Mainframe Consultant

Mainframe Operational Security Engineer (RACF) – Freelance

Assignment overview

Location

Belgium, hybrid: 50% on-site, 50% remote

Experience:10+ years

On-call:Approx. 1 week per month outside business hours

About the team

You will join the Mainframe System Security squad within the client's IT Security Production team. You will work with stakeholders across the business, local IT and the wider group IT organisation.

The squad sets security standards for the mainframe and makes sure they are applied. It supports infrastructure teams and users during security incidents. It also manages, corrects and documents security risks raised by auditors.

Key responsibilities

• Manage user permissions and access for systems outside IAM, keeping them secure without blocking operations
• Maintain the content of the RACF database, manually and through automation
• Write clear security documentation and standards so teams know what to do and why
• Handle encryption tasks, from importing certificates to configuring technical agents for Hardware Security Modules (HSMs)
• Assess the security of new mainframe products before they go live
• Resolve security incidents with the squad, from decoding error messages to implementing fixes with minimal disruption
• Provide compliance evidence and address audit findings for IT Risk, asset owners and auditors
• Spot potential risks early and address them before they affect users
• Take part in the squad on-call rota for critical job failures outside business hours (approx. 1 week per month, including the weekend and holidays in that week)

Mandatory requirements

Experience and qualifications

• At least 10 years of relevant experience
• Cybersecurity experience with hands-on mainframe expertise
• Bachelor's degree
• RACF Security Administrator certification

Technical skills

• RACF and its surrounding utilities
• Mainframe architecture
• Core mainframe tools: JCL, ISPF, REXX, SDSF
• Role-based security modelling
• AT-TLS and certificates
• Public Key Infrastructure and mainframe CryptoCards
• Security of DB2, IMS and MQ
• Mainframe subsystems and their security: spool, network, storage, SMF
• Unix System Services (USS)
• Job scheduling

Nice to have

• zSecure RACF certification
• Knowledge of the zSecure product suite
• Control-M job scheduler
• COBOL
• Endevor
• Financial sector experience

What we are looking for in you

• Analytical: you work through complex scenarios where security rules in different manuals conflict
• Critical thinker: you check every request against security standards rather than taking it at face value
• Problem solver: you trace a vague error message back to its root cause and fix it
• Creative: you design your own solutions for compliance points where no playbook exists
• Agile: you work well in a team while owning your part, and you are keen to learn
• Proactive: in a high-volume environment, you spot risks early and resolve them before they escalate