Information Security Officer

DHRM•Richmond, VA

About The Position

The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) is seeking an experienced cybersecurity incident response professional to lead its incident response program in alignment with VITA procedures, Commonwealth security requirements, and applicable regulations. The Information Security Officer is DBHDS’s primary point of contact with VITA and oversees incidents from identification through triage, containment, eradication, recovery, remediation, and closure. The role assesses severity, business impact, affected systems, data exposure, and risks to agency operations. The position coordinates responses to malware, ransomware, phishing, compromised accounts, unauthorized access, data loss, denial of service events, insider threats, exploited vulnerabilities, and potential PHI breaches. It analyzes security alerts and logs, supports forensic investigations and evidence preservation, maintains chain-of-custody documentation, and assists with root cause analysis. The officer prepares incident documentation, timelines, reports, briefings, and corrective action tracking, and advises agency personnel on incident reporting, escalation, and evidence handling. Additional work includes maintaining incident response policies, procedures, playbooks, and communications processes; coordinating quarterly tabletop exercises in accordance with SEC 530; supporting audits, assessments, FOIA requests, subpoenas, investigations, and ServiceNow ticketing; and providing 24/7 on-call support for urgent incidents. The position collaborates with infrastructure, identity, vulnerability management, applications, business units, CSBs, vendors, and VITA on continuity planning, disaster recovery testing, cyber resilience, post-incident reviews, compliance, and continuous improvement of DBHDS incident response capabilities. Telework may be available but is not guaranteed and requires approval under Commonwealth policy.

Requirements

Experience leading or coordinating cybersecurity incident response in an enterprise, government, healthcare, or public sector environment.
Knowledge of the cybersecurity incident lifecycle, including identification, triage, containment, eradication, recovery, and closure.
Experience responding to major incident types such as ransomware, phishing, compromised accounts, unauthorized access, data loss, DDoS, insider threats, and PHI/PII breaches.
Ability to analyze and interpret security alerts, logs, endpoint and network activity, vulnerability data, and threat intelligence.
Experience supporting forensic investigations, evidence preservation, chain-of-custody processes, and root cause analysis.
Ability to prepare accurate documentation, incident reports, timelines, executive briefings, and corrective action tracking.
Strong communication, analytical, organizational, and judgment skills.
Ability to work effectively under pressure and protect confidential information.

Nice To Haves

Experience working within Virginia state government, VITA, or another centralized public sector cybersecurity organization.
Professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, Security+, CySA+, GCIH, GCIA, or GCFA.
Experience in environments handling PHI or sensitive client information, such as healthcare, behavioral health, or human services.
Familiarity with Commonwealth security standards, SEC 530 requirements, NIST guidance, or similar frameworks.

Responsibilities

Lead the agency’s cybersecurity incident response program in alignment with VITA procedures, Commonwealth security requirements, and applicable regulations.
Serve as DBHDS’s primary point of contact with VITA.
Oversee incidents from identification through triage, containment, eradication, recovery, remediation, and closure.
Assess incident severity, business impact, affected systems, data exposure, and risks to agency operations.
Coordinate responses to malware, ransomware, phishing, compromised accounts, unauthorized access, data loss, denial of service events, insider threats, exploited vulnerabilities, and potential PHI breaches.
Analyze security alerts and logs.
Support forensic investigations and evidence preservation, maintain chain-of-custody documentation, and assist with root cause analysis.
Prepare incident documentation, timelines, reports, briefings, and corrective action tracking.
Provide guidance to agency personnel on incident reporting, escalation, and evidence handling.
Maintain incident response policies, procedures, playbooks, and communication processes.
Coordinate quarterly tabletop exercises in accordance with SEC 530.
Support audits, assessments, FOIA requests, subpoenas, investigations, and ServiceNow ticketing.
Provide 24/7 on-call support for urgent incidents.
Collaborate with infrastructure, identity, vulnerability management, applications, business units, CSBs, vendors, and VITA on continuity planning, disaster recovery testing, cyber resilience activities, post-incident reviews, compliance efforts, and continuous improvement.