Principal Cyber Risk Advisor
ECI · Financial Services · 501-1,000 employees
Dallas, TX · Hybrid · full_time
Listed by the employer as “Security GRC - Principal Cyber Risk Advisor”. Title normalized for comparability.
CLI Career Level
VP-equivalent
Moderate confidence
Opportunity Score
75/100
Above average
High confidence
Executive Fit
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Career Level and Opportunity Score describe the role itself. Executive Fit is the only figure that depends on your profile.
First seen Oct 27, 2026 · Last verified 6 days ago · Sourced from LinkedIn — Principal / GRC leadership (US)
CLI Take
Broader than the title suggests
This role reads VP-equivalent despite being advertised as “Security GRC - Principal Cyber Risk Advisor” — the stated scope is wider than the employer's title implies. CLI's analysis of the posting describes a strategic build or transformation mandate, and it carries board-level exposure and carries SOX and SOC 2 accountability. The posting reads closer to an individual contributor mandate: hands-on delivery expected. The reporting line and team size are not disclosed and remain the main open questions before pursuing it.
Why this role scores the way it does
75/100 — above average opportunity quality. CLI reads this as a VP-equivalent mandate. Strongest signal: CLI's analysis of the posting describes a strategic build or transformation mandate. Main drag on the score: The posting reads closer to an individual contributor mandate: hands-on delivery expected. 3 of 10 dimensions are not disclosed, which lowers confidence rather than the score.
Career level read
VP-equivalent — The employer lists this as “Security GRC - Principal Cyber Risk Advisor”. CLI reads it as VP-equivalent because the role shows global responsibility; multinational responsibility; executive committee exposure, board-level exposure expected, 501-1,000 employee organization.
Moderate confidence
What makes it attractive
- CLI's analysis of the posting describes a strategic build or transformation mandate.
- Scope language covers global responsibility; multinational responsibility; executive committee exposure.
- Board-level exposure is expected in the role.
What to probe before applying
- The posting reads closer to an individual contributor mandate: hands-on delivery expected.
Scoring components · Above average
The employer discloses a base range, but there is no comparable set to benchmark it against yet.
Reporting line: not disclosed.
Scope language covers global responsibility; multinational responsibility; executive committee exposure.
CLI's analysis of the posting describes a strategic build or transformation mandate.
Board-level exposure is expected in the role.
The posting reads closer to an individual contributor mandate: hands-on delivery expected.
Employer profile: 501-1,000 employee organization, pe backed ownership, private equity, revenue 50m 250m.
Team size: not disclosed.
Budget ownership: not disclosed.
No adverse signals identified in the posting.
Dimensions the employer does not disclose are excluded and the remaining weights are rebalanced, so missing information lowers confidence rather than the score.
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Compensation
$140,000 – $150,000 base salary, disclosed by employer
The mandate
This is a hands-on principal consultant role serving as a virtual CISO and strategic advisor to mid-market financial services clients. The leader is responsible for building and executing multi-framework compliance programs, managing risk registers, and leading M&A due diligence from a security perspective.
This role acts as a senior technical and advisory resource across a portfolio of client engagements, serving as a named advisor to client C-suites. The remit includes full audit lifecycle management, vendor risk programs, and GRC practice development for ECI.
Scope
- Board-level exposure expected
Domains and regulation
- GRC
- Compliance
- Third-Party Risk
- Cloud Security
- Cyber Defense
- Resilience
- SOX
- SOC 2
- FedRAMP
- CMMC
- NIST 800-171
- DFARS
Requirements
Must have
- 7–10+ years of experience in information security, GRC, or IT risk.
- At least 3 years in a client-facing advisory, vCISO, or principal consultant capacity.
- Demonstrated, hands-on experience managing multi-framework compliance programs (CMMC, NIST, SOC 2, ISO 27001, TISAX, or similar).
- Experience supporting M&A transactions from a GRC/security perspective (due diligence, gap analysis, or integration planning).
- Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field.
- Deep working knowledge of CMMC 2.0, DFARS 252.204-7012, NIST CSF/RMF/SP 800-53, HITRUST, and SEC cybersecurity rules.
Preferred / bonus
- Nothing listed as optional.
Only must-have items are scored as hard constraints in Executive Fit.
Likely challenges
- Managing multi-framework compliance programs concurrently (CMMC, TISAX, NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2, SEC) for a portfolio of complex client engagements.
- Transitioning from strategic advisory to hands-on execution, including writing policies, conducting assessments, and leading audits.
- Leading GRC due diligence workstreams for M&A acquisition targets, including post-acquisition integration roadmaps.
- Navigating the dual role of being a primary third-party provider while owning client-side internal workflows.
Not stated in the posting: Internal reporting structure at ECI (who this role reports to internally) is not specified..
About ECI
ECI provides managed IT services, cybersecurity solutions, and business transformation consulting specifically for the global financial services industry. The firm supports hedge funds, private equity firms, and asset managers with cloud infrastructure and regulatory compliance services. It operates as a mid-sized managed service provider with a significant presence in major financial hubs.
- Industry
- Financial Services
- Headcount
- 501-1,000 employees
- Headquarters
- Boston, MA
- Founded
- 1995
- Ownership
- Private equity backed
- Funding
- Private equity backed
- Revenue
- $50M – $250M
- Investors
- H.I.G. Capital
Full company profile for ECI →
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