Director of Cybersecurity

Position Overview

The Director of Cybersecurity is a senior strategic role responsible for designing and maturing the enterprise information security and protection program across all affiliates of the FirstDay Foundation. This position partners directly with the Chief Data Officer/Chief Information Security Officer to architect a world‐class security framework that blends technical excellence with operational practicality. It is not about day‐to‐day defense operations but about designing an architecture that makes defense and detection possible. If you like to work with people that believe they can make a difference in the world, this is the company for you!

Key Responsibilities

• Architect the enterprise security framework aligned to NIST 800-53, NIST Privacy Framework, and emerging regulatory requirements.
• Design and maintain the information protection roadmap, covering data lifecycle, privacy, encryption, and retention.
• Establish cybersecurity architecture standards for cloud, application, and infrastructure security across all affiliates.
• Lead enterprise risk assessments and translate findings into actionable technical and governance strategies.
• Collaborate with platform owners (e.g., Workday, Salesforce, Acumatica, SharePoint, PointClickCare) to embed secure-by-design principles.
• Oversee incident readiness and threat modeling at a programmatic level, not tickets.
• Develop governance artifacts such as policies, frameworks, and architectural blueprints that define the enterprise posture.
• Serve as the principal security architect, advising executive leadership on emerging threats, technology investments, and roadmap alignment.
• Mentor and influence cybersecurity, IT, and data professionals to elevate the organization’s overall maturity.
• Measurable Deliverables: Establish a cyber maturity dashboard for executives with live metrics on control health, risk posture, and incident trends within the first 12 months.
• Achieve a program maturity score of Level 3 (“Defined”) or higher using the NIST CSF scoring model within the first 12 months.
• Ensure annual business impact analysis (BIA) and continuity testing for all critical systems.
• Establish a vendor risk assessment process with documented reviews for all critical vendors.
• Publish and enforce a data retention and destruction schedule integrated with legal and compliance requirements within the first 12 months.
• Establish a policy review cadence ensuring all cybersecurity and data protection policies are reviewed and updated annually.
• Create a governance charter for the Cybersecurity Steering Committee and achieve 100% affiliate representation within the first 12 months.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Information Systems, or a related technical discipline is required.
• 10+ years of experience in cybersecurity or information protection, with at least 5 years in architecture, governance, or program-building leadership roles.
• Work a flexible schedule including nights, holidays, and weekends.
• Pass pre-employment and random drug screens as well as pre-employment and biennial criminal background checks.
• Provide proof of work eligibility upon request.
• Demonstrated excellent leadership skills with a strong command presence and the ability to drive a passionate, engaged, and accountable workforce.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively, organize and prioritize responsibilities in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Perform other job duties that benefit the mission of the organization.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Information Security, Data Management, or Business Administration is strongly preferred.
• Relevant industry certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CDPSE, or SABSA, or their equivalents.
• Experience in regulated industries (e.g., healthcare, finance, non-profit, or government).
• Expert understanding of NIST 800-53, ISO 27001, SOC, GDPR, and other relevant frameworks.
• Hands-on knowledge of network, application, information, endpoint, IoT, operational, and cloud security (Azure, AWS, M365).
• Strong understanding of data governance, records management, and information lifecycle controls.
• Experience working within multi-tenant or affiliate-based environments is a plus.
• Exceptional written and verbal communication skills with the ability to translate complex security concepts into executive-level insights.

EEO Statement: In accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and other applicable federal and state laws (including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)), we are committed to providing equal employment opportunity and treating all employees equally regardless of race, religion, national origin, color, sex, or any other protected characteristic. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment.

Applicants must be authorized to work for any employer in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor employment Visas at this time. #LI-Information Technology #LI-Director #LI-Full-time