Head of Security

“Can you build and lead an AI-native Security function that keeps our people, customers, and business safe, while shaping the future of proactive, intelligent security services in a human-plus-AI world?”

As a frontier partner, we grow through great people, smart tech, and teamwork between humans and AI.

The Head of Security is Cloud Direct’s senior security leader and a member of the Leadership Team. Reporting directly to the CEO, the role owns security across the business, protecting our people, customers, technology, information and operations while ensuring security becomes an increasingly important part of the value we provide to customers.

This is broader than a traditional internal information security role. The Head of Security combines enterprise security leadership, technical credibility and customer-facing leadership. The role sets Cloud Direct’s security requirements, risk position and assurance approach, leads the security engineering capability, and helps shape future customer security offers.

As an LT member, the Head of Security shares responsibility for the overall performance, culture and direction of Cloud Direct, not only the security function. 

What You’ll Do:

Enterprise Security Leadership:

• Own Cloud Direct’s enterprise security strategy, priorities, roadmap and target security posture.
• Establish and maintain proportionate security policies, standards, controls and governance.
• Maintain a clear view of material security risks and provide objective reporting to the Leadership Team and Board.
• Ensure security requirements are embedded in business, technology, supplier and customer proposition decisions.
• Act as the senior escalation point for material security issues and challenge decisions where risk is not appropriately understood or managed. 

Security operations, assurance and incident readiness:

• Ensure effective prevention, monitoring, vulnerability management, detection and response arrangements are in place.
• Oversee security tooling, third-party security services and specialist partners, ensuring they deliver measurable outcomes.
• Own security assurance, control testing and the continuous improvement of Cloud Direct’s security posture.
• Lead preparedness for cyber and information security incidents, including playbooks, exercises, executive escalation and post-incident learning.
• Drive a security first culture across the business.

Security architecture and engineering:

• Set the security requirements and standards that Cloud Direct’s internal technology, customer platforms and engineering teams must meet.
• Work closely with the CTO and technical teams across identity, privileged access, Microsoft 365, Azure, endpoints, workloads, data security, secure configuration, monitoring and response.
• Partner with Head fo Business Systems to ensure security-by-design is applied to Cloud Direct systems, services, intellectual property and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Lead, mentor and develop the Security Engineers, establishing clear priorities, standards and development plans.

Customer-facing security Leadership: 

• Act as a credible senior security voice with strategic customers, prospects, partners and Microsoft.
• Build trusted relationships with customer CISOs, CIOs, technology leaders and risk stakeholders.
• Support major bids, propositions and strategic accounts where executive security credibility is important.
• Provide clear, practical guidance on evolving threats, regulatory expectations and security priorities.
• Represent Cloud Direct’s security point of view in customer briefings, events and relevant external forums.

Future Security Portfolio:

• Identify emerging customer needs and help determine where Cloud Direct should invest in differentiated security capabilities and services.
• Provide domain expertise and technical credibility for offers spanning Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, Entra, Purview, security baselines, identity, data protection, AI security and governance, and managed or co-managed security.
• Work with the Chief Product & Marketing Officer, who owns productisation, lifecycle, packaging, positioning and go-to-market, and with the CTO, who owns technical direction and engineering.
• Use customer insight, Microsoft alignment and operational evidence to prioritise propositions that Cloud Direct can deliver repeatedly and profitably.

Microsoft and Partner Leadership:

• Build strong relationships with relevant Microsoft security teams and translate Microsoft’s roadmap into practical priorities for Cloud Direct and its customers.
• Support Microsoft-led security motions, customer engagements, co-sell activity and relevant funding programmes.
• Evaluate security vendors and partners strategically, avoiding unnecessary tool proliferation and ensuring clear ownership and value.

Leadership Team Contribution:

• Contribute to company strategy, planning, investment choices and performance as a full member of the LT.
• Bring an independent, evidence-based security perspective while balancing control, customer outcomes, pace and commercial reality.
• Develop leaders and capability beyond the immediate security team, particularly across Technology, Professional Services, Managed Services and customer-facing functions.

What We’re Looking For:

• Significant senior leadership responsibility for cybersecurity or information security in a technology, cloud, managed services or similarly complex environment.
• Strong practical knowledge of Microsoft cloud security, particularly Microsoft 365, Azure, Defender, Sentinel, Entra and Purview.
• Breadth across security strategy, architecture, operations, governance, risk, assurance and incident response.
• Experience translating technical security risk into clear decisions for executives and Boards.
• Credibility with CIOs, CISOs and senior customer stakeholders, including during high-stakes or sensitive situations.
• Evidence of building, leading and developing security specialists or engineering teams.
• Sound working knowledge of recognised approaches such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework and the UK Cyber Essentials scheme.
• Strong commercial judgement, including the ability to distinguish material risk from theoretical risk and prioritise investment accordingly.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with the confidence to challenge constructively and make clear recommendations.

Highly Desirable:

• Experience in a Microsoft Solutions Partner, Azure Expert MSP, managed service provider or cloud consultancy.
• Relevant Microsoft Security certifications or comparable senior security qualifications.
• Experience designing, launching or operating customer-facing security services.
• Experience supporting regulated, enterprise or security-conscious customers.
• Knowledge of security considerations for artificial intelligence, Copilot and agentic solutions.
• Experience engaging with Microsoft security teams, programmes, co-sell motions or funding mechanisms. 

What We Offer:

• Responsible Time off (uncapped annual leave)
• Fitness Cash Contribution
• Pension Contribution
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Enhanced Maternity & Paternity Leave
• Life Assurance, Critical Illness, and Income Protection.
• Birthday lunches, a Fun Fund, and more.

At Cloud Direct, we believe that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our success. We are committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and strive to build a team that reflects the diverse communities we serve. We encourage candidates of all races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses to apply.

Thank you for taking the time to apply. While we would love to respond to everyone individually, due to the high volume of applications, we may only reach out to shortlisted candidates.

If you haven’t heard from us within 4 weeks, please consider your application unsuccessful this time—but we truly appreciate your interest and encourage you to apply for future opportunities with us!