Open to senior cybersecurity PM & GRC roles — EMEA / remote

Kamen Kolev turns compliance
into delivered programmes.

Senior Cybersecurity Project Manager Focus areas: ISO/IEC 27000, GRC, IT audit remediation, CIS Controls, SIEM deployment, vendor management.

25+ years leading information security, IT risk and audit remediation programmes across EMEA. I've delivered 60+ initiatives in 12 markets at budgets from €500K to €5M+ — on time, on budget, and consistently ahead of SLA. My speciality is translating complex compliance requirements into structured, executable plans.

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Plovdiv, Bulgaria · UTC+3 Working across EMEA English
Kamen Kolev
Senior Security PM & GRC Leader

Plovdiv, Bulgaria · Serving EMEA

ISO/IEC 27000 IT Audit CIS Controls €5M+ Scale
Message
25+
years in IT & security
60+
programmes delivered
12
EMEA markets
€5M+
largest programme budget

About

A short introduction

I'm a senior cybersecurity project manager with 25+ years in IT, spent mostly at the intersection of security, risk and delivery. My work is taking a dense set of compliance obligations — ISO/IEC 27000, CIS Controls, internal audit findings — and turning them into a plan that engineering, operations and the business can actually execute against.

Most recently at Liberty Global in Amsterdam, I directed an ISO/IEC 27001 certification programme across four business units, leading three business analysts to close 13 control gaps and achieve certification on time and within budget. Alongside that I ran cybersecurity internal audit remediation, closed six data-centre resilience findings inside the agreed audit timeline, and managed the enterprise rollout of Splunk, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Rapid7 and Lacework across 1,500+ endpoints.

Before moving into security I spent a decade in telecoms delivery and regional operations — system integration across 12+ European operators, field operations with full P&L accountability, network expansion across ten regions. That's where I learned to manage vendors, hold a schedule, and translate between technical teams and executives. I'd welcome a conversation about senior PM, GRC or audit remediation roles across EMEA.

Quick facts

Based in
Plovdiv, Bulgaria — UTC+3, working across EMEA
Focus
ISO/IEC 27000, IT audit remediation, GRC, security programme delivery
Frameworks
ISO/IEC 27000 · CIS Controls
Tooling
Splunk · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · Rapid7 · Lacework · Visio
Sectors
Telecommunications & media, facilities services, cable operations
Languages
Bulgarian (native), English (full professional)
Education
MEng, UFT Plovdiv

Areas of expertise

What I bring

Frameworks, security tooling, delivery discipline and business analysis, applied across programmes in telecoms, media and facilities operations.

Cybersecurity & compliance

ISO/IEC 27000 IT audit remediation GRC CIS Controls ISO/IEC 27000 Vulnerability management BCP & DR Risk assessment Physical & environmental security

Security tooling

Splunk Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Rapid7 Lacework SIEM operations Firewall & IDS/IPS Endpoint management

Project management

Full lifecycle delivery Stakeholder management Vendor management Budget & resource planning UAT Agile / Scrum Waterfall Go-live & handover Scope & risk management P&L accountability

Business analysis

Requirements gathering Data & process modelling Microsoft Visio Business analytics Management action plans Audit evidence Process design

Track record

Experience & education

Twenty-five years across security, telecoms delivery and regional operations — newest first.

  1. Senior Project Manager & Business Analyst — Cybersecurity, Audit and Risk Liberty Global · Amsterdam Security 2020 — 2025
    • Directed definition, planning and delivery of an ISO/IEC 27001 certification programme across 4 business units; led a team of 3 business analysts and coordinated stakeholder input to remediate 13 control gaps — certification achieved on time and within budget.
    • Delivered business analysis and risk assessment for cybersecurity internal audit remediation: management action plans, detailed requirements and risk analysis, process design improvements, and audit-ready evidence validated against CIS Controls and ISO/IEC 27000.
    • Managed remediation of 6 data-centre resilience audit findings as both Project Manager and Business Analyst — governance, monitoring, incident management, physical security, environmental controls and power compliance. All findings closed within the agreed audit timeline.
    • Resolved critical web and network security audit findings, including firewall weaknesses, network intrusion monitoring gaps, end-of-life / end-of-service devices, and network security design deficiencies.
    • Managed enterprise-wide deployment of a security technology stack — Splunk, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Rapid7 and Lacework — across 1,500+ endpoints, owning the full lifecycle from requirements gathering through cross-functional integration; strengthened threat detection and reduced the organisational attack surface.
    ISO/IEC 27000CIS ControlsGRCSplunkMDERapid7Lacework
  2. Project Delivery Manager & System Integrator Liberty Global · Amsterdam Delivery 2013 — 2015 · 2017 — 2020
    • Led automated integration of subscriber data streams from 12+ European telecom operators, achieving 99%+ data integrity and enabling unified cross-functional reporting across all strategic business lines.
    • Managed go-live and deployment activities across technical delivery teams, system integrators and third-party suppliers; delivered structured handover to operations on successful implementation.
    • Prepared impact assessments and managed scope prioritisation across deployment cycles; identified and mitigated risks affecting schedule, scope and quality.
    • Designed and implemented secure data management processes aligned to CIS Controls for all applications handling personal data.
    • Established a quarterly monitoring process for administrative and generic accounts in line with CIS Controls 5 and 6.
    • Drove the introduction of the Premium E-MTA Wi-Fi Gateway with DOCSIS 3.1 / TR-069 capability across the pan-European market, and delivered IPTV and high-speed data B2C products over third-party FTTH networks.
    System integrationDOCSIS 3.1TR-069FTTHIPTVVendor management
  3. Regional Manager Sodexo · Sofia Operations 2016 — 2017
    • Managed multi-site regional operations with full P&L accountability and team performance oversight across the division.
    P&L managementMulti-site operationsTeam leadership
  4. General Manager, Field Operations SouthLink Telecom · Plovdiv Operations 2012 — 2013
    • Directed the full field operations division — service delivery, workforce planning and quality assurance across the region — achieving 99.5% customer satisfaction.
    Service deliveryWorkforce planningQuality assurance
  5. Network Development & Quality Control Manager Blizoo · Sofia / Plovdiv Operations 2010 — 2012
    • Managed network expansion initiatives and implemented quality assurance standards across the infrastructure: 50+ expansion initiatives across 10+ regions, delivering more than 25% improvement in service quality.
    Network expansionQuality controlInfrastructure
  6. Regional Manager Eurocom Cable Management Bulgaria · Sofia / Plovdiv Operations 2007 — 2010
    • Managed 5 regional operations and delivered 4 regional projects with significant cost savings through strategic resource allocation and optimisation.
    Regional managementCost optimisationResource planning
  7. IT Manager Eurocom Plovdiv · Plovdiv IT 1997 — 2006
    • Managed IT infrastructure (build & run), systems and teams across a multi-site cable operator environment for nearly a decade, establishing technical foundations and driving continuous improvement.
    IT infrastructureBuild & runSystems management
  8. Master of Engineering (MEng) UFT Plovdiv Education 1986 — 1990
    • Master of Engineering, University of Food Technologies, Plovdiv.
    Engineering

Programmes & initiatives

Selected programmes

Seven programmes I've led end to end. Open any card for the mandate, the approach, and the measurable outcome.

ISO/IEC 27001 Certification Programme

Flagship

Took four business units from gap assessment to certification, leading three business analysts and closing 13 control gaps — on time and within budget.

ISO/IEC 27000GRCCIS Controls

ISO/IEC 27001 Certification Programme

2020 – 2025 · Programme Director & Business Analyst · Liberty Global

A multi-business-unit ISO/IEC 27001 certification programme at Liberty Global: definition, planning and delivery of the whole certification path, from initial gap analysis through external audit.

The mandate

Four business units needed certification against a shared timeline. Control ownership was split across security, IT operations, facilities and the business itself, with no single view of who was accountable for which gap — the usual reason programmes like this slip.

How I ran it

  • Directed definition, planning and delivery, and led a team of three business analysts.
  • Coordinated stakeholder input across all four units to identify and remediate 13 control gaps.
  • Translated each framework requirement into a named owner, a deadline and a defined evidence artefact, so nothing sat ambiguously between teams.
  • Managed budget and resource planning end to end, reporting progress against the certification date rather than against activity.

Outcome

Certification achieved on time and within budget, with all 13 control gaps closed and evidence accepted by the external auditor.

4business units
13control gaps closed
3analysts led
On time& within budget

ISO/IEC 27000 · CIS Controls · GRC · stakeholder management · audit evidence

Cybersecurity Internal Audit Remediation

Flagship

Business analysis and risk assessment across internal audit findings — including six data-centre resilience findings, all closed within the agreed audit timeline.

IT auditRisk assessmentData centres

Cybersecurity Internal Audit Remediation

2020 – 2025 · Project Manager & Business Analyst · Liberty Global

End-to-end remediation of cybersecurity internal audit findings, combining project management with hands-on business analysis: management action plans, requirements, risk analysis, process redesign and audit-ready evidence.

The mandate

Internal audit had raised findings across governance, monitoring, incident management, physical security, data-centre environmental controls and power compliance. Each carried a committed closure date, and each needed evidence an auditor would accept — not just a statement that it was fixed.

How I ran it

  • Delivered business analysis and risk assessment for the remediation, producing management action plans, detailed requirements and risk analysis.
  • Drove process design improvements so findings were closed structurally rather than patched.
  • Managed remediation of six data-centre resilience audit findings as both Project Manager and Business Analyst.
  • Produced audit-ready evidence validated against CIS Controls and ISO/IEC 27000 framework requirements.

Outcome

All identified data-centre findings closed within the agreed audit timeline, with evidence accepted on first submission.

6data-centre findings closed
100%within audit timeline
2frameworks validated against

IT audit remediation · CIS Controls · ISO/IEC 27000 · risk assessment · management action plans · BCP & DR

Enterprise Security Stack Rollout

Enterprise-wide deployment of Splunk, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Rapid7 and Lacework across 1,500+ endpoints, from requirements to cross-functional integration.

SplunkMDELacework

Enterprise Security Stack Rollout

2020 – 2025 · Project Manager · Liberty Global

Deployment of four security platforms across the enterprise, managed through the full project lifecycle — requirements gathering, vendor coordination, integration with existing tooling, and handover to operations.

The mandate

Detection capability was fragmented and coverage was incomplete. Four platforms had to land together across a large, distributed endpoint estate without disrupting day-to-day operations — and they had to interoperate, not just coexist.

How I ran it

  • Owned the full project lifecycle from requirements gathering through cross-functional integration.
  • Coordinated four vendors alongside internal security, IT operations and infrastructure teams.
  • Sequenced deployment across 1,500+ endpoints to keep operational risk manageable at each stage.
  • Defined integration points between the platforms so alerting and telemetry fed a single detection picture.

Outcome

Strengthened threat detection capability across the estate and measurably reduced the organisational attack surface.

1,500+endpoints covered
4platforms deployed
Fulllifecycle ownership

Splunk · Microsoft Defender for Endpoint · Rapid7 · Lacework · SIEM · vulnerability management · vendor management

Web & Network Security Remediation

Closed critical audit findings across firewall configuration, intrusion monitoring coverage, end-of-life hardware and network security design.

FirewallsIDSEOL/EOS

Web & Network Security Remediation

2020 – 2025 · Project Manager · Liberty Global

Remediation of critical web and network security findings raised by audit — the category of work where the technical fix is usually straightforward and the coordination around it is not.

The mandate

Audit identified firewall weaknesses, gaps in network intrusion monitoring, end-of-life and end-of-service devices still in production, and deficiencies in network security design. Each required changes to live infrastructure, so every fix carried availability risk.

How I ran it

  • Resolved critical web and network security audit findings across four distinct problem areas.
  • Coordinated firewall rule remediation and closed network intrusion monitoring gaps with the security operations team.
  • Planned and tracked replacement of end-of-life / end-of-service devices against vendor support timelines.
  • Addressed network security design deficiencies through documented design changes rather than configuration patches alone.

Outcome

Critical findings closed within the audit timeline, with reduced exposure across the network perimeter and improved monitoring coverage.

4finding categories closed
Criticalseverity addressed
0planned outages

Firewall management · network intrusion monitoring · EOL/EOS lifecycle · network security design · IT audit remediation

Pan-European Subscriber Data Integration

Automated subscriber data streams from 12+ European telecom operators at 99%+ data integrity, enabling unified reporting across all strategic business lines.

System integration12+ operators

Pan-European Subscriber Data Integration

2013 – 2020 · Project Delivery Manager & System Integrator · Liberty Global

Automated integration of subscriber data streams from more than twelve European telecom operators into a single reporting layer usable by every strategic business line.

The mandate

Each operator produced subscriber data in its own format, on its own schedule, with its own definitions. Cross-functional reporting meant manual reconciliation — slow, error-prone, and impossible to audit cleanly.

How I ran it

  • Led the automated integration of subscriber data streams from 12+ European telecom operators.
  • Managed go-live and deployment across technical delivery teams, system integrators and third-party suppliers.
  • Delivered structured handover to operations on successful implementation, with documentation rather than tribal knowledge.
  • Prepared impact assessments and managed scope prioritisation across deployment cycles; identified and mitigated risks to schedule, scope and quality.
  • Designed secure data management processes aligned to CIS Controls for all applications handling personal data.

Outcome

99%+ data integrity achieved, and unified cross-functional reporting became available across all strategic business lines for the first time.

12+operators integrated
99%+data integrity
Allstrategic lines reporting

System integration · data modelling · CIS Controls · go-live management · third-party supplier coordination

Premium E-MTA Wi-Fi Gateway Launch

Drove introduction of DOCSIS 3.1 / TR-069 capable gateways across the pan-European market, plus IPTV and high-speed data over third-party FTTH.

DOCSIS 3.1TR-069FTTH

Premium E-MTA Wi-Fi Gateway Launch

2017 – 2020 · Project Delivery Manager · Liberty Global

Pan-European product introduction: a premium Wi-Fi gateway with DOCSIS 3.1 and TR-069 capability, delivered alongside IPTV and high-speed data B2C products running over third-party FTTH networks.

The mandate

A new customer-premises device had to launch consistently across multiple European markets, each with its own network estate and operational readiness — and part of the product set had to run over networks Liberty Global did not own.

How I ran it

  • Drove the introduction of the Premium E-MTA Wi-Fi Gateway with DOCSIS 3.1 / TR-069 capability across the pan-European market.
  • Delivered IPTV and high-speed data B2C products over third-party FTTH networks.
  • Coordinated technical delivery teams, system integrators and third-party suppliers through go-live.
  • Established a quarterly monitoring process for administrative and generic accounts in line with CIS Controls 5 and 6.

Outcome

Successful pan-European launch with structured handover to operations, and account-governance monitoring embedded as a standing control rather than a one-off fix.

Pan-EUmarket coverage
2product lines delivered
Quarterlyaccount monitoring

DOCSIS 3.1 · TR-069 · FTTH · IPTV · E-MTA · CIS Controls 5 & 6 · multi-market rollout

Regional Network Expansion & QA Programme

50+ network expansion initiatives across 10+ regions, with quality assurance standards delivering more than 25% improvement in service quality.

50+ initiatives10+ regions

Regional Network Expansion & QA Programme

2010 – 2012 · Network Development & Quality Control Manager · Blizoo

A multi-region network expansion and quality assurance programme at Blizoo, combining infrastructure growth with the standards needed to keep service quality rising rather than falling as the network scaled.

The mandate

Expansion across many regions at once tends to trade quality for speed. The goal was to grow the infrastructure and improve service quality simultaneously, with consistent standards applied in every region rather than local variations.

How I ran it

  • Managed network expansion initiatives across 10+ regions.
  • Implemented quality assurance standards across the infrastructure, applied consistently rather than region by region.
  • Delivered 50+ discrete expansion initiatives with shared planning, resource allocation and quality gates.

Outcome

More than 25% improvement in measured service quality alongside the expansion — growth that did not come at the cost of reliability.

50+initiatives delivered
10+regions covered
25%+service quality gain

Network expansion · quality assurance · quality control · infrastructure · regional operations

No programmes in this category yet.

Results

Impact at a glance

The measurable outcomes behind twenty-five years of delivery.

25+
years in IT & security
60+
programmes & initiatives
12
EMEA markets
€5M+
largest programme budget

ISO/IEC 27001 certification achieved

Liberty Global · 4 business units · 2020 – 2025

Directed the full certification programme from definition to external audit. 13 control gaps remediated, delivered on time and within budget.

All data-centre resilience findings closed

Liberty Global internal audit · 2020 – 2025

Six audit findings across governance, monitoring, incident management, physical security, environmental controls and power compliance — every one closed within the agreed audit timeline.

1,500+ endpoints secured

Splunk · MDE · Rapid7 · Lacework · 2020 – 2025

Enterprise-wide deployment of a four-platform security stack, owned through the full lifecycle. Strengthened threat detection and reduced the organisational attack surface.

99%+ data integrity across 12+ operators

Liberty Global system integration · 2013 – 2020

Automated subscriber data integration from more than twelve European telecom operators, enabling unified cross-functional reporting across all strategic business lines.

99.5% customer satisfaction

SouthLink Telecom · General Manager, Field Operations · 2012 – 2013

Directed the full field operations division — service delivery, workforce planning and quality assurance — across the region.

25%+ service quality improvement

Blizoo · Network Development & Quality Control · 2010 – 2012

Delivered 50+ network expansion initiatives across 10+ regions while implementing quality assurance standards that lifted measured service quality by more than a quarter.

Continuous learning

Professional development

Certifications and coursework across ISO/IEC 27000 & GRC, cybersecurity, business analysis and agile delivery.

2026 Introduction to DevOps CI/CD practice, automation and the delivery pipeline as a shared responsibility between development and operations. Agile & delivery
2024 ISO Security Standards for Your Organization Applying the ISO/IEC 27000 family in practice: scoping an ISMS, control selection, and maintaining certification. ISO/IEC 27000 & GRC
2024 Google Cybersecurity Specialization Eight-course specialisation covering security operations, Linux and SQL, Python, SIEM tools and incident response. Cybersecurity
2024 Requirements Gathering in Business Analysis Elicitation techniques, stakeholder interviewing, and turning ambiguous needs into testable requirements. Business analysis
2024 Data and Business Process Modelling with Microsoft Visio Modelling data flows and business processes for audit remediation and process design work. Business analysis
2024 Business Analysis Fundamentals Core BA discipline: scope definition, solution assessment, and validation with business stakeholders. Business analysis
2023 Information System Auditing, Controls and Assurance Audit planning and execution, control frameworks, and producing evidence that satisfies an auditor. ISO/IEC 27000 & GRC
2020 Data Analytics for Business Professionals Turning operational data into decisions — reporting design, interpretation and business analytics. Agile & delivery
2019 Scrum Fundamentals Certified Formal certification in Scrum roles, artefacts and ceremonies, alongside existing waterfall delivery practice. Agile & delivery

Say hello

Let's work together

I'm open to senior cybersecurity project management, GRC and IT audit remediation roles — permanent or contract, across EMEA, remote or hybrid.

The more specific your first message, the more useful my reply will be. A short outline of the programme, the frameworks involved and the timeline is ideal.

Email me
LinkedIn
in/kolevkamen — full work history and recommendations Website
www.kamenonline.com — portfolio Email
kamen@kamenonline.com — replies within a day or two Location
Plovdiv, Bulgaria — UTC+3, working across EMEA
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