Lead Security Architect in SECURITY ARCHITECTURE at Bank of England

Leeds, England, United Kingdom -

Full Time

Start Date

Immediate

Expiry Date

09 Jun, 26

Salary

81360.0

Posted On

11 Mar, 26

Experience

10 year(s) or above

Remote Job

Yes

Telecommute

Yes

Sponsor Visa

Skills

Security Architecture Strategy, Secure-by-Design Delivery, Architecture Governance, Cross-Technology Influence, Stakeholder Leadership, Threat Informed Security, Design Reviews, Risk Articulation, Technical Documentation, Infrastructure Design Patterns, Encryption Protocols, Networking Protocols, Stakeholder Management, Technical Documentation Review, Threat Modelling, Security Standards Definition

Industry

Banking

Description

Lead Security Architect, Technology Directorate Permanent Full time Leeds Job description You will be protecting systems that underpin the economy and modernising how our colleagues securely work every day. As Lead Security Architect, you’ll set the direction for secure-by-design change, shape guardrails (patterns, principles, standards), and steer major programmes so that cyber security, simplicity, and user experience move forward together. You’ll combine hands-on architectural leadership with great stakeholder influence to ensure our platforms and delivery teams build secure, useable, and cost-effective solutions from the start, blending strategy and delivery across systems hosted in our data centres, in the cloud and SaaS. Flexible Working Options: This role is open to flexible working patterns, these may include: Job share Flexible start and end time to each day Ability to adapt calendar as needed, this could be to fit in the school run, gym, or appointments A 50% in-office attendance requirement can be spread across the month to accommodate diverse working patterns, such as the flexibility to purchase a weekly train ticket for certain weeks Compressed hours (subject to approval and policy within the team) Working from abroad policy (subject to approval and policy within the team) Opportunities in Leeds: We’re excited to be growing our presence in Leeds, a city we’ve been connected to for nearly 200 years! Our modern, accessible office in the city centre offers a supportive, flexible working environment. Most roles, including this one, are now available in Leeds, giving you the chance to build a meaningful career outside of London while contributing to our mission from a dynamic and growing location. You’ll work collaboratively with London-based colleagues in a hybrid model, with regular opportunities to travel into the London office to meet and connect in person. Want to learn more? Discover what makes our Leeds office such a dynamic place to work by visiting our Leeds page for more details. A day in the role: Your day typically begins with a project team stand-up, where you discuss the current progress and any challenges faced by the team. As the representative for the cyber security division, you play a crucial role in resolving any issues that fall within your remit, ensuring that obstacles are swiftly addressed to keep projects on track. These meetings are usually conducted virtually, enabling effective collaboration between colleagues based in both Leeds and London. Should you wish to connect in person, there are ample opportunities to travel to London and work directly with your colleagues. After following up on several tasks, it is time for lunch. The office, located in the centre of Leeds, offers colleagues easy access to numerous local amenities. With cafés, restaurants, shops, and public transport all within walking distance, the convenient setting helps foster a comfortable and practical working environment for everyone. During the afternoon, your focus shifts to the review of a design proposal for a new service. This process involves a thorough assessment of the proposal’s features, carefully comparing them against the established security standards set by your team to verify full compliance. As you work through the details, you remain vigilant for any potential security issues. If you identify a concern, you collaborate closely with subject matter experts to evaluate the seriousness of the risks. Together, you devise suitable mitigation strategies, which may include introducing additional authentication steps or updating encryption configurations for example. This collaborative method ensures that the proposed service remains consistent with best security practices and supports the bank’s commitment to robust security. After the working day concludes, there are many opportunities to socialise within the bank. You can join a variety of clubs, such as board games, reading groups, sports, and other ad-hoc activities organised by the social committee, providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all colleagues. Role Requirements: Minimum Criteria Demonstrates a solid understanding of common infrastructure design patterns, enabling effective evaluation and implementation of robust solutions. Possesses a good grasp of widely used encryption and networking protocols, ensuring the secure and reliable operation of systems and data flows. Has experience working in a cyber role that involves stakeholder management, facilitating collaboration and clear communication across teams and departments. Displays proficiency in reviewing and assessing technical documentation to identify potential design issues, contributing to more secure and reliable outcomes. Able to articulate vulnerabilities as risks, providing clear and actionable insights to inform decision-making and prioritisation. Experienced in writing technical documentation, ensuring clarity and consistency for both technical and non-technical audiences. Essential Criteria Champion a modern security posture - threat informed and focused on measurable reduction of attack surface. Security architecture strategy & guardrails – define and evolve the security patterns, principles, standards, and roadmaps that guide projects and platforms. Secure-by-design delivery – partner with solution architects, SMEs and delivery teams to embed controls and use threat-led thinking throughout discovery, design, build, and delivery; ensure designs meet policy and technical standards. Act as senior architectural voice for high impact initiatives, aligning security capabilities to business outcomes and risk profiles, and shaping option analysis with clear trade-offs. Architecture governance – drive effective design reviews and signoffs; document how solutions interact with the wider enterprise and ensure compliance with our delivery and assurance frameworks. Cross-Technology influence – collaborate across Technology and business domains to translate strategy into target designs, balancing resilience with productivity and simplification. Partner with our Assurance team to land the right controls at the right stages, ensuring risk is actively surfaced and owned. Communicate complex security choices simply - at meetings/workshops, in option papers, and roadmaps that influence senior stakeholders and unblock decisions. Breadth and depth in IT/security architecture, with a track record delivering secure designs and steering multiteam programmes. Stakeholder leadership—comfortable influencing senior leaders and guiding engineers/SMEs; strong documentation and communication skills. Desirable Criteria Knowledge of well-known Frameworks (e.g., NIST, MITRE ATT&CK, ISO 27001) and the ability to apply them pragmatically within delivery. Team leadership experience either as a virtual team or direct line management experience. Relevant certifications (e.g., CISSP, CISM). The ability to acquire DV clearance (To be eligible to apply you must be a British citizen (either born here or naturalised) and one of your parents must be a British citizen or have substantial ties to the UK.) How this role fits into the wider Bank: The Cyber Security Division (CSD) is a distinguished team of cyber security professionals dedicated to safeguarding the Bank of England from cyber-attacks and related incidents. In 2023, CSD received the Financial Services Award of the Year at the National Cyber Awards, building upon prior recognition for individual team members at the WeAreTechWomen and Women in IT Awards, as well as Central Banking’s Best Cyber Resilience Initiative. Those working in Cyber Security are passionate about protecting the Bank from security incidents. The Bank of England’s complex technological landscape presents significant challenges, often spanning multiple systems located in internal data centres, cloud environments, and SaaS platforms. Addressing these challenges demands cross-team collaboration and a high level of technical expertise. The role involves assessing the security of solutions proposed by different bank teams. By working closely with colleagues across technology and throughout the organisation, you will contribute significantly to protecting the organisation and its information assets. Teams within the division are committed to continuously developing their expertise in a rapidly changing environment. Staff are encouraged to enhance their skills through both internal and external opportunities, including mentoring, training, and pursuing formal qualifications, in line with industry best practices. Our Approach to Inclusion The Bank values diversity, equity and inclusion. We play a key role in maintaining monetary and financial stability, and to do that effectively, we believe we need a workforce that reflects the society we serve. At the Bank of England, we want all colleagues to feel valued and respected, so we're working hard to build an inclusive culture which supports people from all backgrounds and communities to be at their best at work. We celebrate all forms of diversity, including (but not limited to) age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. We believe that it’s by drawing on different perspectives and experiences that we’ll continue to make the best decisions for the public. We welcome applications from individuals who work flexibly, including job shares and part time working patterns. We've also partnered with external organisations to support us in making adjustments for candidates and employees in the recruitment process where they're needed. For most roles where work can be carried out at home, we aim for colleagues to spend half of their time in the office, with a minimum of 40% per month. Subject to that minimum requirement, individuals and managers should work together to find what works best for them, their team and stakeholders. Finally, we're proud to be a member of the Disability Confident Scheme. If you wish to apply under this scheme, you should check the box in the ‘Candidate Personal Information’ under the ‘Disability Confident Scheme’ section of the application. Salary and Benefits Information We encourage flexible working, part time working and job share arrangements. Part time salary and benefits will be on a pro-rated basis as appropriate. Leeds salary £72,320 - £81,360 In addition, we also offer a comprehensive benefits package as detailed below: Currently a non-contributory, career average pension giving you a guaranteed retirement benefit of 1/80th of your annual salary for every year worked. There is the option to increase your pension (to 1/65th) or decrease (to 1/105th) in exchange for salary through our flexible benefits programme each year. The Bank has the discretion to vary standard accrual rates and dial up and dial down rates at any time and to withdraw dial up and dial down options at any time. A discretionary performance award based on a current award pool. An 8% benefits allowance with the option to take as salary or purchase a wide range of flexible benefits. 26 days’ annual leave with option to buy up to 12 additional days through flexible benefits. Private medical insurance and income protection. National Security Vetting Process Employment in this role will be subject to the National Security Vetting clearance process (and typically can take between 6 to 12 weeks post offer) and the passing of additional Bank security checks in accordance with the Bank policy. Further information regarding the vetting and security clearance requirements for the role will be provided to the successful applicant, and information about how the Bank processes personal data for these purposes, is set out in the Bank's Privacy Notice. The Bank of England welcomes applications from all candidates, but as a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) approved sponsor, we have a responsibility to comply with the Immigration Rules and guidance. As such, our ability to employ individuals who require sponsorship for immigration purposes is limited. The Bank cannot guarantee that you and / or the role you are applying for will be eligible for sponsorship and that any application made to UKVI will be successful. Eligibility will therefore be considered on a case by case basis. The Application Process Important: Please ensure that you complete the ‘work history’ section and answer ALL the application questions fully. All candidate applications are anonymised to ensure that our hiring managers will not be able to see your personal information, including your CV, when reviewing your application details at the screening stage. It’s therefore really important that you fill out the work history and application form questions, as your answers will form a critical part of the initial selection process. The assessment process will comprise of two interview stages. This role closes on 12 April 2026 Please apply online, ensuring that you complete your work history and answer ALL the application questions fully and in detail as your application will not be considered if all mandatory questions are not fully completed. We are the UK's central bank - and we are a bank like no other; known by our peers for our world-leading thinking on policy and strategy. Our mission is to promote the good of the people of the UK by maintaining monetary and financial stability. We seek to keep prices stable and people's money safe. We know our work matters to people, to families, up and down the UK. We are driven by curiosity and the desire to do important, challenging work. It takes a great team to run the Bank of England. We rely on each other to play our part. We benefit from a collaborative culture and long-established flexible ways of working, supporting our colleagues balance their work and personal lives. We strive to be a place where people feel they belong and have equal access to opportunities, because different perspectives helps us make the best decisions for the public. There's much to gain from working with us - from career defining work at the heart of the UK economy, being part of a fantastic team, and a rewarding compensation package. Join us and find a bank like no other. Together, we can make a difference. The Bank of England will use and protect the information you provide when you apply for a role with us, in line with our obligations under data protection law. This is so we can assess your suitability for the role and administer your application. If you’re successful we’ll use it to offer you a position and onboard you to join the Bank. If you would like more details about how your information will be used and your information rights, please visit our recruitment privacy notice

Responsibilities

The Lead Security Architect will set the direction for secure-by-design change, shape guardrails like patterns, principles, and standards, and steer major programmes to advance cyber security, simplicity, and user experience. This involves combining hands-on architectural leadership with stakeholder influence to ensure platforms and delivery teams build secure, usable, and cost-effective solutions across data centers, cloud, and SaaS.