information security compliance (ISO27001, NIST, CIS, NCSC CAF); Secure by Design; Common languages; API/Microservice architecture; OWASP” and “Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal” will be conducted prior to the sift.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for, but demonstrated the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and potentially offer you the position without the need for a further application.

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.

Application Guidance

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement

Application Guidance

Use of 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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Please Note

Recruitment Process Notice

This role is being delivered in partnership with PeopleScout, our managed recruitment service provider. As part of the recruitment process, your personal data will be shared with PeopleScout for the purposes of candidate assessment, communication, and selection.

PeopleScout will process your data on behalf of the Ministry of Justice in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018. Your data will be handled securely, used only for recruitment purposes, and retained only as long as necessary.

The Ministry of Justice processes your personal data under the lawful bases of:

• Contractual necessity – to assess and progress your application,

• Legal obligation – for checks such as right to work,

• Legitimate interest – to improve recruitment processes and ensure fair selection.

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data,

• Request correction or deletion,

• Restrict or object to processing,

• Request data portability.

Your data will be retained for up to 12 months following the recruitment process or the duration of the appointment, whichever is shorter, after which it will be securely deleted.
For more information on how your data will be used and your rights under data protection law, please refer to our https://justice.gov.uk/privacy or contact the MoJ Data Protection Team at data.protection@justice.gov.uk

Terms & Conditions

Please review our Terms and Conditions which set out how we recruit and provide further information related to the role and salary arrangements.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact digitalanddatarecruitment@justice.gov.uk

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,511, Ministry of Justice contributes £16,950 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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

1. Candidates must submit a CV and Cover Letter (750 words max), which describes how you meet the requirements from the essential criteria, set out below:

• Software Development and Technical Proficiency including; information security compliance (ISO27001, NIST, CIS, NCSC CAF); Secure by Design; Common languages; API/Microservice architecture; OWASP

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.

Please note, failure to provide the documents as requested for the specific role, will result in a rejection of your application.

2. Your application will be reviewed against the Person Specification above by a diverse panel.

3. Successful candidates who meet the required standard will then be invited to a 90-minute panel interview held via video conference.

Candidates will also be required to provide a 7-minute presentation with 5 additional minutes for panel questions during the interview stage. Details of the presentation will be sent across prior to interview, with sufficient notice for candidates to prepare.

In Justice Digital, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession CapabilityandSuccess Profiles Frameworks. We will assess your Technical Skills and the following Behaviours during the assessment process:

• Seeing the bigger picture

• Making effective decisions

• Communicating and influencing

• Changing and improving

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on “Software Development and Technical Proficiency including; information security compliance (ISO27001, NIST, CIS, NCSC CAF); Secure by Design; Common languages; API/Microservice architecture; OWASP” and “Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal” will be conducted prior to the sift.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for, but demonstrated the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and potentially offer you the position without the need for a further application.

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.

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 security check (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

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.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

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://www.jobtrain.co.uk/justicedigital/Job/JobDetail?jobid=973&isPreview=Yes&advert=external

Attachments

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