Security Operations Centre (SOC) Analyst

Due the nature of the work and the requirement to be in a location with other team members the location is restricted to either Bristol, Reading or London., Defra is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people’s day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink., Defra’s Security Operations Centre (SOC) is accountable for protecting DEFRA against cyberthreats. Our SOC analysts monitor the network and investigate any potential security incidents.

We are seeking an individual to help build our capability. Working as part of a small team you will be accountable for providing security monitoring and incident response. Using cyber security techniques, you will be ensuring that the DEFRA’s security is maintained. Our Analyst are accountable for the day-to-day handling of alerts in our Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), incidents assigned to the Security Operations Centre and investigating indicators of compromise provided by Threat Intelligence. As a Security Operations Centre (SOC) Analyst you will use a wide range of tool and technical expertise, currently focusing primarily on user behaviour, cloud security & application security.

Defra is transforming its IT security processes via a security improvement plan and approach in line with our new multi-supplier IT operating model. As we develop and grow against this plan the range of services that are protectively monitored by Defra’s SOC will increase.

The SOC team is based in Bristol, Reading and London. The successful applicant will be expected to attend one of these offices for 60% of their working hours and no other office locations will be considered.

We welcome applicants with experience of working in a Security Operations Centre and other technological backgrounds or graduates in a relevant subject who may wish to move into this field of work, it should be noted that you must demonstrate transferable technical skills and a keen interest in cyber security to be considered for the role.

Please note this post requires Security Check (SC) clearance. To gain (SC) clearance all applicants are required to have been a UK resident for a minimum of 5 years. If this requirement is not met, the individual will not be able to progress their application further., * Accountable for detection, identification and triage of security incidents using the provided security tooling and IT Service Management (ITSM) tool.

• Expand, tune, and enhance rulesets for our SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tool etc to identify security incidents and reduce false positives.
• Support the Senior SOC Analyst with Major Incidents and assist the wider SOC team in recovering from security breaches, participating in bridge calls and investigations of security incidents and lessons learned as appropriate.
• Respond to Information Security related queries from stakeholders e.g. wider Security Team or suppliers.
• Work with our cyber partners to better know our estate and how to apply current threat intelligence to make it technologically relevant to our estate.
• Using current tooling run threat hunting queries regularly and investigate results.
• Work with other members of the SOC to improve our threat hunting capability and investigate IOCs (Indicators of Compromise) provided by Threat Intelligence or our cyber partners, including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC).
• Communicate and engage with a wide range of stakeholders, telling the story of our work and the service we deliver., Do not leave completing the tests until the last minute in case you experience any access or technical issues. There may not be technical support available after business hours and after 2pm on the closing date of 11th September 2026.

While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.

It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.

Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits; for further information visit the Reasonable adjustments for online tests - a candidate guide

Online Test Maintenance

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 4.00pm - midnight on 30th August 2026. You will be unable to access tests during this period.

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent – Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.

As part of the application process, you will be assessed on your experience. This will be evaluated by looking at your CV and personal statement, so please provide the following and ensure your experience is clearly demonstrated:

• A CV
• A 500-word personal statement: Referring to the ‘skills and experience’ sections of the job advert, please demonstrate how you are suitable for the role by providing relevant examples., Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.

The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.

Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.

The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time., * UK nationals

• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

• Experience of working in an Cyber Security environment and hold or be working towards a Cyber Security qualification at level 4 and above or an equivalent.
• A good communicator who has the capability to explain complex technical information to senior management and other non-technical staff using language that is plainly understood.
• Self-starter who is keen to learn about new and emerging technologies and cyberthreats and how those threats may apply to a public sector organisation.
• Demonstrate good customer service skills and experience with the ability to be adjustable in all situations., We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
• Making Effective Decisions
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Scenario-based exercise on Skills - Incident management and Information security, This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills., Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship., Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

Pulled from the full job description

• Childcare
• Employee discount
• Employee assistance programme
• Company pension
• Paid volunteer time
• Cycle to work scheme

• Season ticket loan, £34,765 - £41,375 National: £34,765 - £37,080 London: £38,795 - £41,375, plus industry leading pension and benefits. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’. A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP, Alongside your salary of £34,765, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £10,071 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

• 25 days leave (rising to 30 days over 5 years) plus bank holidays.
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 28.97%.
• A day off per year for the King’s birthday.
• Access to a range of retail discounts (these include supermarket, tech, gym, holiday, phone and more).
• Flexible working options such as condensed hours, part-time and flexi time.
• 3 paid volunteering days per year.
• Funding for professional membership of a recognised professional body.
• Learning and development tailored to your role and budget for training or qualifications.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• Cycle to work scheme.
• Health cash plan to help you manage health costs for a reduced monthly fee.
• Access to the Employee Assistance Programme open 24 hours, 7 days a week, that provides support to you during any times of stress or difficulty.
• Free access to Headspace for wellbeing.
• Season ticket loan for public transport., New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

Reasonable adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

We have around 1,000 colleagues across DDTS and our ambition is to make it easier and faster than ever for people to interact with Defra. If you are ready to drive innovation and push boundaries, we want to hear from you. Join us and together we will create a great place for living, and a green and healthy future for all.