Technical Security Governance Lead - Identity

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Why we're hiring:

The Technical Security Governance Lead is responsible for leading one or more technical security governance domains within Digital Security & Risk Management (DSRM). The role defines enforceable security guardrails and minimum baselines, monitors security posture and exposure, and provides independent oversight and challenge to Enterprise Technology (ET), DT&S engineering teams, and business-managed technology owners.

This role focuses on risk, exposure, and control effectiveness—ensuring that technical security risks are consistently identified, assessed, escalated, and reported—without designing, building, configuring, or operating technology platforms.

What you'll be doing:

Technical Security Governance

• Define and maintain technical governance guardrails, minimum baselines, and posture expectations for assigned domains.
• Translate enterprise policies, standards, and risk appetite into clear and actionable technical expectations for execution teams.
• Define exception criteria, escalation thresholds, and evidence requirements to ensure governance is auditable and defensible.
• Provide independent challenge to remediation plans and risk acceptances where residual risk remains unacceptable.

Compliance Monitoring

• Support audit readiness by ensuring evidence requirements are defined, traceable, and consistently produced by execution owners.
• Contribute technical governance input to ISO/SOC and internal assurance activities, including control operation validation where required.
• Identify recurring compliance gaps and drive corrective actions through agreed remediation plans and escalation routes.

Collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement

• Partner with Enterprise Technology, DT&S engineering, and business-managed technology owners to embed governance expectations into delivery workflows.
• Work closely with Risk Management, Client Assurance & Vendor Risk, and BISOs to ensure consistent risk visibility and business context.
• Communicate expectations clearly and pragmatically, enabling delivery teams to move quickly within defined boundaries.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to improve governance processes, automation, and reporting to reduce friction and improve risk outcomes.
• Stay informed on emerging threats and technical risk trends and incorporate relevant changes into governance expectations.
• Drive maturity improvements across domains through measurable targets and iterative uplift plans.

Domain Related Responsibilities - Identity

• Define identity guardrails including authentication strength, privileged access controls, and identity-based risk thresholds.
• Monitor identity posture signals (e.g., MFA coverage, privileged access hygiene, risky access paths) and escalate systemic weaknesses.
• Ensure identity governance is treated as a primary attack-vector control domain across cloud, endpoint, and product environments.

What you'll need:

Essential

• Fluent English – reading, writing and conversation skills.
• Demonstrable experience in technical security governance, security assurance, or risk-based security oversight in a global environment
• Strong understanding of cybersecurity policies, standards, and frameworks (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST CSF).
• Strong understanding of cloud security, vulnerability management, identity risk, and modern attack paths and exposure management.
• Experience working with global engineering and operations teams
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams.
• Ability to communicate risk and technical posture clearly to senior stakeholders and non-technical audiences.

Nice-to-Have

• Certifications such as CISSP, Azure, AWS, GCP or other related to the domain.
• Familiarity with posture and detection tooling (e.g., CNAPP/CSPM, EDR, vulnerability scanning, identity telemetry) and evidence management approaches.
• Working knowledge of agile methodologies.
• Experience in multinational, multicultural and matrixed companies.
• Bachelor's degree in Information Security, Computer Science or a related field

Key Behaviour's & Competencies

• Experience operating in decentralised or federated organisations — holding companies, media groups, professional services firms, or global technology businesses — where governance relies on influence rather than control.
• Demonstrated ability to build governance programmes from the ground up, including posture measurement frameworks, KPI/KRI design, and executive risk reporting.
• Broad technical security knowledge across multiple domains — enough to lead a specialist team, provide credible challenge, and recognise when you are being given an incomplete picture.
• Strong executive communication skills — able to translate complex risk and posture data into clear, honest narratives for senior and non-technical audiences.
• Experience governing across multiple regions and regulatory environments, with familiarity with GDPR and other major data protection frameworks.
• Familiarity with client data obligations and the reputational and commercial stakes that come with them.

 

Who you are:

You're open: We are inclusive and collaborative; we encourage the free exchange of ideas; we respect and celebrate diverse views. We are open-minded: to new ideas, new partnerships, new ways of working.

You're optimistic: We believe in the power of creativity, technology and talent to create brighter futures or our people, our clients and our communities. We approach all that we do with conviction: to try the new and to seek the unexpected.

You're extraordinary: we are stronger together: through collaboration we achieve the amazing. We are creative leaders and pioneers of our industry; we provide extraordinary every day.

 

What we'll give you:

Passionate, inspired people – We aim to create a culture in which people can do extraordinary work.

Scale and opportunity – We offer the opportunity to create, influence and complete projects at a scale that is unparalleled in the industry.

Challenging and stimulating work – Unique work and the opportunity to join a group of creative problem solvers. Are you up for the challenge?

#LI-Hybrid 

We believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we’ve adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office around four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

WPP is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to particular characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

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