UK

United Kingdom · Compliance, quality and safety · Mid-Level (2-5 years)

ISO 27001 Administrator

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  • Experience bandMid-Level (2-5 years)
  • Direct reportsNo direct reports
  • Reports toSenior ISMS Specialist
  • UK framework levelUsually someone starting out, or keeping a process running

Also advertised as Information Security Compliance Coordinator · ISMS Support Analyst · Compliance Officer (Information Security)

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From This Job To A Course

The qualifications matched to this job

GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Diploma for a Bulk Storage Operator (Technician) GQA Qualifications Limited · Level 3 · covers 1 of 16 standards
GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Certificate in Laboratory Technical Skills GQA Qualifications Limited · Level 3 · covers 1 of 16 standards
GQA Level 5 Diploma in the Practice of Process Safety Management GQA Qualifications Limited · Level 5 · covers 1 of 16 standards
NCFE Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in Cyber Security (Diploma) NCFE · Level 3 · covers 3 of 16 standards
Qualifi Level 2 Diploma in Business Beginners in Cyber Security Qualifi Ltd · Level 2 · covers 2 of 16 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Comply with External and Internal Obligations within a Bulk Storage Operations Environment GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Diploma for a Bulk Storage Operator (Technician)
Good Manufacturing Practice GQA PAA\VQ-SET Level 3 Certificate in Laboratory Technical Skills
Principles of Safe Manufacture of Quality Medicines in the Pharmaceutical Environment Open Awards Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in the Principles and Practice for Pharmacy Technicians (Diploma)
Understand how to comply with the relevant Regulations, Industry Standards and Management Requirements for Process Safety GQA Level 5 Diploma in the Practice of Process Safety Management
Legislation and governance NCFE Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry in Cyber Security (Diploma)
Cyber Security Solutions Qualifi Level 2 Diploma in Business Beginners in Cyber Security

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Systems Fluency seeing the whole picture
Your Plan Illustration

Built for ISO 27001 Administrator

6 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Comply with External and Internal Obligations within a Bulk Storage Operations Environment GQA Qualifications Limited · covers 1 of 16 standards Level 3
  2. Good Manufacturing Practice GQA Qualifications Limited · covers 1 of 16 standards Level 3
  3. Principles of Safe Manufacture of Quality Medicines in the Pharmaceutical Environment Open Awards · covers 1 of 16 standards Level 3
  4. Understand how to comply with the relevant Regulations, Industry Standards and Management Requirements for Process Safety GQA Qualifications Limited · covers 1 of 16 standards Level 5
  5. Legislation and governance NCFE · covers 3 of 16 standards Level 3
  6. Cyber Security Solutions Qualifi Ltd · covers 2 of 16 standards Level 2
An illustration of the units matched to this role. The order reflects those matches, without any learner progress.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as an ISO 27001 Administrator?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skills this role is being asked for

  • Proactive Stakeholder Education & Influence
  • Critical Thinking for AI-Generated Content
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

What Happens When You Start

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3What This Role Really Is

An ISO 27001 Administrator keeps an Information Security Management System running and ready for audit. The work involves gathering evidence, tracking risks, and keeping procedures up to date. It suits someone who likes order and gets the details right.

4What You’d Actually Use The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.
ServiceNow GRC (or similar GRC platform like OneTrust/Vanta) Intermediate

Logging risks, tracking controls, managing CAPAs, and pulling pre-defined reports for evidence collection. You'll be in this system daily, so you need to be comfortable navigating it.

Confluence & Jira Intermediate

Creating and updating Confluence pages for policies and procedures, managing Jira tickets for non-conformities (CAPAs) and evidence requests. You'll use these for all our documentation and task tracking.

Microsoft Excel (PivotTables, VLOOKUP, Conditional Formatting) Intermediate

Maintaining the Risk Register and Statement of Applicability (SoA) in Excel (if not fully in GRC), tracking evidence, and creating simple reports. You'll need to be good with formulas and data organisation.

Microsoft PowerPoint Intermediate

Populating pre-made PowerPoint templates for Management Review or internal updates. You'll need to present data clearly and concisely.

Nessus/Qualys (Vulnerability Management) Basic

Navigating the UI to pull specific, requested reports (e.g., 'last 30 days vulnerability scan for production servers') as evidence for relevant controls.

5What You Get To Decide, And How That Grows Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.
The choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Evidence Collection Method Follows prescribed methods; asks for guidance if a new type of evidence is needed. Chooses the most efficient method for routine evidence collection; proposes new methods for review by Senior Specialist. Designs and standardises evidence collection methods across the ISMS; defines requirements for GRC tool automation.
Risk Register Updates (Logging & Tracking) Logs risks identified by others; tracks status updates as directed. Independently logs new risks, ensures all required fields are complete, and tracks treatment plans to closure. Identifies missing information. Refines risk logging procedures; reviews and validates risk assessments conducted by others; makes recommendations on risk treatment strategies.
CAPA Management (Non-Conformity Resolution) Updates CAPA status as reported by owners; escalates if deadlines are missed. Actively manages assigned CAPAs, verifying evidence of closure and ensuring root cause analysis is documented. Proactively chases owners. Leads root cause analysis sessions; approves CAPA closure; identifies recurring non-conformities and proposes systemic fixes.
ISMS Documentation Changes Makes minor edits to existing documents based on explicit instructions. Independently updates policies, procedures, and SoA sections based on process changes or audit findings; seeks review from Senior Specialist. Designs new documentation templates; architects the overall ISMS documentation structure; ensures consistency and adherence to ISO 27001 requirements.
6How You’ll Be Judged The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.
Evidence Collection Completion Rate
Percentage of requested audit evidence collected and organised by the internal deadline.
Target · 95%

If we request 100 pieces of evidence for the Q2 internal audit, you'll need to have 95 of them ready and properly filed by the deadline. Missing just a few can cause a scramble.

Risk Register Update Timeliness
How quickly new risks or changes to existing risks are logged and updated in the risk register.
Target · Within 5 business days of identification

If the IT team flags a new critical vulnerability on a Monday, you'll need to have it formally added to the risk register, assessed, and assigned an owner by the following Monday. Delays here mean we're not tracking our exposure properly.

Corrective Action & Preventive Action (CAPA) Closure Rate
Percentage of assigned CAPAs (from internal or external audits) that are closed out within their agreed-upon timeframe.
Target · 90%

If an internal audit flags 10 non-conformities with a 30-day fix window, you'll need to make sure 9 of them are formally resolved and documented within that period. We can't let these linger; auditors hate that.

Documentation Accuracy & Currency
Error rate in ISMS documentation (e.g., policies, procedures, Statement of Applicability) identified during reviews.
Target · <5% error rate

During a review of our access control policy, we find only one minor inconsistency with the actual process or an outdated reference, keeping the error rate low. More than that, and we'll need to spend more time on quality control.

Stakeholder Cooperation & Engagement
How effectively you build relationships and get buy-in from other departments for compliance tasks.
  • Feedback from department leads on ease of working with you
  • proactive communication from other teams about security changes
  • minimal escalation needed to get evidence
  • positive comments during internal audit interviews about your helpfulness.
Process Improvement Suggestions
Your contribution to making our ISMS processes more efficient and less burdensome.
  • Documented suggestions for streamlining evidence collection
  • proposals for improving our GRC platform usage
  • positive impact on team workload from your ideas
  • new templates or checklists you've created that save time.
Audit Readiness & Calm
The level of preparedness you bring to internal and external audits, reducing stress for the team.
  • External auditors commenting on the clarity and organisation of evidence
  • minimal last-minute scrambling before audits
  • your ability to confidently answer auditor questions about your areas of responsibility
  • positive feedback from the Senior ISMS Specialist on your audit support.
Proactive Issue Identification
Your ability to spot potential compliance gaps or risks before they become problems.
  • Identifying a missing control implementation during a routine check
  • flagging an outdated policy before an auditor sees it
  • bringing a potential non-conformity to the attention of your manager before it's formally found.
7Would You Like It What people enjoy about the work, and what they find difficult.
What People Enjoy
Bringing Order to Chaos

You'll get a real kick out of taking a messy pile of audit evidence and turning it into a perfectly organised, easily auditable structure. The satisfaction of a perfectly updated risk register is your reward.

Spending an afternoon standardising file naming conventions for all evidence documents, knowing it will save hours during the next audit, genuinely makes you happy.

Ensuring Security & Trust

You're driven by the knowledge that your meticulous work directly contributes to the company's security posture and helps build trust with our clients. You're a guardian of our reputation.

When an external auditor praises the clarity of the evidence you've prepared, you feel a genuine sense of accomplishment, knowing you've helped protect the business.

Continuous Improvement

You're always looking for ways to make processes smoother, more efficient, and less prone to error. The idea of making next year's audit even easier really appeals to you.

Automating a recurring evidence collection task using a simple script or a GRC platform feature, saving 30 minutes each week, is a win in your book.

What Frustrates People
  • The 'Evidence Chase': Spending 60% of your time chasing busy engineers, HR managers, and IT staff for documentation they see as a low-priority distraction from their 'real work'.
  • The 'Paper Tiger' Perception: Constantly battling the business's view that you are just a 'box-ticker' and that the ISMS is a bureaucratic exercise with no real-world value.
  • Undocumented Changes: Discovering during an internal audit that a critical business process was completely re-engineered six months ago, and nobody thought to update the ISMS documentation or risk assessment.
  • Audit Amnesia: Stakeholders who agree to implement a control, forget about it for 11 months, and then treat your pre-audit reminder as a brand new, unreasonable request.
  • Explaining the 'Why': Repeatedly explaining to senior leaders why a specific control is necessary and not just 'gold-plating,' especially when it has a cost or operational impact.
What This Role Does Not Give You
  • High-level strategic decision-making on information security architecture (that's for the Senior ISMS Specialist or Lead GRC Analyst).
  • Direct management of technical security tools like firewalls or intrusion detection systems (that's IT Operations).
  • A quiet, uninterrupted work environment where you can just focus on one task for days on end (expect frequent interruptions for evidence requests).
8Who You Work With

This role is absolutely central to maintaining our ISO 27001 certification. You're the engine that keeps the ISMS running, directly affecting our market credibility and our ability to meet contractual obligations. Without a solid administrator, the whole system grinds to a halt, and we risk losing that all-important certificate. It's about protecting our reputation and our business.

Inside The Business
  • IT Operations Team
  • Software Engineering Leads
  • HR Department
  • Legal & Data Protection Officers
  • Departmental Managers (for evidence collection)
Outside The Business
  • External ISO 27001 Auditors
  • Certification Body Representatives
9What You Need Before You Start Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.
  • At least 2 years of hands-on experience working within an ISO 27001 certified environment, or a similar information security compliance framework (e.g., SOC 2, NIST CSF).
  • Demonstrable experience with evidence collection, documentation management, and tracking compliance tasks.
  • A solid understanding of information security concepts and terminology. You should be able to hold a conversation about firewalls, encryption, and access controls.
  • Proficiency with at least one GRC platform (e.g., ServiceNow GRC, OneTrust, Vanta) for managing risks and controls, or strong experience with equivalent manual processes.
  • Excellent organisational skills and a keen eye for detail. We're talking about catching the £50K formula error before it hits the client, not just spotting a typo.
  • Strong written and verbal communication skills in English. You'll be writing reports and talking to people across the business, so clarity is key.
10What To Practise Next Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.
Advanced GRC Platform Configuration

To truly automate and optimise our ISMS, you'll need to move beyond just using the GRC platform to understanding how to configure it. This means building custom dashboards, setting up more complex workflows, and automating evidence requests directly from source systems. It's about making the platform work harder for us.

Workflow Automation · Custom Reporting & Dashboards · Integration Basics · User Access & Permissions Management

  • This week: Explore the 'admin' or 'configuration' sections of our current GRC platform. What options are there?
  • This month: Complete an online course or tutorial specifically on advanced features of ServiceNow GRC (or our chosen platform).
  • Month 2: Propose and build one small custom dashboard or automated workflow within the platform for a specific control.
  • Month 3: Work with IT to understand how data from one 'evidence source system' (e.g., Nessus) could be integrated with the GRC platform.

Quick win: Identify one manual, repetitive task you do in the GRC platform and research if there's an existing feature that could automate it. Ask your Senior Specialist for access to the sandbox environment.

11Staying Current Once You Are In
What People Here Do To Keep Up
  • Attending industry webinars and conferences on ISO 27001 updates or GRC best practices.
  • Joining relevant professional bodies like ISACA or the Institute of Information Security Professionals (IISP).
  • Participating in online forums or communities dedicated to information security compliance.
  • Taking internal training courses on our specific GRC platform or other security tools.
  • Shadowing a Senior ISMS Specialist during an internal audit or a complex evidence review.

12The Rising Capability

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

Skills This Job Is Starting to Need

These skills come from Zavmo's analysis of how this job is changing. Choose one you can practise in your current work.

Proactive Stakeholder Education & Influence

As compliance becomes more embedded in daily operations, simply chasing evidence won't be enough. You'll need to help other teams understand why controls matter, making them more likely to comply proactively. It's about shifting from reactive chasing to proactive partnership.

  • Framing for Audience
  • Simple Explanations
  • Building Trust
  • Feedback Loops

Critical Thinking for AI-Generated Content

With AI tools becoming more common for drafting policies and reports (as mentioned in Section 4B), your job will shift to critically evaluating that content. You can't just copy-paste; you need to spot inaccuracies, biases, or 'hallucinations' that could lead to non-compliance.

  • AI Hallucination Detection
  • Contextual Relevance
  • Bias Identification
  • Legal & Regulatory Accuracy

13Skills You Will Use

What you’ll use

Skills This Role Draws On

Technical

  • ISO 27001/27002 Framework Understanding
  • Risk Assessment & Treatment Methodologies (Application)
  • Internal Auditing & Evidence Management
  • Corrective Action & Preventive Action (CAPA) Management
  • Statement of Applicability (SoA) Maintenance

14The Pathway

The pathway

Ways Into This Job

These are possible routes into the job in the UK. Your route depends on the skills and experience you already have.

  1. 1

    From ISO 27001 Coordinator (L1)

    1-2 years

    Skills to master

    • Taking ownership of specific control areas, proactive stakeholder engagement, basic risk assessment application, independent problem-solving for routine issues.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently delivers assigned evidence requests on time and accurately.
    • Proactively identifies minor gaps or inconsistencies in documentation.
    • Can clearly explain the purpose of several Annex A controls.
    • Successfully manages simple CAPAs to closure with minimal supervision.
  2. 2

    From IT Support / Junior Security Analyst

    2-3 years (with relevant security focus)

    Skills to master

    • Understanding of ISO 27001 framework, documentation standards, evidence collection methodologies, stakeholder communication for compliance.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Demonstrates a keen interest in information security governance and compliance.
    • Has a good grasp of IT infrastructure and security concepts.
    • Shows strong attention to detail in their current role.
    • Has taken initiative to learn about ISO 27001 in their own time (e.g., online courses).
  3. 3

    From Quality or Health & Safety Administrator

    2-4 years (with information security training)

    Skills to master

    • Translating quality/H&S compliance experience to information security, learning specific ISO 27001 requirements, understanding IT environments.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Proven track record in managing other ISO standards (e.g., ISO 9001, ISO 45001).
    • Strong process management and documentation skills.
    • Has undertaken formal training or certification in information security basics.
    • Can articulate the differences and similarities between various compliance frameworks.

15Where This Role Leads

The long view: This role gives a grounding in information security governance, risk, and compliance. It can lead to work as a Lead GRC Analyst, an Information Security Compliance Manager, or a Director of GRC.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

Skills for the Work Ahead

These ten skill areas can help you adapt as work changes. Choose one to practise alongside the skills your role needs today.

The highlighted areas are linked to ISO 27001 Administrator in Zavmo’s analysis.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

Learning That Starts With You

Learn One to One, Through Your Own Work

Work through practical tasks with your AI tutor. You explain your choices, try things out and learn at your pace.

A lesson from Comply with External and Internal Obligations within a Bulk Storage Operations Environment, worked against ISO 27001 Administrator.

Comply with External and Internal Obligations within a Bulk Storage Operations Environment Level 3

Applied to your work in ISO 27001 Administrator

The objective of this unit is to enable learners to comply with both external and internal obligations within a bulk storage operations environment. Learners will be able to perform audits, inspections, and safety sampling, adhere to safe systems of work, control systems for fiscal and excise compliance, and review and improve standard operating procedures.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 Create
An illustration of a lesson linked to this role. The unit description and outcomes are shown as supplied in the qualification record.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
ISO 27001 Administrator
  • ISO 27001/27002 Framework Understanding
  • Risk Assessment & Treatment Methodologies (Application)
  • Internal Auditing & Evidence Management
  • Corrective Action & Preventive Action (CAPA) Management
  • Statement of Applicability (SoA) Maintenance
This illustration shows skills from this role. Each topic lights up as you show what you can do. Your record stays with you between jobs.

16The Details

More About This Role

See the roles you could work towards, ways to use AI and answers to common questions.

Where You Could Go Next

Where it leads

Where You Could Go Next

These roles build on experience in this job. Compare the skills and responsibilities involved.

  1. Senior ISMS Specialist (L3)

    3-5 years in current role

    You'll move from owning processes to leading entire workstreams and internal audits.

    • Internal Audit Planning & Execution Designing audit plans, leading interviews, writing comprehensive audit reports.
    • Advanced Risk Management Refining risk assessment methodologies and making recommendations on risk treatment strategies.
    • External Auditor Interface Being the primary point of contact for external auditors on a wider range of controls.
Working With AI

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, a lot of compliance work is about managing information, chasing details, and making sure everything lines up. Imagine if you could cut down the grunt work and focus on the really interesting stuff. Well, you can. AI tools are already here to help you do just that.

For an ISO 27001 Administrator, AI isn't about replacing your job; it's about making you incredibly efficient. Think of it as a really smart, tireless assistant that handles the repetitive, time-consuming parts of evidence gathering, documentation, and risk analysis. You'll still need your human judgement, but you'll have more time to apply it where it truly matters.

Automated Evidence Mapping

Use an AI tool to scan vendor security documents (like SOC 2 reports or security whitepapers) and automatically map their stated controls to our internal ISO 27001 Annex A controls. This drastically speeds up third-party risk assessments and saves you hours of manual cross-referencing.

Intelligent Risk Prioritisation

AI can analyse outputs from vulnerability scanners (e.g., Nessus, Qualys) and SIEMs (like Splunk), correlating technical findings with business context from our ISMS. It then helps prioritise remediation efforts based on actual risk to the business, not just raw technical scores, giving you a clearer picture of what to chase first.

Policy & Control Drafting Assistant

Use a generative AI to create the first draft of new information security policies or control descriptions based on high-level requirements. This provides a solid, well-structured starting point for your human refinement and ensures consistency in language. No more staring at a blank page!

Continuous Control Monitoring Prep

AI scripts can query cloud environments (AWS, Azure) and other systems to automatically gather evidence for specific controls (e.g., 'confirm MFA is enabled for all admins,' 'verify encryption is enabled on all S3 buckets'). It flags exceptions for your human review, turning a manual chore into an automated check.

Common Questions

Common Questions

How do you become an ISO 27001 Administrator?

Common routes in include From ISO 27001 Coordinator (1-2 years), From IT Support / Junior Security Analyst (2-3 years (with relevant security focus)) and From Quality or Health & Safety Administrator (2-4 years (with information security training)). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can an ISO 27001 Administrator progress to?

This role can lead on to Senior ISMS Specialist (3-5 years in current role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for an ISO 27001 Administrator?

Increasingly, Proactive Stakeholder Education & Influence and Critical Thinking for AI-Generated Content. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

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17Where To Go From Here

Other roles at Level 2

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

 More jobs in compliance, quality and safety

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The skills involved apply across industries. Every organisation needs to manage information security and compliance, in finance, tech, healthcare, or manufacturing. An ISO 27001 background is useful in most sectors.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

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Your Job Description
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