London
About us
At University College London, we are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and innovative environment that enables world-leading teaching, research and collaboration. With more than 50,000 students and staff across a rapidly evolving estate of over 240 buildings, UCL is one of the largest and most complex university environments in the UK.
Our Campus Resilience & Security team plays a vital role in supporting the university community through the delivery of modern, resilient and customer-focused security services. As UCL continues to expand - including major capital developments and the growth of UCL East - we are investing in integrated, future-ready security infrastructure that supports operational excellence, sustainability and innovation across our estate.
This is an exciting opportunity to join a forward-thinking team at the heart of one of the world's leading universities and help shape the future of security systems across a dynamic and diverse organisation.
About the role
As Head of Security Systems, you will provide strategic and technical leadership for the design, implementation, maintenance and continuous improvement of UCL's physical and electronic security systems.
Leading a specialist team and overseeing key service contracts, you will drive the development of integrated, scalable and future-proofed security solutions across the university estate. This includes access control, CCTV, alarms, smart card technologies, locks and keys, and the integration of enterprise-wide security platforms.
You will work closely with Estates project teams, IT specialists, operational security colleagues and senior stakeholders to ensure security systems support UCL's long-term growth and evolving operational needs. The role will also play a key part in major infrastructure and capital projects, helping to establish technical standards, improve resilience and embed innovation across the estate.
This is a highly visible leadership role requiring a balance of strategic thinking, technical expertise, operational delivery and stakeholder engagement. You will also oversee the Security Systems Customer Service Desk and ensure the delivery of responsive, high-quality services to departments, staff and students across UCL.
About you
You will bring extensive experience managing security systems within a large, complex and operationally diverse environment, alongside a strong technical understanding of modern electronic security technologies and the IT infrastructure that supports them.
An experienced leader, you will have a proven track record of managing technical teams, contracts, budgets and large-scale system implementations. You will be confident developing technical specifications, leading procurement and driving the integration and standardisation of security platforms across multiple sites.
You will also be a collaborative and customer-focused professional, able to build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels, from operational teams and project managers to senior leadership and external partners.
We are looking for someone who combines strategic vision with practical problem-solving ability - someone who is motivated by innovation, continuous improvement and delivering secure, resilient and future-ready environments that support a world-class university community.
What we offer
As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:
Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits to find out more
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
As London's Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world's talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL's workforce.
These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.