Ottawa (Downtown), ON, CA
Senior Cyber Security Specialist
Take a central role
The Bank of Canada has a vision to be a leading central bank—dynamic, engaged and trusted—committed to a better Canada. No other employer in the country offers you the unique opportunity to work at the very center of Canada’s economy, in an organization with significant impact on the economic and financial well-being of all Canadians. You will be challenged, energized and motivated to excel in our environment.
Building on the principles that have always guided us – excellence, integrity and respect – we strive to be forward-looking and innovative, to welcome people with diverse perspectives and talents, and to earn trust by living up to our commitments and by clearly explaining the intent of our policies and actions.
With our defined-benefit pension plan, benefits, and high flexibility for work life balance - find out more about why we are annually ranked as one of Canada's top employers: Working Here - Bank of Canada
Find out more about the next steps in our Recruitment process.
What you will do
As a Senior Cyber Security Specialist, your role is to provide technical oversight in the continuous improvement and support activities for multiple complex IAM products i.e., identity management services, identity administration, governance, policies and systems, and privileged access management.
This is a hands-on technical position focused on implementation of the effective IAM controls for the Bank’s mission critical services, as well as administration, development and technical support for several key Identity and Access Management (IAM) products.
You will have a leading role in introducing new tools and capabilities to enable the Bank to identify, protect, detect, and respond to cyber threats. You will resolve complex problems related to managing the identities and controlling access for users of the Bank’s services. You will combine strong analysis, problem-solving and communication skills to achieve high levels of customer satisfaction and quality in your deliverables.
In addition, you will:
- Identify Cyber Security risk reduction activities related to the improvement of IAM products.
- Present emerging cyber risks findings and recommendations to technical and/or business stakeholders at all levels
- Support application teams with implementing and maintaining effective IAM controls including strong certificate and key management processes, secure authentication and authorisation, appropriate multi-factor authentication mechanisms and others.
- Implement enhancements or propose solutions to operational or project-driven problems and communicate your progress to stakeholders on a regular basis.
- Analyze and resolve various technical incidents and gather information about more complex problems.
- Assist in the definition and implementation of technical security standards related to the management of digital identities at the Bank.
- Monitor and report on KPI / operational metrics to support the continuous improvement of IAM cyber controls.
- Provide on-the-job training, coaching, guidance, and support to more junior colleagues.
- Provide operational On-Call support 24x7 when required.
What you need to succeed
You are a great team player, a confident communicator and can quickly grasp and analyze complex issues, diagnose multi-dimensional problems, and devise insightful/appropriate responses or strategies to address them.
In addition, you have:
- Strong knowledge of Cyber Security Identity and Access Management (IAM) concepts
- Broad range of technical skills, along with migration / implementation projects experience in both applications and infrastructure areas.
- Working knowledge of implementing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and Zero Trust Security models.
- Technical expertise in basic networking, SSL/TLS, PKI and certificate-based authentication, LDAP, HTTP Proxies and Web Servers, Windows/Unix/Linux operating systems configuration and administration (command line tools, scripting and automation).
- Strong analytical skills that enable you to explain and document complex security protocols in layman’s terms.
- Ability to work with other technical specialists to ensure that the Bank’s business needs and requirements are met.
- Solid interpersonal skills (team player and client focus) – willingness to share expertise, provide constructive feedback, and contribute ideas to others to achieve common goals.
- Proactive mindset with an innovative outlook – initiate changes and develop solutions to problems.
- Ability to plan, organize tasks for the team; set priorities; focus on attention to detail; and meet deadlines.
Nice-to-have:
- Hands on experience with Microsoft Azure core IAM components i.e. Azure Active Directory, Azure MFA and Conditional Access, Privilege Identity Management (PIM) and others
- Working knowledge of the concepts and best practices related to Public Key Infrastructure and digital certificates.
- Experience with containerized platforms like Kubernetes and Docker.
- Experience in Cyber Security threats analysis and proactive risks mitigation.
Your education and experience
University degree or college diploma in relevant discipline (e.g., computer science, information systems, electrical or computer engineering, information technology) combined with relevant experience.
A minimum of five years of relevant and demonstrated industry experience and technical understanding in the following areas:
- Advanced demonstrated experience in supporting and configuring enterprise level identity and access management solutions.
- Demonstrated knowledge of the concepts and best practices related to identifying security risks & recommendations.
- Demonstrated skills in gathering and documenting business and functional requirements for the implementation of security controls and technologies for identity and access management.
- An equivalent combination of education and experience may be considered.
What you need to know
- Language requirement: English or French essential
- Priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents
- Security level required: Be eligible to obtain Secret
- Relocation assistance may be provided, if required
- Please save a copy of the job poster. Once the closing date has passed, it will no longer be available.
Hybrid Work Model
The Bank offers work arrangements that provide employees with flexibility, enable high-performing teams, and support an excellent workplace culture. Most employees can telework from home for a substantial part of each month as part of the Bank`s hybrid work model, and they are expected on site at the Bank location a minimum of eight days per month to help build connections between colleagues. You must live in Canada, and within reasonable commuting distance of the office.
What you can expect from us
This is a great opportunity to join a leading organization and be part of a high-performing team. We offer a competitive compensation and benefits package designed to meet your needs at every stage of your life and career. For more information on key benefits please visit A great deal to consider.
- Salaries are based on qualifications and experience and typically range from $108,874 to $128,087 (job grade 17)
- The Bank offers an incentive for successfully meeting expectations at 7 to 10% of your base salary. The Bank offers additional performance pay (5%) for those who exceed expectations. Exceptional performers who far exceed expectations may be eligible for higher performance pay.
- Flexible and comprehensive benefits so you can choose the level of health and dental coverage that meets your needs
- Extra vacation days (up to five each year) that you can purchase to add to your vacation entitlement
- Option to join the indexed, defined-benefit pension plan after 24 consecutive months of service
We wish to thank all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. Only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.