A guest blog from Vincent Devine, Government Chief Security Officer, Head of the Security Profession.
This is a hugely exciting and challenging time to be working in the Government Security Profession. The scale of government security is extraordinary. We are the largest security operation in the UK, with a mission to defend the British government from the full range of security threats.
As the National Security Strategy says, those threats are growing and changing. So it is critical that we continue to build and evolve the capability of our security teams to meet them. That means continuously improving and adjusting our skills across physical, personnel, technical and cyber security. With that challenge comes a whole world of opportunities to grow and develop as a security professional.
The Government Security Profession's ambition
The Government Security Profession brings together over 14,000 security professionals across all government departments and agencies to ensure we benefit from their existing experience and help them gain further skills and knowledge. Our vision is to create a world-leading Government Security Profession which engages, supports and inspires our existing security professionals, continues to attract high quality new entrants and builds a diverse, motivated and thriving security community with exciting and rewarding careers.
Your pathway into Government Security
The Government Security Profession offers a diverse range of opportunities for development for all levels of capability. By visiting our dedicated Government Security website, Security.gov.uk, you can browse our career framework to explore our many security roles and specialisms, find links to vacancies, and learn about the broad range of development and career opportunities that are offered across the profession. Other opportunities include our tailored leadership growth pathway, equipped with a postgraduate qualification in Security Leadership, and Chartered accreditation with cyber and non-cyber accrediting bodies.
Inspirational leadership development in Government Security
Jen Logan, winner of the 2025 Inspirational Leader Award, is a Security Adviser at the Ministry of Justice and a graduate of the Secure Leaders programme. The programme provides sought-after development to individuals who, through courage, authenticity, and vision, are shaping the future of our security profession. Jen’s journey is a reflection that strong, adaptive leadership and continuing professional development have never been more important in Security. She’s someone who shows up with clarity, confidence, and a commitment to making a difference:
“I have worked with many great leaders during my 30+ years in the Civil Service and am still striving to emulate them. Leadership is multi-faceted, and I always thought I couldn’t be a leader as I am not necessarily creative or innovative (unless it’s to do with sewing). My advice is that it’s OK to still be learning and growing; you don’t have to be the perfect leader before you take on a leadership role.
I do a lot of ‘systems thinking’ - thinking about things in relationship to each other to solve the whole issue; otherwise, you may solve the wrong problem. I always thought this was ‘thinking outside the box’ until I did the Secure Leaders programme and realised this was systems thinking.
I didn’t go to university and started my career as an administration assistant, and I have seen a lot of change since then. My customer-facing experience was invaluable and has enabled me to understand the impact of what we, in security, look to implement.
I often juggle many plates, and the key is prioritisation. I have benefited greatly by learning from the leaders I look up to, and I want to “pay it forward”. I get a lot of satisfaction from coaching and mentoring, and while helping colleagues with their careers, it also helps me to learn and adapt, as nothing stands still.”
If you’d like to join us or find out more, check out our welcome page on our Government Security website.
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