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Posted July 02, 2026

Director of Cyber Security Operations

S.P. Richards Company
Atlanta, Georgia, United States 30339 Full-Time
Reference: 285599134
S.P. Richards Company

S.P. Richards is an Equal Opportunity Employer and fully subscribes to the principles of Equal Employment Opportunity. The company ensures that all applicants and employees are considered for hire, promotion and job status, without regard to race, color, religion, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Job Description:


The Director of Cybersecurity Operations leads the institution’s cybersecurity operations and risk management program to protect information assets and enable business objectives. This role owns the strategy and execution for security monitoring and detection, incident response (SIRT), vulnerability and exposure management, digital forensics, and cybersecurity governance and compliance. The Director partners with IT and business leaders to embed security-by-design across initiatives, defines operational playbooks and metrics, and continuously improves processes through automation and modern security practices. This position provides people leadership for the cybersecurity team and manages the department budget, vendor/partner relationships, and executive reporting on cyber risk and security performance.



RESPONSIBILITIES:

  • Provide cybersecurity risk management leadership aligned to institutional strategy and operational priorities.
  • Set the vision, roadmap, objectives, and operating model for cybersecurity operations (SOC/SIRT), including staffing, on-call coverage, and budget management.
  • Lead the Security Incident Response Team (SIRT) program: build and maintain response plans and playbooks; run tabletop exercises; act as incident commander for major events.
  • Direct 24x7 (or defined-hours) security monitoring and response workflows, including SIEM, EDR/XDR, alert triage, escalation, and continuous detection tuning.
  • Oversee investigation, containment, eradication, and recovery for cybersecurity incidents; coordinate legal, HR, communications, insurance, and external partners as required (including law enforcement when appropriate).
  • Own the vulnerability and exposure management program: scanning, prioritization, risk-based remediation tracking, patch coordination, and reporting.
  • Lead the digital forensics and evidence-handling capability (internal or outsourced), ensuring repeatable processes and defensible documentation.
  • Leading hands on cybersecurity engineering efforts to design, deploy, and operate security controls that improve prevention, detection, and response across cloud and on-prem environments.
  • Direct cybersecurity policy, governance, and compliance activities; develop and maintain security policies/standards and support audits and regulatory requirements.
  • Define security metrics, KPIs, and executive reporting mechanisms to measure program effectiveness and communicate the state of cyber risk to leadership.
  • Manage vendor and managed service relationships (e.g., SOC tooling, MDR providers), including SLAs, performance reviews, and renewal planning.
  • Partner with organizational leadership and project teams to ensure initiatives incorporate appropriate controls and standards (e.g., secure configuration, logging, access controls, data protection).
  • Support cyber insurance program needs by providing documentation, controls evidence, and incident response readiness inputs.
  • Build, coach, and develop a high-performing cybersecurity team; establish goals, performance expectations, and professional development plans.


Competencies 

  • Apolitical
  • Communication
  • Customer Focus
  • Decision Making/Judgment
  • Delivers Results
  • Employee Engagement/Loyalty
  • Humility
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Leadership
  • Managerial Courage
  • People Development
  • Professionalism
  • Strategic Thinking/Management
  • Vision and Values

 

Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Cybersecurity, Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and experience). Masters Degree preferred.
  • 10+ years of progressive experience in cybersecurity and/or technology risk, including security operations, incident response, and vulnerability management.
  • 5+ years of people leadership experience (team lead/manager/director), including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
  • Hands-on understanding of security operations technologies and processes (e.g., SIEM, EDR/XDR, SOAR, vulnerability scanners, threat intelligence, email/web security).
  • Strong knowledge of security governance, risk, and compliance concepts; experience supporting audits and regulatory requirements.
  • Working knowledge of common security frameworks and standards (e.g., NIST CSF, NIST 800-53, ISO/IEC 27001) and ability to translate them into practical controls.
  • Experience securing modern environments (cloud and hybrid) and partnering with infrastructure and application teams to implement security-by-design.
  • Demonstrated ability to communicate cyber risk to non-technical stakeholders and present clear, actionable recommendations to executive leadership.
  • Strong interpersonal skills, prioritization, problem-solving, and change management skills in a complex environment.
  • Preferred certifications: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, GIAC (e.g., GSEC/GCIH), or equivalent.



LANGUAGE SKILLS:

  • Ability to read, analyze, and interpret business periodicals, professional journals, technical procedures, and applicable regulations. Ability to write reports, business correspondence, and procedure documentation. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from leaders, clients, customers, and the public. Must be able to communicate clearly with staff to ensure shared understanding of tasks, priorities, and schedules, and with end users/customers to support timely issue resolution.

 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
  • While performing the duties of this job, the employee is occasionally required to stand; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and talk or hear. The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. 

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

  • The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
  • While performing the duties of this job the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; talk or hear and taste or smell. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk and sit.
  • The employee is occasionally required to lift up to 50 pounds. The vision requirements include: close vision, distance vision, peripheral vision and ability to adjust focus.
  • The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.






Equal employment opportunity, including veterans and individuals with disabilities.

PI285599134

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