Senior Cyber Security Engineer (12 month FTC)

VIVID Housing

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

We’re VIVID! – We offer a vibrant, friendly, inclusive culture that supports, develops and attracts the best people! We’re recruiting for a Senior Cyber Security Engineer to join our team! Contractually based out of our Portsmouth office, this is a 12-month fixed term contract opportunity, working 37 hours a week, with a minimum of 20% of this to be office based to promote collaboration and team working within the CIDO team and other colleagues across the business. We'll consider remote working for the right person. Here’s the facts about the role: As Senior Cyber Security Engineer you’ll play a critical role in protecting VIVIDS data and IT infrastructure. Reporting to the Cyber Security Manager, you’ll act as a technical expert and trusted advisor, leading on security operations, risk management, and incident response. The role offers the opportunity to shape and enhance security practices across the organisation, ensuring systems, networks, and data remain resilient against evolving cyber threats. In this role, you will take ownership of monitoring and responding to security threats, conducting risk assessments, and implementing robust security controls. You will design and maintain secure architectures, develop and enforce cyber security policies, and ensure all systems and projects adopt a security-first approach. Working closely with IT and other teams across the organisation, you’ll promote cyber awareness, contribute to employee training initiatives, and manage security incidents through to resolution. You will also collaborate with external stakeholders, proactively manage vulnerabilities, and ensure systems are regularly patched and compliant with industry standards. A key focus of the role is continuous improvement and innovation, in line with VIVIDs values. You’ll stay ahead of emerging threats and technologies, recommending and implementing new solutions to strengthen security posture. Responsibilities include conducting audits, supporting compliance and accreditation activities, managing supplier security risk (including cloud services), and contributing to the organisation’s cyber security roadmap. You will also play an important role in strengthening disaster recovery capabilities, ensuring systems can be restored effectively and within agreed targets, and embedding security best practices across the wider IT function.

Requirements

Proven experience in a similar role
Strong user awareness and education
Experience implementing service improvements
Understanding of how to manage IT risks with cloud suppliers
Hands-on experience with SIEM tools or managed SOC services
Building and maintaining security systems
Working with technologies such as intrusion detection, firewalls, anti-virus, authentication systems, and log management
Solid knowledge and understanding of IT security
Solid knowledge and understanding of SIEM/SOC environments
Solid knowledge and understanding of Microsoft 365
Solid knowledge and understanding of Azure
Solid knowledge and understanding of Microsoft Defender
Solid knowledge and understanding of cloud technologies
Excellent skills in using technology to improve processes
Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities
Confidence to build effective stakeholder relationships
Ability to communicate complex security concepts clearly to a range of audiences

Responsibilities

Monitoring and responding to security threats
Conducting risk assessments
Implementing robust security controls
Designing and maintaining secure architectures
Developing and enforcing cyber security policies
Ensuring all systems and projects adopt a security-first approach
Promoting cyber awareness
Contributing to employee training initiatives
Managing security incidents through to resolution
Collaborating with external stakeholders
Proactively managing vulnerabilities
Ensuring systems are regularly patched and compliant with industry standards
Staying ahead of emerging threats and technologies
Recommending and implementing new solutions to strengthen security posture
Conducting audits
Supporting compliance and accreditation activities
Managing supplier security risk (including cloud services)
Contributing to the organisation’s cyber security roadmap
Strengthening disaster recovery capabilities
Embedding security best practices across the wider IT function

Benefits

26 days holiday (plus bank holidays) pro rata, with the opportunity to buy or sell annual leave
A productivity-related bonus scheme
A generous contributory pension of 6%. We’ll match employee contributions between 7% and 10%
Life assurance paid at x 3 annual salary
Private medical insurance
Health care cash plan called Medicash
Enhanced pay for maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave
Access to counselling, legal and financial information
Electric car scheme
Huge variety of in-house & e-learning courses
A range of coaching and mentoring programmes