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# Head of Department AI and Technology Security Operations

- **Company:** Financial Conduct Authority
- **Location:** London, UK
- **Experience:** Expert
- **Salary:** £140,000.0 - £190,000.0
- **Contract:** Permanent contract
- **Skills:** Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Cyber Security, DevOps, Software Vulnerability Management, AI Platforms, Data Analytics, Virtual Agents, Software Version Control
- **Published:** September 11, 2026
- **Apply:** https://www.totaljobs.com/job/head-of-technology/financial-conduct-authority-job107968237

## About the Role

We're proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long-term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role's key requirements. (To learn more about the Disability Confident Scheme Click Here), * Hands on experience, however recent, with AI or agentic AI technologies.

 * Familiarity with UK regulatory frameworks relating to operational resilience, critical third parties, cyber resilience, and AI governance.
 * Experience within financial services, government, regulatory, or other highly regulated environments

Essential

 * Strong stakeholder management, capable of engaging with and developing strong trusting relationships with stakeholders from across a business organisation and at senior levels, as well as third parties.
 * Evidence of managing supplier relationships across a complex supplier and contract environment
 * Knowledge of NIST AI RMF, ISO 42001, ISO 27001, DORA, or similar frameworks.
 * An ability to manage and control risk, embed good practice, and drive change where necessary.
 * In-depth working knowledge of multiple domains, including Engineering, DevOps, AI, Cyber Security and Cloud technology platforms.
 * Experience of driving change and process efficiency/improvements, delivering value for money and innovation.
 * Ability to inclusively lead a large group of talented individuals with a wide variety of professional expertise, experience, and backgrounds.

## Description

We have an exciting opportunity for a permanent Head of AI & Technology Security Operations. This role is designed for an experienced manager, senior technical specialist, or existing Head of Department with proven experience of leading teams and operating at scale in a rapidly evolving digital and AI-driven operating environment. The successful candidate will strengthen their strategic and operational leadership while overseeing high-tempo, service-critical digital and AI operations.

The Head of AI & Technology Security Operations is accountable for ensuring that the FCA's technology estate - including rapidly expanding AI capabilities - is robust, secure, and able to withstand, detect, and recover from disruption, failure, or exploitation.

The role brings together operational resilience, infrastructure governance, supplier oversight, and enterprise technology and AI-specific vulnerability management, ensuring that both traditional infrastructure and AI-enabled systems are designed, operated, and governed to remain safe, dependable, and trustworthy under stress.
Working in close collaboration with C&IR (Cyber and Information Resilience), this HoD plays a critical leadership role in implementing and managing the technology controls needed to anticipate and mitigate AI-driven risks, including model vulnerabilities, upstream dependency risks, data poisoning, adversarial attacks, and control failures arising from increased autonomy and scale.

This role will be responsible for leading, motivating and directing the department (~70FTE) across London, Leeds, & Edinburgh; and managing the FCA's critical Digital and AI systems, including AI live service, Service Desk, Incident Management, Cyber Security Operations and Supplier Management.

This is a fantastic development opportunity which will help to build expertise, experience and career skills in a senior, challenging and highly visible role.

The role will be reporting to the Chief Information Officer, and sit in the wider Data, Technology, and Innovation Division.

What will the candidate get from the role?
As Head of AI & Technology Security Operations, you will join the DTI senior leadership team at a pivotal moment in the FCA's evolution, supporting its ambition to become a forward-thinking, AI-enabled and data-driven regulator. You will lead a skilled multidisciplinary department, working across high-impact digital and AI initiatives to strengthen technology and AI risk management, improve resilience and enable the safe adoption of emerging technologies. Collaborating closely with Cyber & Information Resilience, DTI leadership, product teams and front-line divisions, you will play a key role in driving meaningful change and reinforcing the FCA's reputation as a trusted, innovative regulator.

Key responsibilities will include:

 * Leading the development and operation of the FCA's AI vulnerability and threat management capability, identifying and mitigating risks linked to AI model weaknesses, adversarial threats, automation and agentic AI systems.
 * Establishing clear frameworks and controls for the safe deployment of AI, including human oversight, monitoring, explainability, version control, containment and safe shutdown mechanisms.
 * Maintaining effective AI governance, including ownership, inventory management, risk classification and oversight of AI-enabled services across the organisation.
 * Acting as accountable owner for technology and AI risk, including control design, testing, assurance activity and risk acceptance decisions.
 * Providing clear, metrics-led reporting to senior committees and Board-level forums on risk posture, emerging threats, control effectiveness and material gaps.
 * Overseeing critical third-party and AI supply chain dependencies, including cloud platforms, AI model providers, managed services and data sources.
 * Ensuring supplier, concentration and substitution risks are understood, monitored and managed effectively.
 * Owning technology continuity strategies across data, digital and AI services, ensuring critical services can withstand disruption, degrade safely and recover effectively.
 * Overseeing scenario testing, failover design, recovery validation and core service operations, including incident, problem and change management.
 * Leading and developing multidisciplinary teams across technology risk, AI operations, supplier management, continuity and live service operations.
 * Building strong capability, clear accountability and a culture where secure, resilient and dependable systems are a shared responsibility.
 * Representing the FCA externally with government, regulators, industry bodies and standards organisations on technology, AI and operational resilience.
 * Managing team budget, headcount, resources and IT supplier spend of approximately £80m.
 * Championing innovation, continuous improvement and the safe adoption of emerging technologies to strengthen resilience, efficiency and value for money.

This is a high-profile leadership role with enterprise-scale accountability, operating at the intersection of AI, cyber, technology, supplier and operational risk, with a direct contribution to the FCA's regulatory credibility and public trust.


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