Lead Consultant Cybersecurity Risk Assessment & Penetration Testing

Job Title: Lead Consultant Cybersecurity Risk Assessment & Penetration Testing Job ID: 26-00420 Location: Raleigh, NC Duration: 12 months of contract

Job Description:

Seeking an experienced Lead Consultant to lead large-scale cybersecurity risk assessments and penetration testing across 100 counties for the DHHS Privacy & Security Office. The role involves designing assessment strategies, performing technical security assessments, leading penetration testing efforts, developing standardized methodologies, and managing assessment teams to ensure consistent, high-quality execution. The consultant will also communicate complex security findings clearly to business leaders and stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and perform technical security risk assessments across county IT environments (servers, networks, firewalls, IAM, MFA, VPN, patching).
• Conduct internal and external penetration testing, vulnerability identification, and exploit validation.
• Develop repeatable assessment methodologies, templates, and reporting standards.
• Manage assessment team assignments, schedules, and deliverables.
• Create and track project plans, timelines, and status reports.
• Align assessments with NIST, CIS Controls, ISO 27001 frameworks.

Required Skills & Experience:

• 7+ years in cybersecurity risk assessments and penetration testing.
• 5+ years assessing enterprise IT infrastructure and security controls.
• 7+ years managing security assessment teams and projects.
• 3+ years working with NIST, CIS, ISO 27001 frameworks.