Cyber Security Engineer – Vulnerability Management

Spektrum supports apex purchasers (NATO, UN, EU, and National Government and Defence) and their Tier 1 supplier ecosystem with a wide range of specialist services. We provide our clients with professional services, specialised aerospace and defence sales, delivery, and operational subject matter expertise. We are looking for personnel to join our team and support key client projects.

Who we are supporting  

The NATO Communication and Information Agency (NCIA) is responsible for providing secure and effective communications and information technology (IT) services to NATO's member countries and its partners. The agency was established in 2012 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

The NCIA provides a wide range of services, including:

• Cyber Security: The NCIA provides advanced cybersecurity solutions to protect NATO's communication networks and information systems against cyber threats.
• Command and Control Systems: The NCIA develops and maintains the systems used by NATO's military commanders to plan and execute operations.
• Satellite Communications: The NCIA provides satellite communications services to enable secure and reliable communications between NATO forces.
• Electronic Warfare: The NCIA provides electronic warfare services to support NATO's mission to detect, deny, and defeat threats to its communication networks.
• Information Management: The NCIA manages NATO's information technology infrastructure, including its databases, applications, and servers.

Overall, the NCIA plays a critical role in ensuring the security and effectiveness of NATO's communication and information technology capabilities.

The program

Assistance and Advisory Service (AAS)

The NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) is NATO’s principal C3 capability deliverer and CIS service provider. It provides, maintains and defends the NATO enterprise-wide information technology infrastructure to enable Allies to consult together under Article IV, and, when required, stand together in the face of attack under Article V.

To provide these critical services, in the modern evolving dynamic environment the NCI Agency needs to build and maintain high performance-engaged workforce. The NCI Agency workforce strategically consists of three major categorise's: NATO International Civilians (NIC)'s, Military (Mil), and Interim Workforce Consultants (IWC)'s. The IWCs are a critical part of the overall NCI Agency workforce and make up approximately 15 percent of the total workforce.

Role ID - C005149

Role Duties and Responsibilities

• Perform vulnerability assessment and technical analysis, including but not limited to:
  • Analyse the results of the vulnerability assessments when a new assessment is available.
  • Prepare, for every assessment report, a remediation action plan and provide it to the appropriate technical point of contact not later than two working days after release of the assessment report;
  • Interpret complex technical findings and provide remediation support to system administrators;
  • Assess the technical impact of the vulnerabilities in order to prioritise remediation, for all remediation plans being tracked;
  • Support vulnerability monitoring activities: review newly and publicly disclosed vulnerabilities and support the team in the preparation of NATO Security Bulletins.
• Perform remediation tracking and site coordination, including but not limited to:
  • Act as the technical point of contact for remediation towards site administrators and system owners;
  • Monitor and maintain the tracking of remediation activities for all open findings;
  • Produce weekly and monthly progress reports for the various stakeholders;
  • Chair technical coordination meetings with site administrators in order to resolve remediation roadblocks.
• Report on remediation status and support governance activities, including but not limited to:
  • Brief the monthly Enterprise Vulnerability Assessment Plan (EVAP) meeting, presenting the progress of the remediation activities;
  • Participate in status update meetings, activity planning meetings and other meetings as instructed, on site or via conference call capabilities;
  • Provide, at the end of the period of performance, a closure report summarising at high level the activities carried out.
• Execute coordination and information gathering activities within NCSC, NCIA and with stakeholders at the supported NATO sites, in support of the above activities.

Essential Skills, Experience and Certifications

• At least 5 years of practical experience in vulnerability management, with proven experience within the last 6 months;
• At least 3 years of experience in testing and validating that contracted deliveries meet the security requirements and fulfil the intended use cases;
• General knowledge of cyber security principles, best practices, concepts and technology;
• Knowledge of cyber security architectures, including boundary protection, encryption, identity and access management, monitoring and detection, incident response, vulnerability assessments and risk management;
• Practical experience with vulnerability scanners and their output formats, such as Tenable Nessus, Qualys or OpenVAS;
• Demonstrated experience in producing remediation action plans and coordinating their implementation with system administrators across multiple sites.

Skills:

• Ability to interpret complex technical findings and to translate them into actionable remediation guidance for system administrators;
• Scripting proficiency in Python (Pandas/NumPy) or PowerShell for parsing scan results and automating data handling;
• Ability to take ownership of tasks and strong motivation to accomplish them to the end, working both independently and within a team;
• Very good communication, analytical and writing skills;

Training/certifications:

• Relevant certifications in cyber security, such as Certified Information Security Manager (CISM), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) or GIAC Security certifications.

Desirable Skills, Experience and Certifications

• Familiarity with NATO security policy and supporting directives;
• Experience in working for or supporting a military or
• governmental organization.

Education

• A minimum requirement of a Bachelor's degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in a related discipline and 3 years post-related experience, or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate's particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to NCIA, that is, at least 10 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to those in this Statement of Work.

Language Proficiency

• Business English

Working Location

• Mons, Belgium

Working Policy

• On-site

Travel

• Some travel to other NATO sites may be required

Security Clearance

• Valid National or NATO Secret personal security clearance