Information Security and Compliance Specialist

Renaissance® is a global leader in education technology. We help schools and school groups in the UK and around the world with educational assessments, practice and intervention solutions, and data analytics. Renaissance now incorporates GL Assessment (known internationally as GL Education), too – a leading provider of educational assessments. 

Together, our assessments offer the ideal starting point to help teachers understand their students’ strengths and pinpoint areas of need. Our teaching and learning tools then provide effective next steps, with online literacy and maths solutions that meet students exactly where we are. 

Worldwide, we support over 18 million students, operating in over 100 countries. 

About this role:

Renaissance Global are recruiting for an Information Security and Compliance Specialist to join our growing team.

We are looking for a driven and analytical Information Security and Compliance Specialist with a passion for cyber-security and innovation.

The ideal candidate to join us as an Information Security and Compliance Specialist will be responsible for evaluating, managing, and treating the risks associated with our internal and external processes, systems, and partners. This position requires relevant information security training and experience with cyber-security tools and practices as well as experience with technology industry standards such as ISO 27001, SOC2, and GDPR

Information Security and Compliance Specialist Job Responsibilities:

When looking at the responsibilities can be broken down into the following areas:

• Monitor, evaluate, and action alerts from security systems.
• Assess technical controls and identify areas of improvement.
• Assess risk associated with information systems and cloud platforms.
• Implement and maintain compliance with approved information security frameworks, following industry standards and regulatory requirements.
• Monitor and measure the performance and compliance of processes, systems, and partners with respect to contractual obligations, service level agreements (SLAs), and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Assist in the implementation and maintenance of information security policies, procedures, and training programs for internal stakeholders, focusing on security best practices.
• Work closely with globally distributed teams to ensure company-wide information security and compliance requirements are uniformly maintained and deployed.
• Obtain and maintain the renewals of global compliance certifications, as necessary.
• Stay updated on industry trends, regulatory changes, and best practices related to governance, risk, and compliance, particularly in the context of security.
• Effectively communicate up, down, and across the organisation.

Skills and experience required:

To be considered for the role of Information Security and Compliance Specialist at Renaissance Learning , we are looking for someone who is formally trained in any of the following disciplines: information security; governance, risk and compliance; network security; or privacy compliance who has a strong ability to apply key information security and compliance concepts and frameworks to business and technical problems as part of a larger risk management process.

You will also have:

• Experience with information security and compliance best practices, tools, techniques, and frameworks, such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, and GDPR.
• Experience evaluating, prioritising, and fulfilling operational and compliance requests at high levels of quality and efficiency.
• Undergraduate or graduate degree in information security, compliance, legal, or IT related fields.
• Information security and compliance certifications.
• Experience with cyber-security incident response processes.
• Some knowledge of AI regulations and technical specifications.

As our Information Security and Compliance Specialist at Renaissance Learning, we are looking for someone who aligns with Renaissance's mission to accelerate learning for all children and adults of all ability levels and ethnic and social backgrounds, worldwide, we are looking for someone who is/ has:

• Ability to communicate clearly at all levels and across functions
• Strong engagement with colleagues individually and as a team
• Champions positive change
• Effective management of time and priorities and impacts
• Motivated to make a positive difference in the lives of teachers and children worldwide
• High ethical standards and integrity.
• Strong attention to detail and organisational skills.
• Proactive and forward-thinking approach to risk and compliance management.

Additional information: 

This is role is a Hybrid role based out of our Houghton le Spring Office (Houghton le Spring, DH4 5QY) with the expectation with some travel to other offices (London & Swindon) as required for team meetings.

Please note the closing dates for applications will be Thursday 24th April 2025, with all candidates moving to the next stage being contacted by Wednesday 30th April 2025.  

We offer a competitive basic salary of between £40,000-£50,000 per annum, dependant on experience, Plus lots of amazing benefits

Benefits:

Pension & Insurance – All employees can participate in our company pension scheme administrated by Aviva – where we will pay 8% of your annual salary if you pay just 3% pension contributions! All employees are entitled to Life and income protection insurance - We hope you don’t need this, but it’s there if you do! 

Holiday and Bookable Leave - 22 Days bookable annual leave per annum, plus 3 complementary days to be used for our compulsory Christmas shutdown (Usually between Christmas & New Year), plus UK Statutory Bank Holidays. We also offer a day off for your birthday so you can celebrate in style, to be used in the month of your birthday. We also offer every UK based employee up to 5 paid  volunteering days per year with a cause of your choice. 

We also offer the chance to Buy and additional 5 days holiday per year through our salary sacrifice scheme and you can spread the cost over 3-8months! 

Hours of Work - our Standard working is to a flexible working policy - Work remotely up to 2/3 days a week, our standard company hours at our UK sites are between Monday to Friday 37.5 hours per week between 08.30am to 5:30pm (with an unpaid hour for lunch daily),subject to the demands of the role. The address for hybrid working in your location would be our Houghton le Spring office (Evolve Centre, Cygnet Way, Houghton le Spring, DH4 5QY)

Growth and development – extensive training opportunities for career progression across  Renaissance Learning with Great Leaders looking to grow your career and allow you to flourish in your chosen career.    

Shopping & Working for Renaissance Perks -. Discounts through our portal on your supermarket shop, experiences and loads of retailers on our perks portal (provided by Reward Gateway) that’s right you’ll get instant access to a benefits and discount platform with access to 1000’s of discounts at retailers, leisure attractions and restaurants,  you will also be able to collect Renaissance Rewards our employee recognition Platform , and receive points turntable into vouchers to buy on the Ren Rewards platform. You will also get access to Smart tech where you can get your electrical household and personal items at the best price and spread the cost through your salary, interest free, up to £5000.00.  

Well being & Health – We offer a generous maternity/paternity pay, employee assistance programme available 24/7 offering confidential support from counselling to legal and financial advice including Family Support Services - Specialist bereavement support to help through the most difficult times via our Help@Hand app with access to GP, physio, nutrition, counselling support and appointments and so much more.  

We offer access to mental health first-aiders based both remotely and on all our UK Sites. We offer access to Company paid BUPA PMI and BUPA cash plan optional schemes for you.  

It doesn’t stop there you will also be able to protect yourself with free access to Annual flu vaccinations, and the Company will also contribute towards eye tests and a contribution towards those on trend specs if you need them. 

Renaissance  UK Office benefits – All Hybrid working employees are entitled to apply for a season ticket loan, All Employees (Both Remote and Hybrid based) can use our Tusker car scheme - Save tax and NI on your next car lease, use the amazing Cycle to work scheme where you can get on your bike for less, save money and get fit,  that a win win for us!All UK Offices also have Fruit baskets delivered for all to enjoy a Healthy snack each week.  

If you are someone who likes to march to the beat of their own drum and wants to join a company which encourages authentic individuality, and aligns with Renaissance's mission to accelerate learning for all children and adults of all ability levels and ethnic and social backgrounds, worldwide, apply today! 

Please not we are not offering  sponsorship for this role.

We have an ongoing commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have taken strides to become a more welcoming and inclusive workplace, including the introduction of our DEI Matters Network which is owned and driven by our staff. 

We are an equal opportunities employer. We encourage and welcome applications from all underrepresented groups, as we believe and strive for community representation within our organisation. 

If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format or would like us to make reasonable adjustments to enable you to apply or attend any interview, please contact us and we will talk this through with you. 

All your information will be kept confidential according to GDPR guidelines. Please note that we can only consider applicants who already hold a full work permit. 

This role is subject to DBS and background checks.