hackajob is collaborating with Admiral Group Plc to connect them with exceptional professionals for this role.

The Head of Security Monitoring and Threat Hunting is accountable for the leadership, performance, and continuous improvement of the Security Operations Centre (SOC), across 3 countries (UK, India and Canada) delivering a resilient 24/7 cyber defence capability for a global organisation.

This role provides strategic and operational leadership across SOC operations, investigations, detection improvement, and automation. You would be responsible for developing a proactive, intelligence-led SOC that balances SLA performance with high-quality investigations and measurable risk reduction.

The role requires a visionary leader with strong people management skills, deep operational SOC experience, and a proven track record of modernising SOC capabilities through automation and AI.

Leadership Profile

• Visionary, risk-focused SOC leader with strong operational discipline.
• People focused leader with a track record of developing high-performing teams.
• Strategic thinker capable of translating vision into successful outcomes.
• Calm and decisive in high-pressure scenarios.
  
  

Key Responsibilities

SOC Operations & Service Delivery

• Manage the delivery of a global, follow-the-sun SOC operation aligned to enterprise risk and business priorities.
• Own SOC KPIs, SLAs, and quality metrics, ensuring performance targets are met without compromising investigation depth.
• Ensure robust triage, escalation, and handover processes are consistently applied.
• Maintain strong governance, documentation, and audit readiness.
• Own the continuous tuning and optimisation of detection rules to reduce false positives and improve signal quality.
  
  

Leadership & People Management

• Provide line management, direction, and coaching to SOC Leads, ensuring consistent operational standards across all shifts.
• Set clear objectives, performance measures, and development plans for SOC Leads.
• Build a high-performing, resilient SOC culture focused on professionalism, accountability, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective workforce planning, shift coverage, and succession planning within a 24/7 operating model.
• Work with other cross functional leaders/teams to implement efficient business processes and support the overall maturity of the Cyber function.
  
  

Proactive Investigations & Threat Hunting

• Establish and embed a proactive investigation and threat hunting capability.
• Drive a shift from reactive alert handling to proactive-driven investigations.
• Oversee case quality, root cause analysis, and post-incident reviews.
  
  

AI, Automation & SOC Transformation

• Lead the implementation and operational adoption of AI-driven triage and SOAR automation.
• Automate low-level case handling and enrichment to reduce analyst workload and improve efficiency.
• Improve MTTD and MTTR while maintaining appropriate controls and oversight.
  
  

Strategy, Governance & Continuous Improvement

• Define and deliver a SOC maturity and capability roadmap aligned to enterprise cyber strategy and UK regulatory expectations.
• Track emerging threats, technologies, and industry best practice to continuously evolve the SOC.
  
  

Required Experience & Skills

• 4+ years proven experience managing a 24/7 SOC within a large enterprise environment.
• Demonstrated line management experience of SOC Leads and Analysts.
• Strong background in security investigations, triage, and escalation.
• Experience leading or establishing proactive threat hunting.
• Practical experience implementing AI, SOAR, and automation within SOC operations.
• Understanding of modern threat actor tradecraft.
• Ability to balance SLA performance with investigation quality and analyst wellbeing.
• Strong stakeholder management and executive communication skills.
• Experience operating in regulated UK environments (e.g. financial services).
• Experience delivering SOC maturity transformation.
  
  

Desirable Qualifcations

• CISSP, CISM, or GIAC certifications (GCIA, GCIH, GCED).