Head of Cybersecurity Defense Operations

This role is four days onsite at our Seneca One Buffalo, NY location, with the flexibility to work from home one day per weekOverview:   M&T Bank is seeking a strategic and transformational cybersecurity leader to serve as Head of Cyber Defense Operations. This role is accountable for leading the Bank's enterprise cyber defense capabilities, ensuring the continuous identification, protection, detection, response, and recovery from cybersecurity threats impacting the Bank's technology assets, customers, colleagues, and operations. The Cybersecurity Operations division serves as the focal point for M&T's 24x7x365 cyber defense mission and first-line cybersecurity response capabilities.The Head of Cyber Defense Operations will oversee multiple cyber defense functions and will work in close partnership with Threat Intelligence, Threat Hunt and Detection Engineering teams to ensure a unified, intelligence-driven cyber defense mission across the enterprise. This leader will partner closely with Technology, Enterprise Risk, Compliance, Audit, Corporate Security, and executive leadership to strengthen the Bank's cyber resilience and operational readiness in an increasingly complex threat landscape. This leader plays a key role in executing enterprise-scale cybersecurity programs, contributes to the Bank's cybersecurity transformation initiatives, and leads managers and senior technical leaders across the cyber defense mission. Reporting to the Director of Cybersecurity Operations, the Senior Manager translates enterprise strategy into operational execution, ensuring the Bank's detection, response, and insider risk capabilities function as a single, integrated defense mission.Primary Responsibilities:Operational leadership and execution of the Bank's Cyber Defense Operations strategy and roadmap, ensuring alignment with Cybersecurity, Technology, Operational Resilience, and enterprise risk management objectives..Provide strategic oversight and leadership for enterprise cyber defense capabilities, including security monitoring, threat detection, incident response, threat intelligence, threat hunting, insider threat, data loss prevention, and cyber defense engineering functions.Direct the operations and continuous maturation of the Cybersecurity Operations Center (CSOC), ensuring effective monitoring, triage, response, escalation, and containment of cybersecurity events across the enterprise.Lead strategic initiatives to modernize cyber defense operations through automation, advanced analytics, threat-informed defense methodologies, AI-enabled capabilities, and operational efficiencies while maintaining or improving security outcomes.Provide executive oversight of the Bank's Cybersecurity Incident Response Team (CIRT), ensuring effective preparedness, incident handling, recovery, after-action reviews, and continuous improvement of incident response processes.Serve as (or designate) the Cyber Incident Commander for high-severity/major in...