Government of Pakistan

Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication

DIGITAL NATION PAKISTAN

TERMS OF REFERENCE

Announcement Reference no: 1-1/2024-IT-006

Date: 22 June 2025

Project: Digital Economy Enhancement Project (P174402)

Position Name: Cybersecurity Specialist

Position ID: PK-MOITT-496116-CS-INDV

Vacancy: 1

Type of Contract: Individual

Duration: 24 Months

BACKGROUND

Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP) is a World Bank assisted project with the objective to enhance the Governments capacity for digitally enabled public services delivery for citizens and businesses.

MoITT is the sponsoring agency of the project with execution support of (i) Board of Investment (BoI), (ii) National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), (iii) National IT Board (NITB), and (iv) Ignite National Technology Fund.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Digital Economy Enhancement Project (DEEP) aims at building the capacity of the Government to provide digitally enabled public services to citizens and businesses. The project will support the development of digital public infrastructureincluding for responsible data exchange, digital authentication, and verifiable credentialsand digitalization of public services (including to make them available through a new national citizen portal), which will improve the accessibility and delivery of services, economic opportunities, and social protection.

In addition, DEEP will support a transition towards a digital inventory of administrative procedures and the development of an electronic single windowthe Pakistan Business Portal (PBP)integrated across all three layers of government for new and existing businesses to apply, renew, pay, and meet all their compliance needs It will also promote civic innovation and digital inclusion.

OBJECTIVES & SCOPE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The Cybersecurity Specialist will ensure the security of the National Digital Portal by assessing the risk, identifying vulnerabilities, implementing protective measures, and ensuring compliance with legal/regulations and contractual obligations though continuous monitoring. This role involves working with developers and the IT team to establish robust security protocols.

The responsibilities include (but not limited to) the following:

1. Develop and enforce security policies, standards, procedures and guidelines for the portal
2. Cybersecurity Risk Management
3. Identify and address security vulnerabilities within the portals infrastructure.
4. Implement security measures such as encryption, firewalls, and intrusion detection.
5. Collaborate with developers to ensure secure coding practices.
6. Conduct regular security assessments, penetration testing and corrective measures.
7. Develop and implement incident response plans
8. Monitor security threats and provide proactive responses/incident management.
9. Ensure compliance with legal, regulatory and contractual obligations.
10. Train teams on security best practices and awareness.
11. Coordinate with third-party security providers for audit/assessments.

QUALIFICATION AND EXPERIENCE

1. Minimum 16 years of education/degree in Cybersecurity, Information Security, Software engineering or Computer Science.
2. At least 08 years of experience in cybersecurity, particularly in enterprise-level solutions and citizen services platforms.
3. Knowledge of security frameworks (e.g., NIST, ISO 27001) or equivalent.
4. Experience implementing global standards (ISO 27000) or equivalent
5. Experience with penetration testing, network security, and risk management.
6. Certifications such as CISSP, CISA, CISM, CEH etc. are preferred.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS / EXPERTISE

1. Expertise in encryption technologies and security protocols.
2. Familiarity with security tools (e.g., Wireshark, Nessus).
3. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
4. Experience with cloud security and securing cloud applications.

SCHEDULE FOR THE ASSIGNMENT

The consultant will be appointed on a contract basis for a period of 24 Months.

REPORTING OBLIGATION

This position is based in Islamabad, Pakistan.

The consultant will report to the Program Director PMU on all aspects of project documentation throughout the duration of the contract.

SELECTION METHOD

Procurement will be carried out in accordance with the Open Competitive Selection of Individual Consultants in accordance with Banks Procurement Regulations for Borrowers for Goods, Works, Non-Consulting and Consulting Services and applicable to Investment Project Financing (IPF) hereinafter referred to as Regulations dated September 2023.

Experience

8 Years