Cyber Response and Recovery - Assistant Manager (Proactive)

Cyber Response Assistant Manager (Proactive Consulting) 

This role requires current SC or DV clearance, or eligibility and willingness to obtain clearance.

About the role   

The Cyber Response Assistant Manager role will be working in the Cyber Response Services (CRS) Team within our Advisory practice. 

Your specific focus will be in the domain of proactive advice and guidance as it relates to Security Operations / Defensive Cyber Operations (Incident Management, Vulnerability Management, Threat Intelligence).

Organisations face increasing challenges operating effective security operations capabilities across threat intelligence, vulnerability management and incident management. This role helps clients build and mature these capabilities to improve cyber resilience and enable informed risk-based decision making.

This is a hands-on role, and an opportunity to join a high performing team that works with a wide variety of public sector clients, as KPMG are one of just nine tier 1 responders in the UK. As such, you will gain a huge amount of experience in a short space of time and will also have the opportunity to be put through a range of security certifications. 

We do work that matters with some amazing clients across government, defence, infrastructure, healthcare, financial services and large corporates. We secure mission critical assets and build capability, test emerging technologies, exercise national institutions and consult at the highest level. Our work is discrete, but high impact.  

Why join us?

• One of only nine UK Tier 1 incident response providers
• Access to nationally significant incidents
• Exposure across government and critical infrastructure
• Investment in certifications and training
• Opportunity to shape a rapidly growing capability

What will you be doing? 

• Working with some high-profile clients across the public sector on mission critical engagements. This will be to senior stakeholders (Grade 6 / SCS 1 and 2). 

• Advising clients and building solutions to proactive Security Operations/ Defensive Cyber Operations issues. This may include advising on Frontier AI use cases in cyber defence, designing operating models for threat intelligence teams, building technology at scale for attack surface monitoring or building concepts for at scale vulnerability management.
• Drafting well thought out and structured oral and written briefings.

• Liaising with clients on delivery, implementation and project issue. 

• Manage end-to-end delivery of consulting engagements, including stakeholder communication, project management, reporting, proposals, capability development, and mentoring junior team members. 
• You may also be asked to contribute to bid work, generating well-structured responses to bids questions for peer and senior review. 

The person

You will have a strong background in cyber-security consulting (and ideally security operations/ defensive cyber operations consulting). You will be a consultant first, technical / engineer second. You will understand complex concepts quickly and be able to digest them into bite sized tangible chunks for client receipt quickly and in an understandable manner.

You may have started in incident response, but its not essential – equally your trade may be self-taught/ learned. What's essential is a can do, proactive attitude while working with ambiguity. Our work often doesn't have all the answers to hand and so you will be comfortable working with ambiguity, consulting widely (internally and with the client) and addressing the issue collaboratively.

You will have experience in one of the industries we serve, but government, defence or healthcare is preferred. You will be aware of industry trends and for instance how Industry A can learn from what Industry B is doing. You won't have all the answers but will be able to create and execute a plan for getting them. Your views will always be well considered and measured. You will have sufficient EQ to understand and accept where you need help.

You will be credible in front of clients, some of whom are very senior, experienced and expecting of Big 4 pace, insight, scale and professionalism. Your communication style will be adaptive.

Skills we’d love to see/Amazing Extras: 

In the past those that have thrived in the role have had degree level qualifications, such as MSc in Information Security, IT or relevant STEM subjects, but it is not essential. Your rounded consulting skills can do attitude and proactive nature are more important. 

Essential:

• A broad understanding of the cyber security threat landscape. 

• Understanding of a wide range of information security and IT methodologies, principles, technologies and techniques. This will include emerging disruptive technologies in the Security Operations/ Defensive Cyber Operations.
• Excellent consulting skills, including the management of client stakeholders and internal teams.
• Excellent interpersonal, written and communication skills, to including the timely and effective drafting of top-notch client deliverables based on thorough analysis, insight and research. 
• A willingness to roll your sleeves up, learn, teach others and get stuff done (even if it is not your primary responsibility) to meet mission objectives. 
• Demonstrable experience getting to grips with knotty client issues and shifting the solution from left to right at scale and pace, and to an exceptional quality.  

Preferred:

• Demonstrable current experience of the Security Operations/ Defensive Cyber Operations domain. 

• Proven experience of dealing with cyber security incidents and associated response measures is desirable. 
• Understanding of emerging technologies such as Frontier AI, and its impact (positive and negative) on the domain of Security Operations/ Defensive Cyber Operations.

• Certifications and formal qualifications.

Location:

Our core hubs for this role are either:

• London (Canary Wharf); or
• Manchester (St Peter’s Square).

You must be within commutable distance to one of these locations. Current KPMG policy is 60% of the week with clients or our offices, 40% elsewhere (that can include working from home).