Director of Cybersecurity

Job overview

The Director of Cybersecurity role is onsite in Arlington, VA. Compensation is not specified. The role supports Ascend's platform for regional accounting firms by building and operating an enterprise cybersecurity program to protect sensitive client financial data across Ascend and partner firms. The director owns security strategy, operations, incident response, governance, risk and compliance, identity and access, AI governance, and acquisition security. The program is intended to scale with the company's acquisition growth while supporting business operations.

What you'll do

• Own cybersecurity strategy, roadmap, budget, metrics, and vendor relationships
• manage security operations, monitoring, vulnerability management, and incident response
• lead incident exercises and remediation
• own governance, risk, compliance, SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, and vendor risk
• define identity and access standards and Zero Trust architecture
• establish AI governance and controls for AI agents
• lead cybersecurity due diligence and integration work for acquisitions
• build and develop a security team
• manage security awareness and phishing simulations.

What we're looking for

Skills & competencies

director of cybersecurity

full-time

arlington va

ascend partner services

cybersecurity strategy

incident response

nist csf 2.0

soc 2 type ii

pci dss

zero trust

ai governance

acquisition security

Work arrangement

• Weekend coverage required

Why this role

Requires 10+ years in information security and 5+ years leading security teams or programs. Deep knowledge of NIST CSF 2.0, SOC 2 Type II, and PCI DSS is required; CISSP, CISM, or equivalent certification is preferred.

About the employer

Ascend Partner Services is hiring for this role. Industry: Offices of Certified Public Accountants. Sector: 54.