Director of Information Security

Established in 2021, Independence Pet Holdings is a corporate holding company that manages a diverse and broad portfolio of modern pet health brands and services, including insurance, pet education, lost recovery services, and more throughout North America.

We believe pet insurance is more than a financial product and build solutions to simplify the pet parenting journey and help improve the well-being of pets. As a leading authority in the pet category, we operate with a full stack of resources, capital, and services to support pet parents. Our multi-brand and omni-channel approach include our own insurance carrier, insurance brands and partner brands. 

Title:     Director of Information Security

Location: US/Hybrid/Remote

Job Summary:

We are seeking a Director of Information Security to lead our cybersecurity strategy, ensuring the protection of our systems, data, and infrastructure. This role will oversee security operations, compliance, risk management, IT administration and incident response, while working closely with engineering, and executive leadership to strengthen our security posture.

Key Responsibilities:

Product Strategy & Leadership

• Define and execute the information security vision and strategy aligned with business objectives.
• Ensure data privacy and security best practices are integrated into pet healthcare technologies.
• Lead security governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC) initiatives across the organization.
• Partner with product and engineering teams to integrate security into the SDLC (DevSecOps).
• Advocate for Zero Trust Architecture and modern security frameworks across cloud environments.

Product Development

• Define secure cloud architecture for Azure and cloud environments.
• Implement secure coding practices, penetration testing, and vulnerability management.
• Integrate cloud-native security controls and application security measures.

Go to Market Strategy

• Support security-related sales enablement and customer trust initiatives.
• Collaborate with legal and compliance teams to ensure security certifications (SOC 2, ISO/IEC 27001, UK GDPR, NCSC Cyber Essentials) are met.
• Manage security compliance in third-party partnerships and integrations.

IT Administration & Operations

• Oversee IT infrastructure, M365 Admin, Azure Admin, and enterprise IT operations.
• Ensure identity and access management (IAM), endpoint security, and network protection.
• Implement secure networking, VPN, and endpoint protection strategies.
• Support secure enterprise software, desktop support, and user productivity.

Analytics & Insights

• Establish and track security KPIs for risk reduction and compliance adherence.
• Use SIEM and security analytics tools (e.g., Azure Sentinel, SonarQube, OWASP ZAP, Snyk, WhiteSource[NR1] ) to monitor threats.
• Provide executive reporting on security metrics and risk posture.

Financial Acumen

• Manage the security budget, optimizing investments in security tools and automation.
• Conduct cost-benefit analysis to balance security risks with business needs.

Required Skills & Abilities:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. Ability to effectively convey complex concepts to diverse audiences, including executive leadership and customers.
• Proven understanding of regulatory demands interpreting and actioning regulator demands in a regulated business.

Education and Experience:

• Minimum 10+ years of experience in Information Security, Cybersecurity, or IT Administration.
• Strong expertise in cloud security, AI security, application security, and compliance frameworks.
• Strong knowledge of SOC 2, GDPR, CCPA, PCI-DSS, and data privacy regulations.
• Hands-on experience with Azure, M365, and enterprise security architectures.
• Expertise in SIEM, IAM, EDR, SAST, DAST, SCA, and security automation tools (DevSecOps).
• Experience managing enterprise IT operations, M365 Admin, Azure Admin and Desktop Support.
• Background in launching new software products, preferably within the fintech or insurance industries, and experience working in a startup environment.
• Strong understanding of the fintech or insurance industry. Experience with B2B software products is essential.
• CISSP, CISM, CISA, or other security certifications are preferred.

Other: 

• Some domestic (US) travel is required, and some international travel (UK, EU) is anticipated. 
• Primary working hours in Eastern US time zone.

Why Join Us:

• Opportunity to shape the future of pet health technology in a fast-growing and capitalized startup
• Work with a passionate and innovative team dedicated to transforming the pet insurance industry.
• Competitive salary and benefits package.
• Flexible work environment with opportunities for remote work.

All of our jobs come with great benefits including healthcare, parental leave and opportunities for career advancements. Some offerings are dependent upon the location of where you work and can include the following:

• Comprehensive full medical, dental and vision Insurance
• Basic Life Insurance at no cost to the employee
• Company paid short-term and long-term disability
• 12 weeks of 100% paid Parental Leave
• Health Savings Account (HSA)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
• Retirement savings plan
• Personal Paid Time Off
• Paid holidays and company-wide Wellness Day off
• Paid time off to volunteer at nonprofit organizations
• Pet friendly office environment
• Commuter Benefits
• Group Pet Insurance
• On the job training and skills development
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)