CISO Advisory Consultant

Role Type: Contract (Advisory)

Engagement Type: Short-Term Strategic Advisory (9-12 weeks)

Client: Confidential Healthcare/Academic Institution

Location: Remote (with occasional onsite optional)

Clearance/Compliance Requirements: HIPAA/NIST awareness preferred

Rate Range: $160-$225/hr (based on experience and healthcare specialization)


Position Summary


We are seeking a CISO-level Advisory Consultant to lead a short-term, high-impact engagement focused on evaluating and advancing the cybersecurity capability of a complex healthcare and academic medical center environment. The ideal candidate brings both strategic and operational leadership experience in cybersecurity, with a proven track record of delivering board-level insights, workforce assessments, and actionable security improvement plans.


Key Responsibilities

• Lead a comprehensive current-state assessment of cybersecurity operations, workforce structure, and domain coverage (IAM, SOC, GRC, etc.)
• Benchmark capabilities using industry frameworks: NIST CSF , NICE , CIS Controls , and MITRE Telecommunication&CK
• Identify skill and leadership gaps , domain blind spots, and structural misalignments
• Develop visual tools such as capability heat maps and role-based maturity matrices
• Craft a strategic security talent roadmap aligned to organizational risk posture and regulatory context
• Deliver an executive summary and board-ready narrative , translating technical realities into leadership language
• Facilitate workshops, executive sessions, and validation meetings with stakeholders across IT, clinical, research, and governance domains

Ideal Qualifications

• 15+ years in cybersecurity leadership, with at least 5 in CISO or Deputy CISO-level roles
• Deep familiarity with healthcare, academic medical centers , or similarly regulated/high-complexity environments
• Proven experience conducting cybersecurity organizational assessments and delivering strategic planning outcomes
• Executive-level communication and presentation skills; must be able to synthesize and translate complex findings
• Strong working knowledge of industry standards and frameworks (NIST, CIS, MITRE, NICE)
• Experience collaborating with both internal and third-party stakeholders (MSSPs, consultants, internal IT/security)
• Prior consulting, advisory, or fractional-CISO experience strongly preferred

Deliverables (May Include):

• Capability summary and benchmarking visuals
• Maturity & gap analysis report
• Talent heat map and skill assessment by role
• Strategic roadmap and hiring/upskilling recommendations
• Executive briefing deck or board summary
• Optional: Cyber resilience readiness summary and workshop output documentation