Salary: £94,931- £117,800 per annum (dependent on skills and experience)
Hours: Full Time or Part Time (Minimum 0.8 FTE)
Contract Type: Open Ended, secondees and transfers welcome.
Location: Polaris House, Swindon, Wiltshire. Hybrid working available with regular office attendance and travel across UKRI offices.
Grade: UKRI X
Closing Date: Sunday February 8th 2026
Proposed Interview Date: W/c 9th March 2026 in person. Please note, this date may be subject to change.
About the Role
You will report to the Chief of Operational Delivery and provide senior, organisation-wide leadership on security and resilience for UKRI. You will shape how the organisation protects its people, research, infrastructure, and reputation.
Working at the centre of an organisation that supports research and innovation across the UK and internationally, you will set the strategic direction for embedding security and resilience across all councils and major programmes. You will bring clear, authoritative insight in a complex and evolving risk environment, enabling informed decision-making across UKRI.
You will anticipate emerging challenges and strengthen organisational preparedness, helping UKRI prevent, withstand and respond effectively to incidents. Through this, you will safeguard the continuity and credibility of the UK's research and innovation mission.
Key Responsibilities
The Director, Security and Resilience is accountable for:
defining and owning UKRI's security and resilience strategy, policies and standards
acting as principal advisor to the CEO, Board and senior leadership, delivering timely, threat-informed guidance
building strong relationships across government, the UK intelligence community and the research sector to position UKRI as a trusted partner and thought leader
directing delivery of UKRI's security and resilience programme, including the Security and Resilience Operating Centre (SROC)
overseeing budgets (circa £1.4 million annually plus £4 million change programme) and advising on wider organisational security spend
leading and developing the UKRI Security and Resilience profession, managing a central team of 13 staff and a wider community of practice
ensuring effective incident management, continuous professional development and alignment with cross-government security guidance
Strategic leadership and governance
leading UKRI's security and resilience strategy, aligning with national priorities and influencing government policy
acting as principal advisor to the CEO, Board, and senior leadership on threat informed, risk-balanced guidance
chairing the Security and Resilience Committee and assuring governance across UKRI, including sub-domain groups and council-level processes
developing and embedding a pan-UKRI maturity framework, annual reporting and peer reviews
delivering a vibrant, professional and impactful UKRI security and resilience profession by setting standards and delivering inspirational leadership across the entirety of UKRI's security and resilience profession
Operational delivery
overseeing major programmes including the £4 million Security and Resilience Operating Centre (SROC) and UKRI-wide security initiatives
ensuring 'secure by design' principles in all programmes and projects
directing personnel security, vetting, supply chain assurance and sensitive information systems, for example Realistic Open Security Architecture (ROSA)
maintaining organisational security policies and delivering a coherent training pathway for security professionals
Risk and assurance
proactively managing UKRI's principal strategic level security and resilience risk
defining UKRI's risk appetite and ensuring effective management of security and resilience risks across all domains
providing second-line assurance through audits, maturity assessments and governance reporting
Culture and engagement
driving a positive security and resilience culture through KPIs, forums and leadership of the Security and Resilience community of practice
positioning UKRI as a trusted partner and thought leader across government and the research community
Incident management
implementing and maintaining a pan-UKRI incident management system
leading incident response, lessons learned processes and reporting to governance bodies and government security groups.
If you would like to request a copy of the candidate pack or require any further information, please contact the Senior Recruitment Team at seniorrecruitment@ukri.org
Person Specification
You will have significant and demonstrable experience of:
developing and delivering an impactful strategy that meets UK government requirements and is practical and achievable within the organisation
operational delivery across all security domains
leading in a complex and federated organisation
managing complex risks and issues in the context of security and resilience
directing and responding to complex security and resilience incidents
directing security and resilience within a large public sector organisation (ideally previous experience of being a senior security adviser (SSA) or equivalent)
engaging and influencing senior colleagues across a federated organisation and wider UK government
engaging with national technical authorities (NTA), Government Security Secretariat (GSecS) and UK intelligence community (UKIC) to achieve positive support and effective communication
Qualifications:
Hold a Masters' Degree or equivalent experience in a security and resilience related discipline
Hold relevant professional recognition such as being a Chartered Security
Professional (CSyP) or equivalent experience
Security
Due to the nature of this role, candidates must be eligible for UK security clearance and willing to undergo the vetting process prior to starting the role. The required level is Developed Vetting (DV). If you do not currently hold DV clearance, please ensure you meet the eligibility criteria as set out in the UK Government guidance before applying: National Security Vetting
Application Guidance
As part of your application, you will need to submit:
A Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A Supporting Statement
Your CV and supporting statement should each be no more than two to three pages in length.
Supporting Statement Guidance
Your supporting statement is a key part of your application. It should clearly explain why you are suitable for this role, providing specific evidence of how you meet the requirements outlined in the person specification.
To help structure your statement, we encourage you to address each criterion in the person specification using the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result). This will help you present your experience in a clear and consistent way. Further guidance on the STAR method is available from the National Careers Service.
Please note, failure to provide a supporting statement/CV or failure to address the above points may result in your application not being considered further.
You will only be assessed on the content of your CV and supporting statement, and not the 'experience' section of the application on the Careers Portal.
If you experience any issues applying online, please contact seniorrecruitment@ukri.org
Important Information about the Assessment Process
The selection process will include a panel interview and a presentation. Candidates will also be required to complete psychometric testing, and there may be additional fireside discussions. Interviews will be held in person in London. Please note that dates and details are subject to change.
Benefits
We recognise and value our employees as individuals and aim to provide a favourable pay and rewards package. We are committed to supporting employees' development and promote a culture of continuous learning. A list of benefits included below;
An outstanding defined benefit pension scheme
30 days' annual leave in addition to 10.5 public and privilege days (full time equivalent)
Employee discounts and offers on retail and leisure activities
Employee assistance programme, providing confidential help and advice
Flexible working options
Visit our dedicated benefits page for more info: Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
UKRI - UK Research and Innovation
UKRI is an organisation that brings together the seven disciplinary research councils, Research England and Innovate UK. Together, we build an independent organisation with a strong voice and vision ensuring the UK maintains its world-leading position in research and innovation.
Supporting some of the world's most exciting and challenging research projects, we develop and operate some of the most remarkable scientific facilities in the world. We are pushing the frontiers of human knowledge through fundamental research and delivering benefits for UK society and the economy through world-class research, skills and business-led innovation.
More information can be found at www.ukri.org .
Choosing to come to work at UKRI means that you will have access to a whole host of benefits from a defined benefit pension scheme, excellent holiday entitlement, access to employee shopping/travel discounts and salary sacrifice cycle to work scheme. For more details, visit benefits of working for UKRI .
How we support EDI in the workforce
At UKRI, we believe that everyone has a right to be treated with dignity and respect, and to be provided with equal opportunities to thrive and succeed in an environment that enables them to do so. We also value diversity of thought and experience within inclusive groups, organisations and the wider community. For further information, please visit 'How we support EDI in the workforce'.
Disability Confident Employer
As users of the disability confident scheme, any candidate who opts into the scheme and best meets the essential criteria, will be shortlisted for interview. We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.
How to apply
Online applications only preferred for this role. Please submit a CV and covering letter which clearly outlines how you fulfil the criteria specified along with your motivation for UKRI and the role. Ensure that the job reference number is included in the filename description of each document uploaded. Note that failure to address the above criteria or submit an application without a covering letter may result in the application not being considered. Assessment will only be based upon the content of your submitted covering letter and CV and not the 'experience' section of the application.
UKRI seeks to ensure it creates and maintains a system of openness, fairness and inclusion - a collaborative, trusted environment, which is attractive to and accessible to everyone who is interested in developing their career with us.
The role holder will be required to have the appropriate level of security screening/vetting required for the role. UKRI reserves the right to run or re-run security clearance as required during the course of employment.
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