Protecting a company, facility, event, or place is the responsibility of security personnel. Law enforcement, private security, and private investigators are examples of security-related occupations. Jobs in cybersecurity, which provide digital security, are also widely available. Every type of security work requires a different set of qualifications and skills. A correctional officer, for instance, requires specific physical and de-escalation training, but a digital security specialist requires education and experience in information technology, backup, and authentication procedures.
You can find more opportunities in physical security, such as prison officers, personal security, or private security advisors, if you have experience in the military. You might even be able to work for the military as a security contractor.
Highest Paying Security Jobs in the UK
-
Personnel Security Specialist
Personnel security specialists earn between £46,500 to £98,500 annually. Making sure that workers and contractors in a facility receive the appropriate security clearance is one of the responsibilities of a personnel security (PERSEC) specialist. Background checks are frequently performed by personnel security specialists on candidates for government positions requiring a security clearance. Additionally, you might work for establishments like banks or airports. Researching, creating background check policies and procedures, and making sure security personnel adhere to the check process are all part of your duties. You can speak with candidates and staff to get more information if needed, in addition to looking into workers who have access to restricted locations.
-
Security Intelligence Analyst
This role pays between £47,000 to £98,500 annually. A security intelligence analyst evaluates the risks that different actors present to a company, a sector, or public safety in general. While some security intelligence analysts specialize in cybersecurity, others focus on tangible dangers to infrastructure or public safety. Reading reports, assessing risks, attempting to identify the origin of attacks, and evaluating existing defenses against threats are all part of your job, regardless of the kind of security analysis you perform. A report identifying current threats and offering advice on how to strengthen security measures and attack response is the result of your analysis and is sent to your superiors.
-
Privacy Analyst
A privacy analyst earns between £83,000 to £98,500 annually. To make sure your firm or organization complies with privacy laws and government rules for the protection of sensitive data, you evaluate corporate policies, procedures, and operations as a privacy analyst. In this line of work, your responsibilities extend beyond analysis to include developing improvement plans. Your duties can include giving staff members instructions or educational resources to help them better manage privacy protection and reduce the risks associated with illegal access to private data. You may concentrate on privacy regarding certain projects, or you could concentrate on the whole operations of a company or organization.
-
Security Operations Manager
In the United Kingdom, security operations managers earn between £52,000 to £100,500 annually. As a security operations manager, you create and carry out plans to assist in safeguarding your business’s resources. Your responsibilities may include managing the hiring and training of other security staff, figuring out the appropriate course of action in each circumstance, and managing other day-to-day security requirements. The security risks your organization faces determine a lot of the specifics of this position. For instance, although research firms could be more concerned with the security of digitally stored data, retail establishments usually deal with theft issues. In order to protect digital assets, many security operations managers work alongside systems administrators and other computer-focused staff while concentrating on physical risks.
-
Security Administrator
A security administrator earns from £45,000 to £106,000 annually. All cybersecurity elements of a service, including safeguarding passwords, login credentials, and personal data, fall under the purview of a security administrator. Their responsibilities include managing the deployment and upkeep of all security elements, including firewalls, software patches, and antivirus programs; creating security tests to make sure the system is operating properly; and responding to any cyberattacks. Usually, a security administrator manages a group of technicians and instructs them in the organization’s security procedures. Along with discussing possible future dangers, they might also draft and deliver reports and evaluations of the company’s security measures.
-
Security Researcher
Most security researchers earn between £103,500 to £110,500 annually. A security researcher stays abreast of the most recent advancements in threats to networks and computer applications. These dangers include many forms of malware, including malicious software and scripts, computer viruses, and direct network attacks. A security researcher’s primary responsibilities include examining current malware types, assessing their capabilities, and trying to anticipate emerging malware types in order to provide suitable protection solutions. They might test security systems or reverse engineer malware.
-
Bodyguard
This role pays between £39,000 to £111,000 a year. A customer who hires a bodyguard is protected against bodily threats such as assault, theft, kidnapping, or assassination. In this line of work, you can also be asked to preserve a client’s privacy and possessions. Although you can work for any well-known person, you typically work for politicians, diplomats, and celebrities. Driving your clients around, checking the area for dangers, and escorting them to their destinations are all part of your job as a bodyguard. You might be in charge of a particular duty or location that your customer visits if the security team is larger.
-
Security Operations Analyst
The role of a security operations analyst earns between £72,000 to £113,500 annually. A security operations analyst assists a business, group, or government agency in determining and mitigating computer network security threats. Your responsibilities include installing security measures to prevent breaches, recording any suspicious activity, and providing recommendations to the business on how to prevent such situations in the future. Researching emerging dangers and updating software as needed are other duties of a security operations analyst. You frequently work together with other staff members to promptly resolve issues.
-
Security Project Manager
Security project managers earn £72,500 to £125,500 annually. Supervising the development of security systems for businesses and organizations to guarantee the safety and protection of employees, campus property, and data is the responsibility of a security project manager. Leading a group of security experts to develop a strategy to lessen risks to the business is your responsibility as a security project manager. Your responsibilities may also involve assisting a business in developing policies to enhance site security, conducting safety exercises and system tests, and instructing employees on how to adhere to safety protocols and contribute to security improvement through individual actions. Any municipal, state, and federal laws pertaining to the installation and use of security systems must also be understood and followed.
-
Safety and Security Director
This role pays from £60,500 to £119,500 a year. A building, organization, business, or institution’s security processes and protocols are the responsibility of the director of safety and security. Citizens can work security jobs in the UK as a safety and security director. You create and carry out plans to address problems or dangers and supervise all security-related activities. You also make sure that people follow safety rules. Installing or enhancing systems to safeguard assets, people, and structures is another of your responsibilities. You also have hiring, training, and staff development duties as a director. Directors operate in a range of locations, such as public spaces, hotels, and universities. Additionally, you can work for government organizations, private businesses, or corporations.
-
Privacy Officer
The pay range for this role is from £92,000–£124,000 annually. A privacy officer, who is sometimes the privacy compliance officer, creates and updates an organization’s or business’s privacy policies and procedures. Your responsibilities as a privacy officer working security jobs include evaluating the policies in place. Furthermore, you handle making recommendations for changes and educating both new hires and current staff members about them. To make sure that your business’s policies comply with the most recent rules, you must also keep up with any changes to privacy legislation. It is your responsibility to supervise the application of the finest privacy standards in your industry. Protecting records and personal data to avoid legal problems is your responsibility. Because healthcare firms have to adhere to HIPAA requirements and standards, privacy officer positions are quite popular in this sector.
-
Security Tester
A security tester earns between £91,000 to £127,500 annually. The goal of a security tester is to make sure that computer networks and systems are secure. Their responsibilities include gathering data and evaluating computer security systems for customers or employers. They carry out scans, search for application weaknesses, and identify further dangers. Researching and attempting to penetrate networks using techniques frequently used by hackers are additional duties. A degree in computer science, cybersecurity, IT, or a similar discipline, as well as a wealth of technical expertise and experience, is typically required to work as a security tester. There are professional certifications available.
-
Privacy Manager
The salary range for this role is from £101,000 to £129,000 annually. A privacy manager is in charge of an organization’s data security and risk management. You accomplish this security in this line of work by making sure that local, state, and federal laws are followed. Also, you put in place a privacy procedure that protects the company’s data. You can safeguard consumer credit card information, employee biometric data, or more basic data like market reports and sales data. Your daily responsibilities as the privacy manager include advising on risk management and data security. You are responsible for collaborating with cybersecurity teams on possible breaches, overseeing issue resolution, and other tasks based on the industry. You are the subject matter expert in these areas.
-
Security Auditor
A security auditor earns between £48,000 to £130,000 annually. An IT specialist responsible for assessing a business’s cybersecurity is a security auditor. As a security auditor, you evaluate information systems regularly, searching for vulnerabilities or exploits that could allow a dishonest person to access confidential firm data. Creating security protocols and collaborating with other teams within the organization to keep everyone informed about best practices and other protocols are also part of your job tasks. Maintaining appropriate cybersecurity for your employer also requires you to stay abreast of pertinent rules and regulations as well as emerging security threats.
-
Security Analyst
In the United Kingdom, a security analyst earns from £91,500 to £130,000 annually. Working security jobs as an analyst means safeguarding sensitive data from security threats. Security analysts assess information systems and suggest security procedures and methods. Security administrators follow their advice and put recommended procedures into practice. Monitoring security access, conducting audits of internal and external network security programs, assessing breaches to guide future security system measures, and educating colleagues on security awareness and appropriate protocols are all part of the job description for a security analyst. Additionally, you work with other suppliers on security plans that can involve cloud-based solutions, container solutions, or web apps.
Do Security Guards Carry Weapons in the UK?
Security guards have to abide by stringent laws that govern the acquisition and use of firearms in the United Kingdom. In contrast to several other nations, the United Kingdom prohibits security jobs from hiring guards and bodyguards from carrying firearms, batons, pepper spray, or tasers. Regardless of their function in ensuring safety or security, these limitations are applicable everywhere. Nonetheless, security personnel can carry and apply handcuffs to hold criminals until law enforcement can arrive. It’s interesting to note that anyone can use handcuffs when necessary under UK legislation. Thus, security professionals are not the only ones with this authorization.
In addition to this restriction on instrument use, security personnel are to prioritize safety. They should also defuse tensions and lower the likelihood of violence. This strategy demonstrates how the UK’s legal framework for security operations places a strong emphasis on prevention and non-violent intervention.
Can Security Guards Carry Guns in the UK?
A common question is whether security jobs in the UK permit to carrying of guns. Guns are under severe regulation, which is not surprising given the nation’s stringent gun restrictions. No one, not even security guards or bodyguards, is permitted to carry a firearm in the UK for close protection. Only some uses, including hunting, are permitted for firearms, and a current license is necessary. These stringent rules must be followed even by highly qualified close protection officers and registered SIA security guards.
Following the devastating mass shooting at Dunblane Primary School in Scotland in 1997, which claimed the lives of numerous children, the UK’s gun laws were considerably tightened. The Firearms Act, which outlaws the majority of private firearm ownership, was passed in reaction. The UK currently has some of the strictest gun control legislation in the world. Except for Northern Ireland, where officers carry firearms because of security concerns, the majority of police personnel are unarmed. This applies when doing their routine responsibilities. Only in high-risk circumstances, like counterterrorism incidents, or at sites like airports or major public gatherings, are armed police forces used.
Opportunities for Security Jobs Contract in the UK
For vendors, UK security bids offer a vibrant market. Winning contracts in the security industry has never been more alluring. This is due to the increase in demand for security services and solutions. Also, there is a strong emphasis on security and protection across many sectors. Gaining contracts from public contracting organizations like the NHS, public schools, and the Ministry of Defense can be very profitable. Furthermore, this can be beneficial for your company in terms of earnings and reputation building. You may save time and money by using Tracker to find the security contracts in the UK that are most appropriate for your services.
Read Also: NHS Jobs In the UK
Conclusion
Security jobs in the UK open doors to different opportunities. There is a growing demand for both physical and digital security. Job seekers who have the right skills and qualifications can find rewarding careers in different industries. The roles and responsibilities involve protecting sensitive data, as well as individuals and infrastructure.