Deputy Director Cyber Security Engagement and Compliance

The Joint Cyber Unit (JCU) is a collaboration between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England (NHSE). The JCU is embedded within the Digital Policy Unit (DPU), a unit comprising both DHSC staff and NHSE staff intended to design, plan and build adigitally enabled, data driven and safe health and social care system with ministers and the NHS.

The DPU is a sub-directorate of the Transformation Directorate, whichenables the delivery of the best care and outcomes for the NHS and the people it serves by improving population health and patient pathways, rapidly adopting effective technologies, building on insights from data and edge-cutting research, and by transforming the way that care is delivered.

Purpose of the JCU

The JCU sets develops and implements strategy, policy and standards for cyber security across the NHS and Adult Social Care in England. It has responsibility for designing, implementing and the ongoing assurance of the cyber security system risk management and compliance framework in place across the wider health and care system, as well as simplifying and transforming information governance.

As a Deputy Director the post holder will work across the Joint Cyber Unit, which leads on cyber security across the health and care sector (including for NHS organisations, NHS England Regions, Integrated Care Systems, Adult Social Care Providers, and major suppliers of IT products and software to the sector) and increasing compliance with mandated cyber security standards.

The role requires a strong understanding of cyber security or significant technical knowledge and will lead on:

• Leadership and development of teams across JCU
• Governance, Risk and Compliance
• Strategy and Policy
• Stakeholder management and engagement

It is expected that the postholder, will as be required, play a leading role in supporting the management of any NHS or wider health and care system cyber incidents and will oversee the High Severity Alert Process. This can mean being expected to work out of hours and at weekends.

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms -- enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR).This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

Candidate Essential requirements

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects.
• A willingness to train to gain or hold appropriate cyber qualifications. (ISACA: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• Strong understanding of cyber security or significant technical knowledge.
• Experience leading and creating large scale, complex engagement strategies.
• Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment
• Significant management experience at senior level in the NHS or other public healthcare related industry
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
• Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources (verbal, written and numerical).

Candidate Desirable requirements

• Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.

Important: Please be aware there are residency requirements you need to meet:

All NHS England Cyber Security personnel must hold security clearance SC level as a minimum.

To meet National Security Vetting requirements, SC clearances require 5 years continuous UK residency. In certain cases, this can be reduced to three years continuous UK residency, with additional overseas checks for the previous two years.

Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.

Please make sure you meet these requirements before applying for this role.

You dont need to have SC already, however, failure to achieve the requirements for SC after offer, will result in the job offer being withdrawn.

For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc or contact england.securityvetting@nhs.net.

Candidate Essential requirements

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects.
• A willingness to train to gain or hold appropriate cyber qualifications. (ISACA: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• Strong understanding of cyber security or significant technical knowledge.
• Experience leading and creating large scale, complex engagement strategies.
• Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment
• Significant management experience at senior level in the NHS or other public healthcare related industry
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments
• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
• Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources (verbal, written and numerical).

Candidate Desirable requirements

• Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.

Important: Please be aware there are residency requirements you need to meet:

All NHS England Cyber Security personnel must hold security clearance SC level as a minimum.

To meet National Security Vetting requirements, SC clearances require 5 years continuous UK residency. In certain cases, this can be reduced to three years continuous UK residency, with additional overseas checks for the previous two years.

Candidates who were posted abroad for service with HM Government, Armed Forces or within a UK government role - will still be considered.

Please make sure you meet these requirements before applying for this role.

You dont need to have SC already, however, failure to achieve the requirements for SC after offer, will result in the job offer being withdrawn.

For further advice please check https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels#security-check-sc or contact england.securityvetting@nhs.net.

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• A willingness to train to gain or hold appropriate cyber qualifications. (ISACA: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects.

Knowledge and experience

• Significant management experience at senior level in the NHS or other public healthcare related industry
• Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments
• Strong understanding of cyber security or significant technical knowledge.
• Experience leading and creating large scale, complex engagement strategies.
• Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.

Skills Capabilities & Attributes

• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
• Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources (verbal, written and numerical).

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent level or equivalent experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• A willingness to train to gain or hold appropriate cyber qualifications. (ISACA: Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• Experience of project and programme management techniques and tools such as Prince 2 or Managing Successful Projects.

Knowledge and experience

• Significant management experience at senior level in the NHS or other public healthcare related industry
• Demonstrated expertise in a Healthcare environment
• Extensive experience of delivering presentations to large groups of stakeholders in often pressured and politically sensitive environments
• Strong understanding of cyber security or significant technical knowledge.
• Experience leading and creating large scale, complex engagement strategies.
• Proven Board level experience of leading and delivering complex change and strategy development programmes in a politically sensitive and complex environment.

Skills Capabilities & Attributes

• Strong external communications skills in a politically sensitive environment with knowledge of and experience in handling media relations
• Ability to prepare and produce concise yet insightful communications for dissemination to senior stakeholders and a broad range of stakeholders as required
• Ability to analyse highly complex issues where material is conflicting and drawn from multiple sources (verbal, written and numerical).

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 a