Technical Advisor – Operational Resilience

About ComReg

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) is the statutory body responsible for regulating fixed and mobile communications, postal and premium rate services in Ireland. ComReg also manages Ireland’s radio spectrum resource on behalf of the State.

Our mandate, which until recently has been to create a competitive marketplace, to protect and inform consumers, and to encourage innovation, is expanding into new areas as we take on statutory responsibilities in the fields of accessibility, cybersecurity, physical resilience, AI, cloud and data.

This is an exciting time of growth for ComReg as we will shortly take on new statutory responsibilities covering digital matters arising from EU legislation, including: the 2022 Network and Information Systems (NIS2) Directive, the Critical Entities Resilience (CER) Directive – addressing cybersecurity and network resilience – together with the EU Data Act, the EU AI Act, and the European Accessibility Act (EAA).

We are a professional, multi-disciplinary and diverse organisation, operating in a dynamic digital regulatory environment that is constantly evolving as we begin to regulate companies and organisations operating in the digital technology sector.

While our regulatory role is evolving, our fundamental mission remains the same. ComReg’s mission is to implement effective regulation that supports the delivery of widespread, modern and resilient digital infrastructure, including communications networks, products, and services which, ultimately, benefit users.

Further information on ComReg is available here.

Cybersecurity and Resilience Division

ComReg has been designated as the NIS2 Directive National Competent Authority for the Digital Infrastructure, Digital Provider, ICT Service Management and Space sectors. Additionally, ComReg has been designated as the CER Directive National Competent Authority for the Digital Infrastructure Sector.

The designation of ComReg as the National Competent Authority for NIS2 and CER requires a new division to execute these additional regulatory functions. This division is known as the Cybersecurity and Resilience Regulation Division.

The Cybersecurity and Resilience Regulation Division responsibilities will include:

• NIS2 supervision and enforcement
• CER functions – Identification of Critical Entities and National Resilience Strategy etc
• Engagement activities – national and international
• Strategic Planning

Full details on our NIS2 and CER responsibilities are here

The Role

The Technical Advisor – Operational Resilience is a senior role that is responsible for the delivery of regulatory supervision activities to in-scope entities. This role sits at the intersection between the CER Directive and NIS2 Directive focusing on the resilience aspects of the all-hazards approach. The role is accountable for regulatory activities including assessment, inspection and audit to gain assurance that resilience requirements have been implemented in entities in scope including the ability to prevent, withstand, respond to, and recover from disruptive incidents to ensure resilience.

The Technical Advisor Operational Resilience will provide expert input to CER functions including the identification of critical entities, the national resilience strategy and provide representation to key internal and external stakeholders including national and European resilience working groups when required.

The suitable candidate will combine technical expertise in operational resilience with strong leadership and communication skills to fulfil regulatory supervision obligations and strengthen resilience within the digital infrastructure, digital providers, ICT service management, space, postal and courier services sectors.

The Technical Advisor – Operational Resilience will have a senior operational role including:

• Provide operational resilience expertise in the assessment, inspection and audit of regulated entities NIS2 legislative requirements;
• Lead and support the identification and designation of critical entities in the CER Directive, including detailed analysis of entities potentially in scope;
• Provide expert input into the national resilience strategy to ensure ComReg contributes to the development of robust and effective national resilience objectives;
• Evaluation of entities resilience measures to assess if they are proportionate, risk-based, and effectively implemented across both physical and cyber domains, identifying non-compliance;
• Expert analysis of entities implementation of an all-hazard approach, for example provisions for natural disasters, sabotage, terrorism, infrastructure failure;
• Lead, support and manage operational resilience supervision and enforcement activities including remediation, follow up assessments and audits or enforcement action
• Provide expert participation and support to national and European operational resilience working groups where required to develop collaborate and cohesive relationship with other agencies or competent authorities;
• Management of operational resilience specialists, business continuity specialists or external advisors where required;
• Mentor and coach team members to support capability development and continuous improvement.

Essential Criteria

• An Honours degree (equivalent to level 8 on the National Framework of Qualifications – NFQ), third level qualification or significant relevant senior experience, in cybersecurity, science, technology, engineering, or other equivalent area/s;
• Proven recent experience in senior role/s with demonstrable evidence of working within a regulatory or regulated environment in the area of operational resilience with a focus on operational aspects including advisory, assurance or risk management – within the Digital Infrastructure, Digital Providers, ICT Service Management and Space sectors which could include but not limited to cloud, data centres, telecommunications, ICT networks, managed service providers, online platforms etc
• Experience applying cybersecurity and resilience risk and regulatory frameworks (e.g. ISO 27001, NIST, CSF, DORA, GDPR) in complex environments;
• Experienced understanding of risk-based supervision and enforcement approaches in a regulatory context with demonstrable ability to conduct or support inspections, audits, and compliance assessments of regulated organisations.
• Experience working with European Union regulatory legislation including CER,NIS, NIS2, DORA, GDPR or sectoral operational resilience legislation.
• Professional accreditations such as ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, CISSP, CISM, CRISC, or CISA with senior experience in risk assessment, audit or IT audit or equivalent experience.
• Proven and demonstratable experience in engagement and communication with internal and external stakeholders.
• Previous experience in technical management and/or programme/project management of resource.

Desired criteria

• Master’s degree (equivalent to level 9 on the NFQ) in science, technology, engineering, data analytics or another equivalent area/s and/or Cybersecurity leadership qualification;
• Experience delivering large scale regulatory driven security or resilience initiatives in either public or industry environment
• Experience presenting and influencing senior stakeholders, with the ability to develop and sustain strong working relationships;
• Demonstratable ability to establish evidence-based operational resilience assurance models, including documentation review, technical testing, and control validation
• Experience of working with Irish of EU regulatory authorities which could include regulatory engagements with National Competent Authorities.

Core Competencies & Skills for the Role

• Communication and Influencing – Communicates clearly, confidently and respectfully. Engages and influences others to follow a particular course of action. Ensures all relevant parties are appropriately updated and notified.
• Decision Making and Judgement – Effectively uses evidence to support the decision-making process. Assesses alternative positions while using sound judgement to adapt to specific and challenging requirements of the organisation.
• Analytical and Critical Thinking – Objectively analyses and evaluates information in order to identify patterns between situations that are not obviously related. Develops and clearly articulates solutions to complex problems.
• Technical Knowledge & Continuous Improvement – Possesses a command over the technical and professional skills for a particular discipline. Keeps an open mind. Demonstrates commitment to continuous improvement.
• Teamwork – Promotes and enhances team performance through working collaboratively and in cooperation with others to achieve goals. Interacts in a manner that builds respect and fosters trust.

Our Package

We are offering an attractive package:

• Salary €89,722.80 – €112,170.71 * (Pay increases will be awarded annually subject to satisfactory performance)
• Dublin city centre location – IFSC
• Blended working environment
• 28 days Annual Leave per year increases with service
• Fully paid Maternity, Paternity and Parent’s leave
• Income protection scheme
• Education assistance and Training Opportunities
• Professional membership fee pay
• Attractive pension scheme
• ComReg Wellbeing Programme
• Travel tax saver scheme, Access to Cycle to Work Scheme
• Access to Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a member’s run sports and social club

*(entry will be at the minimum point and the rate of remuneration may be adjusted from time to time in line with Government pay policy.)

Check out the Recruitment section of our Careers website if you have any questions or need further information about the role or the recruitment process -https://www.comreg.ie/about/careers/recruitment-faq/

Please Note (1)

We hope that our recruitment process supports applications from candidates with diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives. We understand that having a diverse workforce contributes to making us stronger as an organisation. We are committed to positively supporting candidates with disabilities.

Please let us know if there are any reasonable accommodations we can make to enable you to take part in the process by creating the environment to give you the best opportunity to show your strengths and competencies. Rest assured that whatever information you disclose will only be used to enable us to provide the necessary support and will never have a bearing on the outcome of the process.

Please Note (2)

ComReg assesses all applicants fairly based on the requirements for the role. Due to the high volume of applications we receive for positions, we are unable to provide feedback to candidates who are not shortlisted for interview. If you are short-listed for interview, and are subsequently unsuccessful, you can request verbal feedback from your recruitment contact – if you are represented by an agency.