Vice President of Corporate IT and Security

Location: Stone, Staffordshire Hybrid working, 2 days a week in our Pune Office)

Status: Permanent, Full Time

Package: Competitive Salary, Flexible Working, Development & Opportunity (Personal & Technical), Private Medical (Optical & Dental options), Matching Contributory Pension, 25 Days Leave + Public Holidays + Buy and Sell Scheme, Life Insurance, Referral Scheme, Employee Assistance Program, Benefits Hub.

Why are we hiring a Vice President of Corporate IT and Security?

The Vice President of Corporate IT and Security oversees the strategic direction and operation of Instem’s corporate IT and enterprise product environment as well as the wider security strategy that protects that protects Instem, its staff and its customers.

The VP will be a driving force behind much technology policy and will play a key role in ensuring compliance with relevant regulations/standards.

This position will oversee a small but focused team of IT Engineers (approximately 10-12 FTEs across 4-5 direct reports) providing a multi-disciplinary services to end users and administration of Corporate IT and security landscape.

Who’s Instem?

Well, we’re a global provider of bespoke industry-leading software solutions and services, which facilitate the pre-clinical, and clinical phases of the drug discovery process. We have over fifteen products in our portfolio, used by over 700 pharmaceutical clients (including all the top 20!)

What’s the culture/environment like? For a global business of over 300 staff, we very much have a family feel. You’ll be part of a friendly, communal, solution based, flexible environment, where you’ll feel empowered, valued and accountable. We’ll invest in you as a person and encourage you to take part in companywide workshops for wellbeing, mental health, critical conversations, and strengths.

What are you responsible for?

IT Leadership & Strategy

• Own the definition and execution of the strategy for Instem's Corporate IT provision, ensuring that offerings and services for colleagues meet current and future business needs.
• Own the definition and execution of the shared security operations strategy for Instem as a whole, ensuring the adequate capability is in place to meet security operations needs across the organisation and that tooling predominantly owned by the Corporate IT domain can be offered across the platform & product engineering estate where appropriate.
• Oversee the management of Microsoft 365 services, Active Directory/domain services, productivity & collaboration tools and all other end user/corporate technology, driving the increased use of SaaS products and services.
• Own the technology management of the various internally-facing ERP systems acting as the technology owner for solutions such as Oracle NetSuite, Salesforce, Ivanti etc. ensuring compliance and cost efficiency across the ERP/enterprise landscape.
  
  
  

Security Operations & Risk Management

• Ensure the security, availability, and integrity of Instem’s Corporate IT systems.
• Ensure the provision of effective security operations capability (internally, outsourced) to cover the breadth of Instem’s estate, correlating observable data from across the enterprise to ensure security visibility organisation-wide.
• Lead the development, implementation, and maintenance of robust cybersecurity protocols, including monitoring, incident response, and recovery planning as a part of the shared security operations services for Instem.
• Collaborate closely with customer-facing teams to ensure shared security capabilities meet contractual and regulatory obligations.
• Conduct regular security risk assessments, audits, and vulnerability management to ensure all systems comply with industry best practices and regulatory standards (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, ISO, SOC2).
  
  
  

Vendor & Service Management

• Own supplier management and budget for Instem’s Corporate IT estate, holding responsibility for licence management and supplier performance.
• Set the direction for service management practices, ensuring adequate cataloguing of systems and services, and approaches for services governance are in place and in line with ITSM best practices.
  
  
  

Compliance & Governance

• Develop and enforce IT and security policies that adhere to internal, regulatory, and customer-specific standards.
• Manage the verification and validation of Instem’s perimeter security through regular penetration testing exercises.
• Collaborate with internal and external auditors and ensure timely remediation of identified gaps.
  
  
  

Team Leadership & Development

• Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing team of IT professionals, cybersecurity leads, and system administrators.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, and excellence across the IT and security teams.
• Manage vendor relationships and negotiate service level agreements (SLAs) with third-party technology and security partners.
• Adherence to the Company’s Quality Management System to ensure that all work is handled Securely, Professionally and Diligently
  
  
  

Behavioural Competencies

• Strategic thinker with a proactive and innovative mindset.
• Strong problem-solving abilities with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• High level of integrity and ethical standards.
  
  
  

Skills, Knowledge And Experience

• Several years of experience in IT management, with a focus on cybersecurity, business systems and/or infrastructure management.
• Proven experience managing a Corporate IT estate, and the newer Microsoft Azure-Based services.
• Understanding of information security frameworks (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC2, NIST) and compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA).
• Extensive experience in managing large-scale IT systems, including cloud and on-premises infrastructure, and securing hosted environments for customers.
• Strong leadership and team management skills with a track record of leading IT and security teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders across all levels of the organization.
  
  
  

An Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Instem stores and processes data using an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). For more information regarding our privacy policy use the following link: http://www.instem.com/about/data-protection.php