Head of Regional Security

ABOUT US
We’re the world’s leading provider of secure financial messaging services, headquartered in Belgium. We are the way the world moves value – across borders, through cities and overseas. No other organisation can address the scale, precision, pace and trust that this demands, and we’re proud to support the global economy.
We’re unique too. We were established to find a better way for the global financial community to move value – a reliable, safe and secure approach that the community can trust, completely. We’re always striving to be better and are constantly evolving in an ever-changing landscape, without undermining that trust. Five decades on, our vibrant community reflects the complexity and diversity of the financial ecosystem. We innovate diligently, test exhaustively, then implement fast. In a connected and exciting era, our mission has never been more relevant. Swift now has a presence in 200+ countries and legal territories to serve a community of more than 12,000 banks and financial institutions.
Head of Regional Security
Role Purpose
The Head of Regional Security provides senior leadership across physical security, security investment planning, and risk management for the organisation’s regional operations.
This senior role requires the credibility to represent the organisation with government and regulatory bodies, combined with the operational expertise to lead major physical security programmes across critical infrastructure sites. The postholder holds delegated authority for regional decisions, budget planning, reporting, oversight, KPI management and crisis response.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership:
As a strategic and trusted adviser to the Head of Golbal Corporate Security, The Regional Corporate Security function leads on regional and cross-functional corporate security, including support for regulatory, board and executive reporting. The role develops and owns the regional security strategy, aligning it to the group-wide corporate security operating model. Lead the design, business case development, and delivery of major security investment projects, ensuring value for money and alignment with enterprise risk appetite.
Critical Infrastructure & Regulated Environments:
Provide security leadership across critical national infrastructure (CNI) assets, ensuring compliance with sector-specific regulatory frameworks. Own the relationship with government security bodies, and law enforcement, acting as the organisation’s principal point of contact on security matters within the region. Support regulatory reporting, lead and coordinate security audits, both regulatory and internal, ensuring findings are tracked to closure and inform continuous improvement.
Geopolitical & Risk Management:
Monitor and assess the geopolitical environment, translating intelligence into actionable guidance for leadership on risks to people, assets, and critical infrastructure. Own regional threat and risk assessments, ensuring mitigation plans are proportionate, current, and tested. A restored a senior escalation point during incidents, applying structured incident command principles (e.g. Gold-Silver-Bronze) to coordinate response.
People & Programme Leadership: Lead a team of security specialists, setting objectives, developing capability, and managing performance. Manage investment projects are delivered on time and to specification. Build strong working relationships with peers across the business (legal, HR, operations, IT/cyber) to ensure security is embedded rather than siloed.
Person Specification:
Essential 10+ years in a management role leading security investment projects, ideally within a corporate or critical infrastructure security function. Demonstrable experience operating within a highly regulated environment involving critical infrastructure. Experience navigating geopolitical environments and assessing their impact on people and critical infrastructure. Track record of leading or coordinating investigations, executive travel, events, security audits and managing government/regulatory security reporting and relationships. Strong command of security governance, risk frameworks, and investment/business case development. Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the gravitas to engage government bodies, regulators, and senior executives.
Desirable:
Background in executive protection, counter-drone strategy, or manned guarding oversight. Experience across multiple high risk regional security and operating models (Americas, EMEA, APAC). Recognised security management qualification (e.g. CSMP, CPP, Security Institute or equivalent).
What Success Looks Like:
A regional security function operating to a mature, audit-ready standard, with strong regulator and government relationships. Security investment projects delivered on time, on budget, and demonstrably reducing risk. The organisation demonstrably prepared for geopolitical shocks affecting people or infrastructure. A capable deputy able to step into the Global Head of Corporate Security’s shoes at short notice
We're open to potentially hiring someone in one of our Western European locations (example France, Italy, Spain, Germany etc.).
Please note if you're applying for this role in The Netherlands the role will be an inital 12 month FTC, turning permanent there after.
What we offer
We give you the freedom to be yourself. We are creating an environment of unique individuals – like you – with different perspectives on the financial industry and the world. A diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone’s voice counts and where you can reach your full potential.
We are committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation related to accessibility during your application or interview, please contact accessibility-Sysgroup@swift.com or indicate this in your application.
Please note that this mailbox is not monitored for general recruitment enquiries and should only be used for accessibility or accommodation-related requests (for example related to vision, hearing or neurodiversity).
All requests are confidential and will not affect your candidacy.
Don’t meet every single requirement? At Swift, we are dedicated to building a workplace where people can bring their full selves and ideas to the team, so if you are excited about this role, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single qualification.