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Job summary

About Us

We are an arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:

• further education
• higher education including research and innovation;
• apprenticeships
• adult community learning; and local authority maintained school sixth forms.

We work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.

Our values really matter to us, they help shape the culture of our organisation:

• Dysgu (to learn; to teach; to educate) - learning is at the heart of everything we do. We believe curiosity fuels innovation and helps expand our horizons.
• Cydweithio (to work together; to collaborate; to co-operate) - we can achieve far more together than we ever could alone.
• Cynnwys Pawb (to include everyone; to involve everyone) - we are passionate about inclusion, seeking to create the right conditions for everyone to achieve their full potential.
• Rhagori (to exceed; to excel) - we have high aspirations for tertiary education and research in Wales and always set high standards for ourselves to be the best we can be.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and accredited as a Living Wage employer.

Location

Our headquarters is in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff, which has been specifically designed to meet our needs. This is where most colleagues will meet to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.

As we operate across Wales, we also have limited office and collaboration space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.

Main purpose of the job

The Cyber Security Analyst is responsible for safeguarding Medr’s digital assets by monitoring, analysing, and responding to cyber threats across its systems and services. The role ensures effective security controls are implemented in line with security policies and latest standards, supports secure system and service design, and undertakes real-time threat analysis, risk assessments and incident investigations. The role is critical to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Medr’s data and infrastructure, while supporting the resilience of its digital operations in an evolving threat landscape.

Job description

What you'll be doing

• Monitor, detect, and respond to cyber threats by conducting real‑time security monitoring, threat hunting, forensic investigations, and timely system patching to protect systems, networks, software, and data.
• Identify and mitigate security risks and vulnerabilities through software risk assessments, continuous infrastructure monitoring, audits, and validation activities to ensure data integrity, timeliness, and completeness.
• Design and enforce robust security controls and policies, embedding security into systems and application design and ensuring compliance with Cyber Essentials Plus and IASME Level 2 standards.
• Manage access and permissions by maintaining strong user access controls and administrative privileges to prevent unauthorised access and data breaches.
• Promote a strong security culture by delivering employee training and awareness programmes, supporting and challenging users where necessary, and encouraging continuous improvement and compliance with data standards.
• Collaborate and communicate effectively with Digital teams, management, external suppliers, and stakeholders, maintaining up‑to‑date security documentation, producing security papers, and reporting progress and key challenges to senior leadership.

Key challenges you will face

• Working in a fast-paced environment, with competing priorities and critical deadlines.
• Ensuring that data governance and management approaches align with business needs, compliance requirements and best practice.
• Integrate with a shared SOC/MDR service.
• Incident response under pressure.
• Preparing and participating in numerous audits where compliance is critical to the business function.
• Sector collaboration by securing credibility and trust with a range of stakeholders.

About your team

The Digital Directorate within Medr spans three core areas: Development, Information Systems, and IT Security & Technical Services. Together, we design and manage systems, develop applications and ensure robust security, governance and compliance is in place.

The Cyber Security Analyst will report directly to the Senior Technical Services Manager who also manages the IT Support Manager and Officer posts. The team will be led by the Head of IT Security and Technical Services.

About your line manager

The Senior Technical Services Manager brings over 25 years of digital experience and has been with HEFCW, Medr’s predecessor, since 2019, having seconded from a local Governments Network Team. As lead Technical Architect, he had a key role in the design and implementation of Medr’s IT environments, security profile, corporate IT systems, client solutions, data management processes, governance controls, and IT risk management.

Person specification

What you'll bring

Attributes

• Drive: You lead by example, showing dedication and perseverance in meeting organisational objectives..
• Agile: You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.
• Resilient : You lead with resilience in terms of uncertainty and change, inspiring your team to persevere despite obstacle
• Dynamic - You encourage a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation and learning.

Experience

• Technical experience in securing Microsoft Azure and Office 365 environments, with hands-on knowledge of cloud security tools such as Microsoft Sentinel, Purview or Microsoft Defender for Endpoint/Cloud SIEM tools. Capable of analysing and interpreting security events and logs, and performing digital forensics tasks. Experienced in responding to threat intelligence and vulnerability management platforms.
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity frameworks, regulatory compliance requirements such as UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and expertise with security technologies including firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection/prevention systems. Possesses strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving abilities, as well as proficiency in preparing clear and effective technical and non-technical reports.

Welsh language requirements

We have evaluated that the Welsh language requirements for this post are:

Desirable: Welsh desirable means that while having Welsh language skills is useful for the role, it is not an assessment criterion, so it won’t disadvantage you during recruitment if you don’t currently possess these skills.

Qualifications

A bachelor's degree in computer science, cybersecurity, or a closely related field is typically required; postgraduate qualifications or professional certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+) or several years of relevant experience in information security, network administration, or IT risk management.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £39,457, Medr contributes £11,430 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).

Your Perks and Benefits

We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life, so in recognition of this we provide:

• 34 days annual leave a year (pro rata)
• An environment that embraces work life balance.
• A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone.
• Dedicated well-being time to all our people each week.
• A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.

Additional Support when you need it

We know that sometimes you may face challenges or life events that mean you need additional support.

• We provide a comprehensive employee assistance programme with remote access to resources and in person support whenever required.
• We have a special leave policy ensuring everyone in the organisation receives the support they need during difficult times.

More than just a workplace

• You will be entitled to take 5 days paid leave per year to undertake voluntary work to support the communities we serve.
• We will encourage you to grow your networks across Wales, the UK and internationally.
• We have an active social committee who offer a range of activities for our people to come together outside the work setting. You can participate as much or as little as you want.

Personal and professional development

• Once you’re offered a post, we will get to know you and work with you to develop a personalised onboarding plan which considers your experience, skills, learning style and knowledge.
• We’ll help you shape your development plans with personalised career conversations and objectives, taking account of delivery goals alongside your career aspirations and helping you own your career.
• We support all our staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills.

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

We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation.

Our assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.

If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application and personal statement through Civil Service Jobs.

The following attributes/experience will be assessed at sift stage:

Attributes

• Agile: You drive forward improvements, through collaboration, embracing new technologies and nurturing a culture of continuous learning.
• Dynamic - You encourage a culture of innovation and continuous improvement, encouraging experimentation and learning.

Experience

• Technical experience in securing Microsoft Azure and Office 365 environments, with hands-on knowledge of cloud security tools such as Microsoft Sentinel or Microsoft Defender for Endpoint/Cloud SIEM tools. Capable of analysing and interpreting security events and logs, and performing digital forensics tasks. Experienced in responding to threat intelligence and vulnerability management platforms.
• Demonstrates comprehensive understanding of cybersecurity frameworks, regulatory compliance requirements such as GDPR and the UK Data Protection Act, and expertise with security technologies including firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection/prevention systems. Possesses strong analytical, communication, and problem-solving abilities, as well as proficiency in preparing clear and effective technical and non-technical reports.

To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:

• Late applications
• Applications with missing or incomplete information
• Personal statements over 1,250 words

The deadline for application submission is Sunday 23 August.

Applications are welcome in Welsh and will not be treated less favourably than those submitted in English.

All applications will be notified of their outcomes via Civil Service Jobs at sift and interview stage.

Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.

Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a short task, both of which will be conducted on Thursday 17 September.

In addition to the attributes assessed at sift stage, the remaining attributes will also be assessed at interview:

• Drive: You lead by example, showing dedication and perseverance in meeting organisational objectives.
• Resilient : You lead with resilience in terms of uncertainty and change, inspiring your team to persevere despite obstacle.

We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact swyddi@medr.cymru

We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our headquarters in 2, Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.

Following interview we are committed to offering constructive and actionable feedback to support you on your future career journey.

Next Steps

Interested…? Want to find out more?

We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session for candidates on Thursday 6 August at 13:30 on Microsoft Teams. This session will not be recorded.

This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.

If you would like to attend, register by emailing swyddi@medr.cymru.

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

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).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 : People and Culture Team
• Email : swyddi@medr.cymru

Recruitment team

• Email : swyddi@medr.cymru

Attachments

Swydd Ddisgrifiad- Dadansoddwr Seiberddiogelwch Opens in new window (pdf, 285kB)Job description- Cyber Security Analyst Opens in new window (pdf, 284kB)Canllaw i Ymgeiswyr ar Lunio Datganiad Personol Opens in new window (pdf, 112kB)A Candidate's guide to crafting a personal statement Opens in new window (pdf, 113kB)