Senior Microsoft Security Specialist

Senior Microsoft Security Specialist

Senior Microsoft Security Specialist – 6-Month Contract

Location: Johannesburg / Gauteng Workplace: Hybrid Contract: 6 Months Industry: Technology / Cybersecurity

An exciting 6-month contract opportunity is available for an experienced Senior Microsoft Security Specialist to join a leading technology environment.

We are looking for a senior security professional with extensive hands-on experience across the Microsoft security ecosystem, including Microsoft 365, Azure, Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, Entra ID, Intune and hybrid infrastructure environments.

The successful candidate will act as a senior technical authority, driving security posture improvements, cyber resilience, governance and technical security initiatives while serving as a high-level escalation point for complex Microsoft security matters.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and manage the organisation's overall Microsoft security posture.

• Lead the design, implementation, optimisation and governance of the Microsoft E5 Security stack.

• Establish security standards, baselines, policies and operational procedures for Microsoft platforms.

• Develop strategic roadmaps to improve Microsoft security capability maturity.

• Lead the administration and optimisation of the Microsoft Defender ecosystem, including Defender for Endpoint, Office 365, Identity, Cloud Apps, Cloud and XDR.

• Implement advanced threat protection controls and drive proactive threat hunting and detection improvements.

• Own and manage the Microsoft Sentinel platform, including detection rules, analytics, workbooks, automation playbooks and threat-hunting capabilities.

• Integrate Microsoft and third-party security data sources into Sentinel and improve security monitoring maturity.

• Manage and secure Microsoft 365 services including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, Teams and Power Platform.

• Implement and maintain DLP, Information Protection, Sensitivity Labels, Retention Policies and Insider Risk Management controls.

• Lead administration and security of Microsoft Entra ID (Azure AD).

• Design and implement Conditional Access, PIM, Identity Protection, MFA, Passwordless Authentication, SSO and RBAC.

• Conduct access reviews and privileged account governance while implementing Zero Trust security principles.

• Design and implement security controls across Azure environments.

• Manage Azure security governance, including Azure Policy, Landing Zones, subscription governance and resource governance.

• Secure cloud workloads, networking, storage and platform services.

• Own the organisation's Microsoft Intune and SCCM/MECM co-management environment.

• Manage endpoint security policies, MDM, MAM, device compliance and configuration management.

• Lead endpoint patch management and vulnerability remediation activities.

• Drive continuous improvement of Microsoft Secure Score and overall cyber maturity.

• Conduct security assessments, reviews, gap analyses, control effectiveness assessments and vulnerability reviews.

• Develop and execute remediation plans for identified security weaknesses.

• Act as an L3/L4 escalation point for critical and complex security incidents.

• Lead technical investigations involving Microsoft 365, Azure, identity, endpoint compromises, insider threats and advanced persistent threats.

• Coordinate containment, eradication, forensic investigation and recovery activities during major cyber incidents.

• Produce root cause analyses and post-incident recommendations.

• Review and approve security designs for projects impacting Microsoft cloud and hybrid platforms.

• Provide security sign-off for platform-related changes and initiatives.

• Maintain architecture decision records and security control documentation.

• Provide technical leadership, coaching and mentorship to junior security specialists and operational teams.

• Promote security best practices and a security-first culture across technology teams.

• What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate will have:

• A Bachelor's Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Engineering or a related field.

• Relevant Microsoft security certifications.

• Minimum 8–10 years of IT infrastructure and security experience.

• Minimum 5 years of hands-on Microsoft Security experience.

• Proven experience managing Microsoft E5 Security environments within large enterprise organisations.

• Extensive experience with Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Defender technologies.

• Strong experience securing hybrid cloud environments.

• Hands-on experience with Intune and SCCM/MECM co-management environments.

• Experience leading major incident response and forensic investigations.

• Proven experience developing security standards, governance frameworks and operating models.

• Experience mentoring technical teams and operating as a senior escalation point.

• Strong analytical, problem-solving and decision-making abilities.

• Excellent stakeholder management, communication and presentation skills.

• Technical Skills

• Microsoft Defender XDR

• Defender for Endpoint

• Defender for Office 365

• Defender for Identity

• Defender for Cloud Apps

• Defender for Cloud

• Microsoft Sentinel

• Microsoft Purview

• Microsoft Secure Score

• Microsoft Entra ID

• Conditional Access

• MFA and SSO

• Privileged Identity Management (PIM)

• Identity Protection

• RBAC

• Microsoft Intune

• SCCM / MECM

• Windows Autopilot

• Patch Management

• Application Packaging and Deployment

• Azure Security

• Azure Policy

• Azure Landing Zones

• Cloud Governance and Compliance

• Cloud Workload Protection

• Security Architecture

• Incident Response

• Threat Hunting

• SIEM and SOAR

• Vulnerability Management

• Security Monitoring

• Digital Forensics

• Preferred Certifications

• Microsoft Certified: Cybersecurity Architect Expert (SC-100)

• Microsoft Certified: Security Operations Analyst Associate (SC-200)

• Microsoft Certified: Identity and Access Administrator Associate (SC-300)

• Microsoft Certified: Information Protection Administrator Associate (SC-400)

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Security Engineer Associate (AZ-500)

• Microsoft Certified: Azure Administrator Associate (AZ-104)

• CISSP

• CISM

• CCSP

• CompTIA Security+

• Key Competencies

• Strategic security leadership

• Advanced problem-solving

• Security architecture and design

• Incident management

• Risk assessment

• Stakeholder management

• Decision-making

• Communication and presentation

• Coaching and mentorship

• Governance and compliance management

• Continuous improvement

• Strong analytical skills

• Success Measures

Success in this role will be measured through:

• Improvement of Microsoft Secure Score.

• Reduction in security vulnerabilities and exposure risks.

• Improved Microsoft Sentinel detection and incident response capabilities.

• Successful implementation of Microsoft security roadmap initiatives.

• Improved endpoint compliance and patch management effectiveness.

• Effective incident response and resolution outcomes.

• Increased adoption of security governance standards.

• Overall improvement in the organisation's Microsoft cloud security maturity.

• Contract Details

• This is a 6-month hybrid contract position based in Johannesburg, with an opportunity to work across a dynamic enterprise technology and cybersecurity environment.

• If you are a senior Microsoft security professional with strong hands-on technical expertise, enterprise security experience and the ability to lead complex security initiatives, we would like to hear from you.

• Apply now to be considered for this opportunity.

• Apply for Position

• Or refer someone

• Share

• Facebook

• Line

• LinkedIn

• X (Formerly Twitter)

• Whatsapp

• Email