Senior Cybersecurity Specialist

Senior Cybersecurity Specialist

Septentrio

Leuven, Belgium

The Job

As Senior Cybersecurity Specialist, you will play a key role in strengthening and advancing Septentrio’s cybersecurity capabilities across our global operations. You will take ownership of cybersecurity governance, risk management, compliance, and security improvement initiatives, ensuring our people, processes, and technologies remain secure and resilient.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role collaborating with IT Applications/Infrastructure and business and combining operational execution with strategic ownership. You will drive the cybersecurity roadmap, support regulatory compliance initiatives such as NIS2 and ISO27001, coordinate external security partners, and foster a strong security culture across the organization.

Your Mission

Cybersecurity Strategy & Governance

• Define, maintain, and execute Septentrio’s cybersecurity roadmap aligned with business priorities and risk appetite.
• Establish governance processes, security policies, standards, and best practices across the organization.
• Continuously identify opportunities to improve cybersecurity maturity across people, processes, and technology.

Risk Management, Compliance & Assurance

• Own the enterprise cyber risk management process, including risk assessments, mitigation plans, and risk reporting.
• Maintain and continuously improve the cybersecurity risk register.
• Drive compliance initiatives related to NIS2, ISO27001, and other relevant regulatory frameworks.
• Coordinate internal and external audits and support remediation activities.
• Lead supplier and third-party cybersecurity assessments.

Security Operations & Resilience

• Coordinate cybersecurity operational activities in collaboration with internal IT teams and external service providers.
• Manage relationships with SOC providers, auditors, consultants, and security partners.
• Support vulnerability management, penetration testing follow-up, and remediation programs.
• Contribute to incident response readiness, business continuity, and resilience planning.
• Monitor emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and regulatory developments to proactively strengthen security controls.

Security Awareness & Business Partnership

• Develop and maintain security awareness initiatives, training programs, and communication campaigns.
• Promote a security-conscious culture across all functions and locations.
• Act as the primary cybersecurity advisor to business and technology stakeholders.
• Support engineering, product, HR, legal, and operations teams on cybersecurity-related topics and compliance requirements.

Your Qualifications

Experience & Background

• Minimum 8 years of experience in cybersecurity, information security, risk management, or a related field.
• Proven experience driving cybersecurity improvement programs within an international or mid-sized organization.
• Strong experience with cybersecurity governance, risk management, and compliance frameworks.
• Hands-on experience implementing or maintaining ISO27001-based security management systems.
• Experience supporting regulatory initiatives such as NIS2 or similar frameworks.
• Experience working with external security providers, auditors, and consultants.

Eligibility & Skills

• Strong understanding of cybersecurity domains including governance, risk management, vulnerability management, IAM, cloud security, endpoint protection, and network security.
• Good knowledge of Information Security Management Systems (ISMS) and security compliance frameworks.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to influence across technical and business teams.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate technical risks into business impact.
• Able to drive change through collaboration, influence, and expertise rather than formal authority.
• Pragmatic, solution-oriented, and comfortable balancing security requirements with business needs.
• Relevant certifications such as ISO27001, CISSP, CISM, or CRISC, Lead Implementer are a plus.