VP, Cyber Assurance & Defense

Summary of Role

The Vice President of Cyber Assurance and Defense is responsible for designing, operating, and maturing a comprehensive, risk-based cyber assurance and defense program for a complex, highly regulated financial institution.

Cyber Assurance & Defense Leadership

• Provide oversight of the Cyber Assurance & Defense function (includes Cyber Defense and Identity Governance)
• Defensive security monitoring and detection
• Offensive security (penetration testing, red/purple teaming)
• Digital forensics and investigations
• Identity and Access governance (IAG)
• Act as the technical security expert, independently validating initiatives/project situations, security control design, effectiveness, and sustainability

Program Maturity & Continuous Improvement

• Design and execute a multi-year cybersecurity maturity roadmap addressing:
• Vulnerability and exposure management
• Security architecture and technical design reviews
• Security tool rationalization and roadmap planning
• Early warning detection capabilities using SIEM and UEBA
• Deception technologies and advanced detection engineering
• Mature security capabilities from ad-hoc to defined, repeatable, and measurable, with regulator defensible documentation and evidence

Cyber Defense, Detection & Incident Response (IR)

• Enhance and oversee the Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (CIRT) program
• Maintain updated IR plans, playbooks, and runbooks to align with evolving threats
• Define roles and escalation paths
• Executive and regulator communication standards
• Tabletop exercises and live simulations
• Oversee forensic investigations involving:
• Endpoint, network, cloud, and SaaS platforms
• Insider threat activity
• Credential misuse and account compromise
• Ensure lessons learned are operationalized into control improvements

Identity & Access Governance (IAG)

• Architect and lead a centralized enterprise IAG program
• Encourage Role Based Access Control (RBAC) least privilege enforcement
• Segregation of duties (SoD)
• Privileged Access Management (PAM)
• Assess, select, and implement user access governance platforms appropriate for financial services scale and risk
• Centralize access risk decisions based on application criticality, data sensitivity, and regulatory impact

Risk Identification, Assessment & Reporting

• Identify emerging cyber threats and systemic risks impacting:
• Core banking systems
• Cloud (AWS) and SaaS platforms (Microsoft 365)
• Digital channels and member facing technologies
• Translate technical findings into clear risk statements with prioritized remediation recommendations
• Develop cyber risk metrics, KRIs, and dashboards to:
• Inform senior leadership and board committees
• Optimize investment decisions
• Demonstrate risk reduction over time

Technology, Cloud & Secure Engineering Advisement

• Review and challenge technology controls across are required:
• Network and infrastructure
• Cloud (AWS IaaS/PaaS)
• SaaS (Salesforce Shield, Microsoft 365 E5)
• DevSecOps pipelines and CI/CD tooling
• Ensure security is embedded in (security by design):
• System acquisitions
• Projects and initiatives
• Software development lifecycles
• Change and release management
• Provide guidance on secure AI usage, automation, and emerging technologies

People Leadership & Executive Partnership

• Build, lead, and mentor a team of highly technical cybersecurity practitioners capable of:
• Threat modeling and attack simulation
• Detection engineering
• Forensic analysis
• Technology and security control validation
• Serve as a trusted advisor to leadership and peers
• Communicate complex security concepts clearly to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

Minimum Job Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive, hands-on technical information security experience in financial services or similarly regulated industries
• Ability to deliver risk-focused recommendations balancing cost and benefit
• 5+ years at a VP level or equivalent senior leadership role managing enterprise-scale cybersecurity programs
• 10+ years leading highly technical security teams, including direct involvement in:
• Forensic investigations
• Ethical hacking / penetration testing
• SIEM/SOC operations and threat analysis
• Incidence response
• ED/EXR
• Security tool implementations
• Experience operating under FFIEC, NCUA, CFPB, NYS DFS Cybersecurity, GLBA, PCI and regulatory scrutiny
• Technical Expertise (Required)
• Network, endpoint, and application security
• Cryptography, key management, and data protection
• Cloud security (AWS IaaS/PaaS)
• SaaS security controls

Technical Expertise (Preferred)

• CISSP
• CEH
• AWS Security
• GICSP
• OSCP

Starting Compensation

$200,000-$250,000, plus a competitive benefits package.