Senior Manager - Security Assessor Essential Eight

The opportunity

The Senior Manager Cyber Security Assurance and Risk is accountable for leading large-scale assurance and risk management engagements across Federal Government, Defence and regulated industry clients. The role provides strategic oversight of Essential Eight assurance programs and broader security framework assessments including ISM, NIST and ISO aligned engagements.

This position combines deep subject matter credibility with strong project governance, financial and people management responsibilities. 

The Senior Manager acts as a trusted advisor to executive clients while ensuring delivery excellence, commercial performance and quality assurance across multiple concurrent engagements.

This is position based in Canberra – Ngambri. 

Your key responsibilities

• Provide strategic leadership for Essential Eight assurance programs across multiple clients and portfolios.
• Oversee delivery of security assessments aligned to Essential Eight, ISM, PSPF, NIST and ISO frameworks.
• Maintain senior subject matter oversight of assessment methodologies, findings quality and risk positioning.
• Lead complex client engagements, acting as primary executive point of contact.
• Plan and manage engagement delivery schedules, dependencies and milestones.
• Oversee resource planning, allocation and utilisation across concurrent projects.
• Ensure consistent application of EY methodologies, quality standards and assurance principles.
• Review and approve assessment outcomes, reports and executive briefings.
• Provide escalation management and resolution of complex delivery or stakeholder issues.
• Support development of uplift roadmaps and multi-year assurance strategies.
• Contribute to thought leadership and internal capability development across cyber assurance services.

Skills and attributes for success

Project and Program Management:

• Own end to end engagement governance including scope, schedule, budget and resourcing.
• Develop and manage detailed delivery plans and audit schedules.
• Monitor financial performance including budgets, forecasts and margin outcomes.

Essential Eight and Framework Expertise:

• Deep understanding of the Essential Eight maturity model and its application across complex environments.
• Strong working knowledge of the Information Security Manual and Australian government security requirements.
• Broad understanding of complementary frameworks such as NIST Cybersecurity Framework and ISO 27001.

Leadership and People Management:

• Lead and mentor managers and assessors across multiple engagements.
• Provide quality assurance and coaching to uplift technical and assurance capability.
• Support workforce planning and capability development.

Stakeholder and Client Engagement:

Act as trusted advisor to CISOs, senior executives and government stakeholders.

Facilitate executive workshops, briefings and risk discussions.

Translate complex technical and assurance outcomes into clear executive narratives.

Experience and Qualifications:

• Significant experience in cyber security assurance, risk management or security consulting.
• Demonstrated leadership of large or complex cyber assurance programs.
• Proven experience managing multi project portfolios and delivery teams.
• Strong background in Essential Eight and government aligned security assessments.
• Experience working with Defence or Australian Federal Government highly regarded.
• Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISA, CRISC or ISO lead auditor desirable.
• Tertiary qualifications in information security, IT or business preferred.

Ideally, you’ll also have the skills and attributes below but don’t worry if you don’t tick all the boxes. We’re interested in your aptitude, attitude and willingness to learn.

• Strong commercial acumen and delivery focus.
• High degree of professional judgement and integrity.
• Ability to balance technical depth with strategic and executive level engagement.
• Comfortable operating in sensitive and high assurance environments.
• Structured, decisive and outcomes driven leadership style.

What we offer you
At EY, we’ll fuel you and your extraordinary talents in a diverse and inclusive culture of globally connected teams. We’re proud to be recognised as the #1 WORK180 Endorsed Employer in the Top 101 Employers for Women 2026. Learn more..

• Career development: At EY, your career is yours to shape! We’ll develop you with future-focused skills and equip you with world-class experiences ey.com/au/careerdevelopment
• Flexible work arrangements: Our flexible work policies empower you to balance your professional and personal life, fostering a culture of trust and autonomy.
• A comprehensive benefits package: From a yearly wellness incentive, to access to additional 8 weeks of flex leave per year, and family-friendly policies, including 26 weeks of gender-neutral paid parental leave, we cater to your diverse needs to help you thrive both personally and professionally www.ey.com/au/benefits    
• Salary: We offer a competitive salary which is open to negotiation pending on skills and experience.

Acknowledgement of Country

EY acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which EY offices are located around Australia. We pay our respects to their cultures, and to their Elders — past, present, and emerging. Find out more about our vision for reconciliation at ey.com/en_au/careers/indigenous

Inclusiveness is core to who we are and how we work together, driving value for our people and for our business. We encourage applications from people of all ages, nationalities, abilities, cultures, sexual orientations, and gender identities and are committed to providing an equitable and barrier free recruitment experience for all. We encourage you to share any support and adjustments you need to be your best and participate equitably in our recruitment process. We understand sharing your needs with us can be daunting, so if you have questions before or during your application, we welcome you to get in touch at contactrecruitment@au.ey.com or +61 3 8650 7788 (option 2). Anything you tell us will be kept completely confidential.

Are you ready to shape your future with confidence? Apply today. 

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Our preferred applicant will be required to undertake employment screening by EY or our external third-party provider. 

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