3 Vacancies Open at Prime Bank Kenya 

Job purpose:

The Security Architect is responsible for designing, building, and overseeing the implementation of complex security environments that protect the bank’s digital infrastructure and financial assets. You serve as the primary bridge between business objectives and technical security controls, ensuring that all systems are resilient against advanced cyber threats while remaining compliant with global financial regulations. By establishing enterprise-wide security standards and frameworks, you provide the strategic foundation that enables the bank to innovate safely in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Key responsibilities:

• Design and maintain a comprehensive enterprise security architecture that aligns with the bank’s business goals and regulatory requirements.
• Conduct rigorous security architecture reviews for all new IT projects, ensuring that security “by design” and “by default” principles are integrated from the start.
• Develop and enforce technical security standards for identity and access management (IAM), encryption, network segmentation, on all environments.
• Proactively identify architectural gaps and vulnerabilities within the bank’s existing ecosystem and propose scalable technical solutions to mitigate those risks.
• Collaborate with senior leadership and stakeholders to translate complex security requirements into actionable technical roadmaps and investment priorities.
• Oversee the selection and implementation of advanced security technologies, ensuring they integrate seamlessly with the bank’s current stack and long-term strategy.

Job Experience/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Computer Information System, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensic or any equivalent field.
• Familiarity with industry standards, frameworks and regulations (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST, MITRE ATT&CK matrix etc.)
• Proficiency in using security tools and technologies, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, SIEM, and vulnerability management tools.
• At least seven years’ post qualification experience.
• Extensive experience in designing security for financial systems, including knowledge of PCI-DSS, SWIFT CSP, and the Kenya Data Protection Act (2019), is mandatory.
• Candidates should ideally hold advanced professional certifications such as CISSP, CISM, SABSA, or TOGAF, along with role-specific cloud security certifications.
• Deep understanding of modern defence-in-depth strategies, including Zero Trust architecture, is required to protect the bank’s increasingly decentralized network.

Skills & Competencies:

• Exceptional strategic thinking and the ability to visualize the long-term security posture while maintaining focus on immediate technical risks.
• Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills are necessary to influence the Board and senior management on critical security investments.
• Demonstrate an advanced ability to perform risk-based decision-making, balancing security requirements with the bank’s need for operational agility.
• Excellent technical documentation skills are required to create architectural blueprints and compliance reports for submission to the Central Bank of Kenya.
• A proactive mindset toward innovation is essential for staying ahead of regional threat actors and adopting cutting-edge defences like AI-driven threat detection.
• Exhibit strong vendor management skills to ensure third-party service providers comply with the bank’s stringent security and privacy standards.

Job purpose:

As a SOC Manager, you are responsible for the strategic direction, daily operations, and continuous improvement of the bank’s Security Operations Centre. You will lead a team of security analysts to ensure the rapid detection, analysis, and containment of cyber threats targeting the bank’s digital infrastructure and financial assets. By aligning SOC processes with the CBK Cybersecurity Guidance Note and the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime (Critical Information Infrastructure) Regulations 2024, you ensure the bank maintains a resilient security posture that protects customer trust and regulatory standing.

Key responsibilities:

• Provide strategic leadership and administrative oversight for the SOC team, including managing 24/7 shift rotations and performance evaluations.
• Oversee the bank’s incident response lifecycle, serving as the Lead Incident Commander for high-priority breaches to ensure effective containment and recovery.
• Manage the integration and health of the bank’s security stack, including SIEM, EDR, and SOAR platforms, to maintain 100% visibility.
• Develop and maintain automated “Playbooks” and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to standardize and accelerate the team’s response to common threats.
• Responsible for the timely reporting of security incidents to senior management, the Board, and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) in accordance with regulatory mandates.
• Lead proactive threat-hunting initiatives and the integration of actionable threat intelligence to identify emerging regional financial sector threats.
• Define and track critical SOC performance metrics, such as Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR), to drive operational excellence.

Job Experience/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Computer Information System, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensic or any equivalent field.
• Familiarity with industry standards, frameworks and regulations (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST, MITRE ATT&CK matrix etc.)
• Proficiency in using security tools and technologies, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, SIEM, and vulnerability management tools.
• At least seven years’ post qualification experience.
• Extensive experience in a 24/7 SOC environment within the financial services or telecommunications sector is highly preferred.
• Demonstrate a deep understanding of the Kenyan regulatory landscape, including the CBK Cybersecurity Guidelines and the Data Protection Act (2019).
• Proven expertise in managing complex incident response scenarios and coordinating with cross-functional teams like Legal, Fraud, and IT is mandatory.
• Hold advanced certifications such as CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional), CISM, or GCIH (GIAC Certified Incident Handler).

Skills & Competencies:

• Exceptional leadership skills to mentor SOC analysts and build a high-performance, cohesive team under high-pressure conditions.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills are necessary to translate technical incident data into clear, actionable business risk reports for the Board.
• Exhibit an uncompromising level of integrity and ethical conduct.
• Possess a strategic mindset, with the ability to balance immediate operational needs against long-term security roadmaps.
• Strong project management and organizational skills are required to oversee the implementation of new security tools and process improvements.
• A proactive approach to networking within the Kenyan cybersecurity community is encouraged to share and receive intelligence on local and regional threat trends.

Job purpose:

As the bank’s first line of digital defence, the SOC Analyst L1 is responsible for the continuous, real-time monitoring of our security landscape to protect sensitive financial data and critical infrastructure from emerging threats. You will perform the vital initial triage of security alerts, distinguishing between routine anomalies and high-risk incidents—such as phishing attempts or unauthorized access—ensuring rapid escalation to senior responders when necessary. Operating within a high-stakes, 24/7 banking environment, your role is essential in maintaining regulatory compliance, preventing operational disruption, and upholding the security standards that guarantee our customers’ trust.

Key responsibilities:

• Real-Time Security Monitoring: Conduct continuous monitoring of the bank’s SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) consoles to identify suspicious activity across the network.
• Incident Triage & Classification: Perform the initial assessment of security alerts to determine their severity, validity, and potential impact on banking operations (e.g., distinguishing a false positive from a legitimate brute-force attack).
• Phishing & Email Analysis: Investigate reported suspicious emails and potential “Business Email Compromise” (BEC) attempts targeting bank employees or customers.
• Alert Escalation: Ensure timely and accurate escalation of verified high-priority threats to Level 2 Analysts according to the bank’s internal Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
• Threat Intelligence Integration: Utilize internal and external threat intelligence feeds to identify known malicious IP addresses, domains, and file hashes relevant to the financial sector.
• Documentation & Reporting: Maintain detailed logs of all alerts and actions taken within the ticketing system to ensure a clear audit trail for regulatory compliance (e.g., PCI-DSS).
• Vulnerability Awareness: Assist in identifying systems that are missing critical security patches or are running unauthorized software that could expose the bank to risk.
• Health Checks: Perform routine health checks on security tools and sensors to ensure the SOC has 100% visibility across all banking platforms.

Job Experience/Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in information technology, Computer Science, Computer Information System, Cyber Security, Cyber Forensic or any equivalent field.
• Familiarity with industry standards and regulations (e.g., ISO 27001, NIST, etc.)
• Proficiency in using security tools and technologies, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, SIEM, and vulnerability management tools.
• At least three years’ post qualification experience.
• Ability to read and interpret raw logs from various sources (Windows Event Logs, Firewall logs, Web Proxy logs).
• Knowledge of common attack vectors such as Phishing, SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), and Ransomware.
• Familiarity with the phases of the Incident Response Life Cycle (Preparation, Detection, Analysis, Containment, Eradication, and Recovery).

Skills & Competencies:

• Demonstrate strong analytical and problem-solving skills to accurately distinguish between benign network anomalies and genuine security threats.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required to clearly document security incidents and present technical findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.
• High level of integrity and professional ethics when handling sensitive data and confidential customer information.
• A proven ability to remain calm and follow established security protocols during high-pressure emergency situations is essential for effective incident response.
• Show a commitment to continuous learning by staying updated on the latest cybersecurity trends, emerging threats, and new defence technologies.
• Strong collaboration skills are necessary to work effectively with cross-functional teams.
• Precision and a meticulous attention to detail are mandatory to ensure that no critical security alerts or regulatory compliance requirements are overlooked.
• Possess the flexibility and resilience required to work in a 24/7 rotating shift environment, including nights, weekends, and public holidays