Specialist: Cybersecurity Operations

Specialist:
Cybersecurity Operations - (2195)

University of the Western Cape -> ICT Department -> IT Operations & Services

Type of Position

Permanent - Full Time

Length of Contract Period

Location

Closing Date

31/3/2026

Role Clarification & Key Performance Areas

The Information & Communication Services (ICS) Department at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) delivers a broad range of best practice Information & Communication Technology services to one of South Africa’s most dynamic universities. The ICT department has identified a growth area within the IT Operations and Services unit that focus on delivering cybersecurity services aligned to the University Digital Transformation strategy and as part of the Institutional Operating Plan (IOP).

In order to deliver on the Department’s strategic initiatives, an opportunity exists for a suitably experienced candidate in the post:
Specialist:
Cybersecurity Operations
.

The Key Responsibilities of the incumbent include but are not limited to:

The University of Western Cape has a host of critical information systems that require continual vigilance and action to maintain its credible cybersecurity posture,

• Responsible for daily cybersecurity operations support over a range of cybersecurity platforms in place at UWC,
• Proven experience with analysis and remediation of incidents and events on the cybersecurity infrastructure,
• Proven experience with a host of security tools performing deployment, configuration, fine tuning, and maintaining a secure IT infrastructure and applications environment,
• Proven experience in the establishment and deployment of security baselines for hardware and software. (e.g. server, appliances, operating systems),
• Proven experience in preparing relevant reports, dashboards and documentation pertaining to the cybersecurity environment,
• Responsible for maintaining patch, security and vulnerability remediations across IT infrastructure and application platforms including managing data recovery in the unlikely event of data breaches,
• Responsible for the management of firewall, antimalware, IDM, SIEM, PAM, and AI/ ML intelligent threat platforms,
• Provide input and recommendations regarding business continuance issues and improvements to the operations of systems and its supported processes,
• Setup and use monitoring and diagnostics tools effectively to troubleshoot issues on systems,
• Experiential exposure to data centre best practice frameworks, change control, opensource technologies including ITIL processes,
• Contribute to developing cybersecurity standards and best practices for the Data centre Infrastructure,
• Analyse technologies and market trends, determining potential impact upon the enterprise and recommend solutions to address risks posed by cyberthreats,
• Work closely with the network infrastructure team, application support team, ICT units, faculties, departments and other stakeholders.

Minimum education and experience required:

• A NQF7 (or higher) level qualification with three (3) years demonstrated experience and relevant accredited (industry recognised) professional certification in a data centre cybersecurity related field.
• Or Matric certificate plus Five (5) years demonstrated experience and relevant accredited (industry recognised) professional certification in a data centre cybersecurity related field.
• Demonstrated experience in NGFW and EPP or EDR and specialised threat analysis and protection systems. e.g. Darktrace.
• The ideal candidate must be proficient in PAM, SIEM, Identity Access Management, Vulnerability Threat Management, Mitigation and Analysis using Threat Intelligence Platforms.
• Critical thinking and problem-solving skills,
• Ability to work across interdisciplinary teams,
• Ability to analyse and resolve problems swiftly using a range of diagnostic tools and techniques,
• Ability to adapt to new technologies, best practice frameworks in the data centre environment,
• Understanding of the cyberthreat landscape and ability to mitigate these threats,
• Ability to create and maintain technical documentation, policies and processes as related to the cyber infrastructure environment,
• Ability to implement cyber threat mitigation to conform to the…