Senior Security Analyst

The Senior Security Analyst position is a permanent, hybrid-working role based in Somerset West, within a South African government department. The incumbent is responsible for safeguarding the organisation’s information assets, systems, applications, and infrastructure through a combination of operational cybersecurity, security architecture, and security engineering. This is a senior, hands-on role that requires both strategic oversight and technical execution, covering everything from proactive threat monitoring to the design of secure cloud environments. The analyst will work closely with ICT teams, business stakeholders, and leadership to ensure the organisation remains resilient against evolving cyber threats while meeting regulatory and compliance obligations.

Candidates must meet a minimum qualification of Matric with ten years’ work experience, or a bachelor’s degree or National Diploma in Information Security, Computer Science, Information Technology, Engineering, or an analytical related field. The role requires at least seven years of ICT experience and five or more years specifically in cybersecurity. Essential experience includes managing enterprise security technologies, leading incident response and threat investigations, running vulnerability management programmes, securing cloud platforms, and working within regulated environments. Preferred experience includes the Microsoft security stack, DevSecOps practices, SIEM and SOAR platforms, and Zero Trust architecture. Relevant certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CompTIA Security+, Microsoft Security certifications, and Microsoft Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500) are preferred.

The core duties span several domains. In security operations, the analyst monitors security events across infrastructure, cloud platforms, endpoints, networks, and applications; investigates alerts; performs threat hunting and root cause analysis; maintains SIEM capabilities; coordinates incident response and post-incident reviews; and develops playbooks. Vulnerability management involves scanning, analysing results, coordinating remediation with ICT teams, validating fixes, producing risk reports, and prioritising vulnerabilities based on risk. Security engineering responsibilities include designing and implementing controls across Microsoft 365, Azure, Active Directory or Entra ID, Linux and Windows servers, network infrastructure, and DevOps platforms, as well as maintaining multi-factor authentication, Privileged Access Management, Endpoint Detection and Response, Data Loss Prevention, and security automation. Cloud security focuses on securing Azure environments, reviewing configurations, conducting assessments, implementing Microsoft best practices, and supporting Zero Trust initiatives.

Governance, risk, and compliance duties include maintaining risk registers, conducting risk assessments, supporting audits, assisting with policy development, and ensuring compliance with POPIA, CIS Controls, and client or regulatory requirements. The analyst also reviews and approves security designs, assesses new projects for risk, defines security standards, and develops secure architecture patterns. In addition, the role promotes security awareness, conducts training, guides technical and business teams, and supports cyber resilience programmes. DevSecOps responsibilities include supporting secure software development, reviewing security testing and code scanning, and helping development teams remediate issues. Key performance indicators include reducing critical vulnerabilities, meeting incident response service levels, improving security control effectiveness, completing risk assessments, remediating audit findings, increasing security awareness participation, and enhancing compliance maturity.

This vacancy is open to people with disabilities, reflecting the department’s equity commitment. The position offers hybrid working conditions and a market-related salary. The closing date is available in the full advertisement, and interested applicants should follow the official application process. This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced cybersecurity professional seeking a challenging, multifaceted role within the public sector.