Head of Infrastructure, Network and Security

Role Title: Head of Network, Infrastructure & Security

Reporting To: IT Director

Department: IT

Location: Hybrid

Employment Type: Full-Time

Purpose of the Role

The Head of Network, Infrastructure & Security is responsible for the strategic leadership, operational oversight, and technical assurance of the organisation’s IT infrastructure, enterprise network, and cybersecurity capabilities. This role underpins the delivery of core IT services and supports business growth by ensuring platforms are secure, resilient, scalable, and aligned to industry best practice.

The role operates as a senior subject matter expert , influencing IT strategy, architecture, and operational delivery—without direct line management responsibility. It works collaboratively across internal teams and third-party suppliers and includes ownership of Cyber Essentials accreditation, security audits, infrastructure architecture, cyber security monitoring and business continuity planning.

The role is also accountable for identifying opportunities to improve operational efficiency through automation and AI-enhanced tooling , while maintaining a hands-on approach when needed—providing mentoring, incident support, and solution design leadership.

Key Responsibilities

1. Strategy & Architecture

• Define and maintain the infrastructure and cybersecurity strategy in alignment with business and IT objectives.
• Provide architectural oversight for infrastructure projects, ensuring scalability, performance, and security.
• Identify opportunities to introduce automation and AI to improve resilience, monitoring, and incident response.
• Contribute to IT governance forums, investment planning, and technical decision-making.

2. Infrastructure & Network Services

• Oversee design, implementation, and management of infrastructure environments.
• Manage enterprise network services including MPLS, VPN, wireless, and perimeter security.
• Lead efforts to standardise infrastructure platforms and implement configuration and patch management processes.
• Ensure high availability, performance, and continuity of core IT services.

3. Cybersecurity & Information Assurance

• Own the organisation’s information security framework, policies, and controls.
• Lead the annual penetration testing programme and manage remediation activities.
• Ensure timely and auditable joiner, mover, and leaver access controls.
• Manage Cyber Essentials accreditation, including preparation, submission, and renewal.
• Coordinate responses to internal and external audits, ensuring readiness and compliance.
• Lead the delivery of cybersecurity education and awareness across the business.
• Maintain and govern documentation relating to security standards, procedures, and risk registers.

4. Business Continuity & Resilience

• Develop and maintain disaster recovery (DR) and business continuity (BC) playbooks and documentation.
• Define and validate recovery time objectives (RTOs) and recovery point objectives (RPOs).
• Lead regular DR testing and continuity exercises in coordination with relevant business units.
• Identify risks, dependencies, and single points of failure; implement mitigation strategies.

5. Operational Oversight

• Lead incident management and ensure root cause analysis and service recovery are completed.
• Oversee monitoring, alerting, and logging platforms to ensure proactive service management.
• Drive continuous service improvement through analysis of trends, incidents, and feedback.

6. Collaboration & Supplier Management

• Work closely with the wider business and IT Operations, Applications, Security, and Change teams to support cohesive IT delivery.
• Provide technical mentorship and subject matter guidance across IT teams.
• Support hands-on tasks where needed—solution design, troubleshooting, and critical incident response.
• Manage third-party vendors and MSPs, ensuring service quality, contract compliance, and risk mitigation.
• Contribute to the planning and management of infrastructure and security budgets.

Scope of Responsibility

• Strategic and technical leadership for infrastructure, network, and security functions.
• Owner of Cyber Essentials and other security-related certifications.
• Responsible for BCP/DR planning, documentation, and testing.
• Oversight of technical service delivery through internal and external partners.
• Collaboration across all IT functions to ensure platform alignment and secure operations.
• Support and advise on critical incident response and architecture design decisions.
• Support for peer IT leadership roles as needed to ensure service continuity.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

• Extensive experience (8+ years) in senior infrastructure and/or cybersecurity roles.
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Azure, enterprise networking, and cloud architecture.
• Demonstrable track record of achieving and maintaining security certifications (e.g. Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001).
• Experience in business continuity planning, DR testing, and IT risk management.
• Strong grasp of automation tooling, monitoring platforms, and modern IT operations practices.
• Comfortable working in both strategic and hands-on capacities.
• Excellent stakeholder communication and influencing skills.

Desirable:

• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CCNP, Azure Solutions Architect, ISO 27001 Lead Implementer.
• Microsoft Administrator certifications, such as:
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate
• Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert
• Knowledge of frameworks such as NIST, ITIL, or COBIT.
• Experience with Microsoft compliance tools (e.g. Microsoft Purview).
• Exposure to regulated industries or organisations with strict compliance obligations.

Key Success Measures

• Availability, resilience, and performance of core infrastructure and network services.
• Completion and successful remediation of annual penetration tests.
• Cyber Essentials and other accreditations obtained and maintained.
• Documented and tested BCP/DR plans aligned to agreed RTOs and RPOs.
• Positive outcomes from internal and external security audits.
• Effective onboarding/offboarding processes and access control documentation.
• Visible improvements in infrastructure reliability, automation, and service delivery.
• Positive engagement and collaboration with peers across IT and the wider business.