Job Description:

Role Title: Cryptography SME

Duration: contract to run until 30/11/2026

Location: Knutsford, Hybrid 3 days per week onsite

Rate: up to £374.26 p/d Umbrella inside IR35

Role purpose / summary

• Undertake all team activities in line with client wider strategy, Crypto strategy and departmental goals.
• Ensure the integrity and availability of cryptographic and key management services to business functions and applications.
• Maintain accurate environment documentation, process and device categorisation.
• Provide ongoing assurance that risk and compliance requirements are being conducted to a satisfactory level & are evidenced to a required level.
• Generation of Key Components across various platforms (including IBM, Tandem, Unix) together with management of Cryptographic infrastructure.
• SSH Key Management.
• Certificate management
• HSM configuration/installation/support
• Incident management
• Change management
• ITIL
• Ensure the integrity and availability of cryptographic and key management services to business functions and applications

Key Accountabilities

• Cryptographic Hardware Management - including on site local configuration activities
• Support with resourcing, scheduling and distribution of work requests for HSM and Key management. Work closely with dates set in cooperation with Service Management to ensure smooth continuity of services and operations. Deliver to the required SLAs for all service.
• Gather, distribute, store, recover and delete cryptographic keys in accordance with defined procedures and to meet service, risk and governance requirements as part of a component handling team across a variety of platforms across core geographic locations globally.
• Management of Cryptographic infrastructure to include Out of Hours Support, production of Monthly management information and risk statements.
• Adherence to Group IT Security Standards.
• Problem, Incident & Change Management including root cause identification.
• Procedure / process development.
• Project delivery.
• Auditable Record Management.
• Excellent Risk and Control Maintenance
• Ensure governance and clear record keeping of activities undertaken to ensure an accurate audit trail required for attestation/Audit support.
• Take a proactive approach to improving operations and customer experience / turnaround.
• Assist in the management of any control issues identified via audits or other control issues.

Essential Skills/Basic Qualifications:

• Experience in Cryptography / Information Security
• ITIL Foundation
• Batchelor Degree in Computer Science
• Strong stakeholder management, able to influence and negotiate at all levels
• Attention to detail and accuracy of work
• Experienced at making informed decisions, against tight timescales
• Able to prioritise and manage multiple tasks concurrently
• Proficient in MS Office applications

Desirable skills/Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience in IT Security roles
• Knowledge of cryptography
• Industry relevant Security qualifications.
• Industry relevant Project Management qualifications.
• Experience in an Operational environment
• Operational documentation creation and maintenance.
• Deep understanding of change disciplines including change and release management and track record of delivering change projects in a timely manner with high quality
• Strong in incident response procedures and standards, strong communication skills and ability to articulate complex events to management.
• Experience of Sharepoint, Confluence and JIRA.
• Unix/Windows O/S skills
• Strong background in delivering privacy, compliance and data protection services

• HSM vendors: Thales (primary), Entrust, Gemalto
• Key management: Centralised, HSM backed, full lifecycle
• PKI: Enterprise PKI, certificate and SSH key management
• Crypto scope: Application, database, platform, legacy and distributed systems
• Automation: Python/scripting expected for HSM and crypto ops
• Governance: CISO owned, audit heavy, risk driven, on site controls

Key skills

• Cryptography knowledge
• Risk & Controls
• Strategic thinking
• PKI
• HSM Management/Configuration
• Key Management
• Working with Vendors / working knowledge of their products (Thales/Entrust/Cryptomathic etc)

All profiles will be reviewed against the required skills and experience. Due to the high number of applications we will only be able to respond to successful applicants in the first instance. We thank you for your interest and the time taken to apply!