Lead SOC Analyst - DV Cleared

This temporary position as Lead SOC Analyst - DV Cleared in Buckinghamshire offers £80 per hour on a 42-hour week. The successful candidate must hold active DV clearance. Working a 12-hour shift pattern covering 7am-7pm and 7pm-7am, across 7 days and 7 nights within a four-week rotation, this six-month contract centres on operational leadership of the Security Monitoring function. Responsibilities include overseeing shift-based delivery, ensuring prompt investigation, triage and escalation of cyber events, and supervising a Senior SOC Analyst to maintain professional and technical standards. The post holder also acts as Duty Lead, coordinating responses and upholding consistent, high-quality security monitoring throughout every rotation.

YOU MUST HAVE ACTIVE DV CLEARANCE Lead SOC Analyst £80 per hour - 42 hour weeks 12 Hour shifts (7am-7pm and 7pm-7am) 7 Days and 7 Nights over a 4-week pattern 6 month contract initially Buckinghamshire

Summary

The 3x Lead SOC Analysts will be responsible for the operational leadership of the Security Monitoring function, ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality security monitoring, investigation and escalation activities.

Responsibilities

• Lead the shift-based delivery of Security Monitoring services, ensuring timely and effective monitoring, investigation, triage and escalation of cyber security events.
• Supervise and coordinate a Senior SOC Analyst, ensuring investigations meet required professional, technical and documentation standards.
• Act as Duty Lead for Security Monitoring, providing technical leadership and making operational decisions during live cyber security events.
• Review and quality-assure SOC investigations, confirming findings are accurate, evidence-based and clearly documented.
• Lead complex and high-priority cyber security investigations before escalation to the Incident Response team, as delegated by the Principal SOC Analyst.
• Deliver clear and effective shift handovers, maintaining situational awareness and continuity across ongoing investigations and incidents.
• Coordinate with Incident Responders during cyber security incidents, clearly communicating analytical findings, timelines, indicators of compromise and supporting evidence.
• Collaborate with SOC Engineers to improve monitoring coverage, alert quality and operational effectiveness.
• Support the onboarding of new systems, applications and cloud services into SOC monitoring by validating monitoring content and operational readiness.
• Drive continuous improvement across monitoring processes, investigation techniques and analyst efficiency, recommending enhancements to the Principal SOC Analyst.
• Mentor and coach SOC Analysts, supporting their professional development and promoting consistent analytical standards and investigation best practice.
• Ensure compliance with SOC operating procedures, security monitoring standards and information-handling requirements.
• Identify and elevate operational issues, monitoring gaps and emerging threats to the Principal SOC Analyst and SOC Manager.

Required Skills / Experience

• Demonstrable experience working within a SOC or comparable cyber security operations environment.
• Experience leading security monitoring activities and supervising analysts during live operational service.
• Strong knowledge of SIEM platforms, log analysis, security monitoring technologies and security event investigation.
• Experience investigating complex cyber security events and determining appropriate escalation paths.
• Good understanding of cyber-attack techniques, indicators of compromise, threat intelligence and defensive monitoring.
• Experience in mentoring or coaching technical staff within an operational environment.
• Excellent analytical, investigative and problem-solving skills.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate clearly under operational pressure.
• Ability to make timely decisions within a fast-paced 24/7 operational environment.
• Profession certifications such as Microsoft SC-200, GIAC GCIH, GCIA, CompTIA CySA+ or equivalent.

Desirable

• Experience using Microsoft Sentinel, LogRhythm, or equivalent enterprise SIEM platforms.
• Experience developing monitoring improvements, detection tuning, or operational process development.
• Experience supporting Incident Responder activities during major cybe