Technical Risk Adviser

As a Technical Risk Adviser, youll apply your technical expertise and business activities to help operational teams make informed decisions when using technology in complex and often time-critical scenarios. Youll assess whether proposed tools, techniques or approaches are secure, proportionate and aligned with mission needs, balancing potential risk against operational impact. Youll also contribute to the requirements and designs for technical systems, providing expert advice on risks, and techniques and systems to manage these appropriately.

Working closely with mission teams in the UK and overseas, youll support activity where technology and cyber capabilities are central to delivery, helping teams understand cyber risks and opportunities and producing tailored plans. With specialist training, this is a role that will combine technical breadth with practical influence. Youll assess solutions across areas such as cyber security, networking, hardware, cryptography and penetration testing, using a structured, analytical approach to identify risks. Youll provide decision makers and risk owners with advice on the technical aspects of incidents, including the impacts and appropriate responses. Additionally, youll work directly with engineers and stakeholders to develop pragmatic solutions that enable delivery while managing those risks effectively.

Incident response is also a key part of the role, including advising on impact, containment and remediation, and helping teams learn and adapt. Youll research and learn about relevant technologies, business activities, and the context in which the organisation operates, to stay up-to-date and ensure that advice is relevant and coherent. Alongside this youll produce educational material, such as blogs or a presentation, to share knowledge and expertise about an issue with the organisation.

Youll bring a strong technical background, with experience in cyber security or related disciplines such as network engineering, penetration testing, vulnerability research, systems architecture or technical capability development.

Crucially, this experience must have been gained within a national security or intelligence environment, giving you an understanding of the operational context and the importance of managing risk in sensitive scenarios.

Youre comfortable with analysing complex technical problems, identifying key risks and making balanced judgements, often with incomplete information. Just as importantly, you can communicate effectively and persuasively in speech and writing. You'll need to be able to persuade your audience, drawing out key points from complex technical scenarios and articulate your reasoning in terms that resonate with your audience, who often won't be technologists.

Curious and adaptable, you enjoy working across a broad range of challenges and can quickly apply your knowledge in new contexts. You collaborate effectively with others, build trust with stakeholders and take a pragmatic, proportionate approach to solving problems while keeping security, safety and operational outcomes in mind.