Head of Security

Company Overview 

Metrea is a defence company dedicated to translating commercial innovation into solutions for the hardest problems in national security. With deep mission expertise, Metrea focuses on delivering effects-as-a-service across Aerospace, Electromagnetic & Cyber, Digital & Synthetic domains via its capability groups. Metrea also consists of support groups (including Operations, People, Finance, Legal, Strategy and Solutions) that guide the development of specific capabilities that Metrea's Files (product, projects, programs etc.) leverage to achieve their targets.

Group Overview 

Metrea Management is our global shared service providing support for the Capabilities in areas such as People, Finance, Legal, Strategy, Safety, Security and Information Technology.  

Position Summary 

As an Enterprise-level leader, the Head of Security owns and has full responsibility for protective security across the global organisation. Leading a team of security professionals, they will guide the development and implementation of a global, enterprise-level security operating model for the company, encompassing the broad spectrum of physical, personnel and operational security requirements. The postholder will set and promote the company’s long-term security strategy in coordination with senior leaders around the business. In an entrepreneurial and fast-paced environment, there will be a need to adapt and rapidly prioritise to changing business needs in support of the company’s commercial and operational objectives, as well as ensuring that security is adopted as an intrinsic part of the company’s unique culture.

Role and Responsibilities 

• Establish and leverage strategic working relationships with key leaders across the enterprise to promote the adoption of the security vision and strategy. 
• Taking a risk-based approach, and using sound judgement, allocate security resources to best support the businesses commercial and operational needs.
• Lead the enterprise through a process to determine its approach to risk appetite and risk tolerance, set against the context of the external threat landscape.
• Lead policy development through a structured process of consultation, collaboration, drafting and support to the business on implementation across the functional domains of physical, personnel, travel, executive protection, events, information and operational security.
• Lead the design and guide the build-out of a new security management system to deep-root the effective governance and oversight of protective security across the enterprise, as part of the overall integrated management system.
• Determine a fit-for-purpose, risk-based quality assurance programme and design reporting mechanisms to produce board and management level information on security performance. 
• Own internal relationships across the other domains of the integrated management system: Safety, Cyber Security and Quality to ensure cohesion; adopt common approaches where appropriate; and to maximise resources in a lean operating environment.
• Determine the security training needs of teammates throughout the enterprise and design a programme to cover the employee lifecycle, from induction through to exit protocols. 
• Lead engagement with external stakeholders, law enforcement and government agencies to continually refresh an understanding of the evolving threat landscape and assess the impacts to the enterprise.
• Chair the security review board and present topics for discussion in the senior forum for decision-making on security matters. 
• Oversee the occurrence reporting and investigations process to ensure a fully-functioning system is effectively recording and investigating security incidents. Take the lead on the most complex cases and engage with stakeholders to ensure satisfactory solutions are reached.
• Negotiate and lead relationships with 3rd party security vendors to onboard and ensure effective contractual, commercial and operational oversight.
• Ensure that security is fully represented within the company’s emergency response plan and act as the security lead in a crisis response scenario.
• Develop and maintain relationships with business development teams to ensure the security capability supports the bid framework and new contract start-ups.

Skills and Experience 

• Significant experience of leading security teams and scaling security programmes in a multi-national organisation.
• Highly developed ability to influence and effect change through persuasion rather than direction.
• Demonstrated ability to flex between the strategic, tactical and operational on a continual basis to deliver outcomes at all levels.
• Knowledge of UK/US defence indust