The head of digital security will report into the DWP's chief security officer  Credit: John Stillwell/ PA

The Department for Work and Pensions is looking for a head of digital security to help ensure the smooth and secure rollout of online services for the Universal Credit programme.

The post comes with a salary of between £110,000 and £130,000. The successful candidate will report into the department’s chief security officer. 

Responsibilities will include spearheading the development of a “strategic digital security plan for online financial transactions within a cybersecurity environment”. The appointment comes with a particular focus on the ongoing execution of the Universal Credit (UC) policy.

The DWP said: “The head of digital security will rapidly scale the department’s digital security programme to ensure support for the full implementation and scalability of all UC online offerings.”

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The digital security chief will also be tasked with developing analytics tools “to be applied to user behaviours, at endpoints, networks, and applications”. Improving existing tools in areas such as identity and access management will also be on the agenda, as will managing relationships with major suppliers of IT security technologies and services.

The post will also involve the creation of a platform for analysing transactions to “detect unusual patterns identifying fraud, error, and security incidents”. 

“This role is for a highly specialised and technical senior leader,” the department said. “As head of digital security, a wide range of skills and techniques are needed to mitigate and manage online financial transaction risks across all business areas. The post-holder must have a working knowledge of digital security architecture, data security and analytics, an understanding of risk management, as well as an appreciation of industry solutions and their application to the field of digital and online financial services.”