Salary: £45,272 to £56,844 per annum (dependent on skills and experience)
Band: UKRI Band E
Contract Type: Open Ended - Permanent (Compressed hours & flexible working patterns available)
Hours: Full-time (flexible working available)
Location: Keyworth, Nottingham or Polaris House, Swindon- Hybrid working available
Closing Date: Sunday 4th January 2026
Step into the world where modern science meets robust information security. Protect the technology that powers groundbreaking discoveries and be part of the team that safeguards the future of Big Science. Here, you'll collaborate with leading engineers, researchers, and technologists to address the most pressing security challenges in a fast-paced, innovative environment. Every day offers you the chance to defend vital data and systems, ensuring that the pursuit of scientific excellence continues securely and seamlessly.
Discover the difference you can make when you bring your expertise in information security to an organisation at the forefront of global research - working alongside some of the brightest minds and most sophisticated facilities in the world.
Security
As a minimum, due to the nature of this role, candidates must be eligible for clearance in line with UK National vetting guidelines and willing to undertake the process. Please indicate eligibility in the written submission. Candidates not meeting this level of clearance will not be considered. To qualify, applicants must have spent at least three of the last five years in the UK, with the two most recent years being consecutive and directly before submitting their application.
The level of clearance required is security check
About the role
The UKRI CIO Group plays a pivotal role in leading and optimising the organisations critical enterprise technical services that underpin and enable UKRI's business capabilities. Within the group a team of Information Security Experts support the delivery of modern, secure, resilient and scalable services across a larger federated team of Digital, Data and Technology professionals to deliver impact across the organisation and the wider UK research and innovation system.
Join us for this rare opportunity to apply your experience in offensive security and threat intelligence in a dynamic, fast-paced security operational and strategic role in an organisation at the heart of research and innovation in the UK. Leading the Red Team of penetration testers your broad remit is to identify real-world risks to diverse technical landscapes, uncovering security vulnerabilities, actively exploiting findings, assessing additional impacts through post-exploitation, and providing proactive advice to teams on the most effective remediation strategies. The role encompasses the full scope and delivery of penetration testing, including closed-box network assessments, insider threat evaluations, credentialed application exploitation, thorough testing of human and physical security controls across the UKRI estate. In addition to these offensive security responsibilities, the specialist leads the external penetration testing call-off contract to ensure that UKRI receives high-quality, tailored assessments both internally and externally, supporting a continuous programme of security improvement.
Your responsibilities:
Implement targeted penetration tests and red team exercises to identify exploitable vulnerabilities.Develop and maintain offensive tooling to simulate adversary tactics and techniques.Monitor and analyse threat intelligence feeds to identify emerging threats and relevant TTPs.Produce technical threat reports and briefings to inform security posture and decision-making.Conduct proactive threat hunting based on intelligence-led hypotheses and anomaly detection.Support risk assessments with insights from offensive operations and threat landscape analysis.
Personal Specification
The below criteria will be scored during Shortlisting (S), Interview (I) or both (S&I).
Essential
Degree in a related subject or relevant comparable education. (S)Have two or more professional qualifications. These include: (S)
-CREST Registered Penetration Tester (CRT)
-Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP)
-Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) Certification
-GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN) Certification
-Company certification schemes from major vendors and equipment providers like Microsoft (MCP, MCSE) or Cisco (CCNA Security).
-CPSA, CREST Practitioner Security Analyst (or above)
-CISMP and/or CISSP
-CompTIA Security+
Extensive professional and practical experience in penetration testing. (S&I)Comprehensive technical expertise in mixed-technology environments, covering various operating systems, core computer fundamentals, networking, authentication, and cloud platforms like AWS and Azure. (S&I)Proficient with open-source penetration testing and assessment tools such as Metasploit, Burp Suite, Nmap, and solid understanding of networking configurations and products. (S&I)Ability to quickly adapt to emerging technologies, vulnerabilities, and new penetration testing tools. (S&I)Skilled in drafting detailed reports that summarize system analysis findings and provide actionable recommendations, demonstrating good communication skills for technical and non-technical audiences. (I)Creative and strategic problem-solver with indepth knowledge of security issues, including system hardening, management, and ethical penetration of security systems. (I)
Desirable: (optional)
ITIL Foundation. (S&I)Ideally Cyber Security Related Status (CHECK CTM, or CTL). (S&I)Demonstratable success in (security) service contracting and supplier management. (S&I)Proficient in forensic and security analysis using tools such as Wireshark, Fiddler, EnCase, Sleuthkit, and MITM proxies (e.g., Burp Suite Pro, SQLMap). (S&I)Strong expertise in web application security assessment-including REST APIs, XML/JSON formats, OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities-and Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) gathering techniques. (S&I)Advanced skills in programming and scripting languages (e.g., Perl, Python, PowerShell, C++, PHP, HTML), malware analysis, reverse engineering, and automation in bug bounty platforms. (S&I)Experienced in virtualization technologies, exploitation of enterprise infrastructure vulnerabilities, and active participation in industry conferences and groups (e.g., OWASP, DEF CON, BlackHat, BSides). (S&I)
Application Guidance:
How to evidence the criteria:
You are encouraged to use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in the cover letter to evidence your ability to meet the 'person specification' criteria in the job description. Cover letters should be no more than two sides of A4 (minimum font size 11). For examples of the STAR method, please visit: The STAR method | National Careers Service '.
Behaviours:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Leading a quality service.Changing and improving.Delivering at pace.Seeing the Big Picture.
Selection Process Details
We know different organisations use different processes, so we wanted you to know what to expect from us.
Stage 0 - Pre-application
If you would like to find out more about the role we encourage prospective applicants to get in touch with us to discuss the opportunity.
Stage 1 - Written Submission
Candidates will need to submit a written application which consists of 2 parts:
A CV - this should contain your work experience and any skills, qualifications and accomplishments relevant to the jobs you have completed based on the shortlisting criteria.A personal statement (max. 1000 words) - this statement should be used to provide examples of how you meet the essential criteria listed in the shortlisting criteria.
Applications will be reviewed for suitability and shortlisted. Please note, we will not progress applications that do not provide a CV & Personal Statement
Stage 2 - Interview
Applicants who are successful at stage 1 will be invited to interview. The interview will generally be 1 hour in length. The interview will consist of competency-based questions. A presentation will be required.
Stage 3 - Outcome
The panel outcome is decided and the successful candidate will be offered verbally first, followed by a formal offer letter.
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 below:
An excellent 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.
Plus many more benefits and wellbeing initiatives that enable our employees to have a great work life balance!
For further information on our benefits please see:
Benefits of working at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)
Please apply online, if you experience any issue applying, please contact Recruitment@ukri.org .
Please note, if you will require sponsorship to work in the UK, as part of your sponsorship application, you and any dependants travelling with you, will be required to pay costs directly to The Home Office for the application before you start your role with us. UKRI is normally able to reimburse some, or all of these fees after you have become an employee and this can be discussed with the Hiring Manager. For more information, please visit https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/how-much-it-costs or contact Recruitment@ukri.org .
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, we guarantee to interview all applicants with a disability who opt into the disability confident scheme and meet the minimum criteria for the role. 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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