Chief Information Security Officer

Background

The Money Forward Group is expanding into the financial and banking sectors, including digital banking. Rigorous risk management and quality standards across the Group are a top management priority.

Money Forward Vietnam (MFV) is the Group’s development hub, with approximately 470 employees across two offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, working on more than 50 products across 21 divisions. The Group’s security assessments have reaffirmed that MFV’s local governance and execution capabilities are directly linked to trust, business continuity, and delivery across the Group.

To date, a small local team has supported MFV’s security under the direction of the Group CISO Office in Japan. Going forward, MFV is expected not only to embed Group standards locally, but also to lead risk decisions that reflect Vietnam’s language, culture, and laws; respond swiftly to incidents on the ground; and implement financial-sector-level controls, including physical security.

We are therefore establishing a dedicated security team at MFV and seeking an MFV CISO to lead it and take full responsibility for MFV’s security. As a member of the leadership team, you will help build the foundation for MFV’s evolution from a development hub into a Value Co-Creation Hub.

Key Responsibilities

As the leader responsible for information security at MFV, you will oversee everything from strategy, controls, and operations to incident response and team building.

Security Strategy and Governance

• Develop MFV’s security strategy and medium-term roadmap, report to and build alignment with MFV leadership and the Group CISO.
• Drive the application and adoption of Group standards at MFV, including Group CISO Office policies, standards, and shared controls.
• Develop local policies and controls that address Vietnam-specific risks, in alignment with the Group CISO Office.
• Agree on and operate roles and responsibilities (RACI), decision-making authority, access to data and tools, and escalation paths with the Group CISO Office and Group Corporate IT.
• Develop approaches to compliance with Vietnam’s cybersecurity and personal data protection laws and regulations, in partnership with Legal.
• Conduct risk assessments, manage exceptions, and respond to audits and assessments.
• Advise business and internal initiatives on security and support responses to security requirements from Group companies and customers.
• Address security requirements, including physical security, arising from expansion into financial and banking businesses.

Preventive Controls and Continuous Monitoring

• Design and operate MFV’s monitoring framework and SLAs for preventive controls such as EDR, DLP, access control, and device management.
• Define and visualize KPIs—including device compliance, violation counts, severity and recurrence, unresolved cases, false-positive rates, and initial response times—and report regularly to leadership.
• Drive the security tooling roadmap agreed with the Group CISO Office.

Incident Response

• Lead MFV’s incident response from initial action through investigation, remediation, and prevention of recurrence, in coordination with Group CSIRT and the Group CISO Office.
• Build a team capable of responding quickly on the ground, including interviewing those involved, securing devices, and preserving evidence.
• Escalate major incidents to leadership and the Group CISO, and coordinate responses that take local laws and employment practices into account, in partnership with Legal and HR.

Security Culture and Education

• Design and operate a continuous learning cycle covering expectations set during hiring, onboarding, regular tests, sharing of case studies, refresher training, and in-person workshops.
• Operate a Security Ambassador network made up of managers from each division, including hosting monthly meetings attended by leadership, and embed security practices across the organization.
• Promote a secure development culture in collaboration with each division and the Group CISO Office’s Product Security department.

Team Building and Group Collaboration

• Recruit, develop, and evaluate Security Managers and Security Engineers, and strengthen the team’s capabilities.
• Develop budget and resource plans and design AI-enabled workflows, distinguishing work that can be delegated to AI from work that requires human judgment, on-site response, and stakeholder alignment.
• Collaborate through regular meetings with the Group CISO and CISO Office (every two weeks) and Group Corporate IT (weekly).
• Share MFV’s security improvements across the Group as examples of good practice.

Expected Outcomes (First-Year Milestones)

• First 3 months: Assess the current state of risks, controls, and organizational capabilities, and finalize an MFV security roadmap and roles and authority (RACI) agreed with the Group CISO Office.
• By 6 months: Begin operating MFV-side monitoring and SLAs for EDR, DLP, and access control, and establish regular KPI reporting.
• By 1 year: Maintain zero major incidents and reduce violation counts, severity, and recurrence to near zero. Achieve 100% participation in tests and training and 100% SLA compliance, and establish a team including a Security Manager and Security Engineers.

Why Join This Role

• Design security for an entire location: Shape the strategy, team, processes, and tools using your experience and judgment.
• Make decisions as part of the leadership team: Take full responsibility for MFV security under the Group CISO and work directly with leadership to advance the business.
• Take on financial-sector security challenges: Address demanding security requirements as the Group expands into digital banking and other financial services.
• Make an impact across the Group: Share improvements developed at MFV as examples of good practice for the wider Group.
• Collaborate with the Group CISO Office in Japan: Work with specialist teams in security governance, corporate security, product security, and AI security to deliver security at a global standard.
• Design operations with AI in mind: Build new security operations that incorporate AI at MFV, which aims to become an AI-driven organization.

Required Skills and Experience

• Approximately 10 or more years of practical experience in information security.
• Approximately 5 or more years of experience leading or managing a security organization, including hiring, developing, and evaluating team members.
• Experience developing a security strategy and roadmap and presenting them to senior leadership to build alignment.
• Experience building and operating security controls based on frameworks such as ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, and CIS Controls.
• Experience leading responses to major incidents, from initial response and investigation through stakeholder coordination and prevention of recurrence.
• Experience overseeing the planning, implementation, and operation of corporate security capabilities such as mobile device management (MDM), EDR, DLP, and identity and access management.
• Experience driving initiatives while coordinating and negotiating with multiple stakeholders, such as headquarters, Group companies, and global teams.
• The drive to lead from the front and see initiatives through to completion.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• Experience as a security leader at a financial institution, such as a bank, securities company, or fintech company.
• Experience addressing Vietnam’s financial regulations and cybersecurity and personal data protection laws and regulations.
• Experience leading certification or audit efforts for standards such as ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2.
• Experience overseeing security at a software development company or development hub, or promoting a secure software development lifecycle (SSDLC).
• Experience designing and operating physical security, including access control and office security.
• Experience working at a Japanese company or collaborating with a headquarters in Japan.
• Experience using AI for security operations or operational efficiency, or knowledge of risk management for AI use.
• Certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CISA, or CRISC.

Language Requirements

• English: Business level (required; guideline: TOEIC 700 / IELTS 6.0 or equivalent or higher). Used to communicate with leadership, the Group CISO, the Group CISO Office, and Group Corporate IT.
• Vietnamese: Native or business level (required). Used to communicate with local team members and respond to matters on the ground.
• Japanese: Business level (preferred).

Who We’re Looking For

• Someone who shares the Money Forward Group’s Mission, Vision, Values, and Culture.
• Someone who sees security not only as defense, but also as a foundation for business growth and user trust.
• Someone who works closely with teams on the ground while making firm decisions and addressing risks when necessary.
• Someone who enjoys the uncertainty of a team’s early stages, proactively identifies challenges, and solves them through systems and processes.
• Someone who collaborates with people from diverse backgrounds and finds satisfaction in helping the team grow.

Team and Working Environment

• MFV CISO (this role): Oversees security at MFV under the Group CISO.
• MFV security team: In addition to managing existing members, you will contribute to the hiring needed to build the team.
• Group CISO Office member: A member of the Group CISO Office is based at MFV and collaborates with the MFV security team under the direction of the Group CISO Office.
• Key partners: The Group CISO Office in Japan (Security Governance, Corporate Security, Product Security, AI Security Promotion, and MF-CSIRT), Group Corporate IT, and MFV’s divisions, corporate functions, and Legal.