About the company
We’re a digital insurance provider with ambitious plans to become the best and biggest in the UK market. Over the last few years we have invested significantly in data and tech, especially within our CIO function, and culture is built on collaboration, creativity and continuous improvement.
Role overview
As part of the CIO team you will lead security engineering practices and drive adoption of secure, agile delivery through continual improvement and culture change.
Responsibilities
- Promote a culture of reuse to optimise workflow efficiency and reduce duplication.
- Guide and coach teams on good security engineering practices and process improvements, building capability and maturity across the organisation.
- Support delivery of outcomes efficiently by reducing manual execution.
- Ensure fast, reliable feedback loops to enable fail‑fast delivery and continuous improvement.
- Define and implement best practices and controls, ensuring adherence and enabling early detection of issues.
- Drive engagement and collaboration across Scrum teams and the CIO community, leading the definition and adoption of best practices to enable faster, secure and more reliable delivery.
Qualifications & Skills
- Extensive practical experience in IT security in an agile environment.
- Transformational leadership with influence on decision‑making and implementation of new processes to support the company’s vision.
- Excellent mentoring skills to support direct reports in their ongoing development.
- Proven experience designing, implementing and securing cloud environments, with strong emphasis on Microsoft Azure services.
- In‑depth knowledge of cloud security best practices, network security, identity and access management, encryption and secure coding principles.
- Strong problem‑solving skills and ability to analyse complex security issues and develop effective solutions.
- Effective communication and collaboration skills for cross‑functional teams.
- Track record of designing, building and deploying scalable, secure and highly available security infrastructures using Azure.
- Proficiency in leveraging data and advanced analytics to drive decision‑making and continuously enhance security solutions.
Tools & Technologies
- Proficient in agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, SAFe).
- Experience with backlog and test case management in systems such as Jira or Octane.
- Expertise in cloud technologies and regulatory compliance (GDPR, ISO27001, NIST).
- Hands‑on experience with Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) and micro‑services architecture.
- Familiarity with DevSecOps methodologies and tools, integrating security into the development process.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Defender, vulnerability scanning, SIEM platforms.
- In‑depth understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem – firewalls, IDS/IPS, load balancers, application gateways, proxies, M365, EDR, KQL.
- Expertise in Azure DevOps to drive efficient collaborative development and secure updates in code.
Unfortunately, we are unable to progress with candidates that require sponsorship at this time.
Benefits & Rewards
- Attractive salary based on experience plus car allowance, with annual pay reviews.
- Hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
- Annual performance bonus scheme.
- Private medical insurance (PMI) for Band4 colleagues.
- Life assurance cover and income protection at no extra cost.
- Pension contribution match up to 10%.
- Access to discounts and cashback at everyday retailers, mortgage advice and financial wellbeing support.
- Mental wellbeing programme – 24/7 colleague assistance, mental health first aiders and support groups.
- 27 days annual leave plus bank holidays, with option to buy or sell a week’s contracted leave.
- Additional benefits such as health‑care cash‑back plans, dental plans, discounted health assessments, cycle‑to‑work and tech schemes, onsite facilities and social events.
Equal Opportunities
Hastings Group is an equal opportunities employer. We treat people fairly and welcome applications from all suitably skilled persons regardless of gender, age, race, disability, ethnic background, religion/belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment or marital/family status. We have a thorough referencing process which includes credit and criminal record checks. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, we encourage you to inform us to provide the support you need.
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