Oloye Abiodun Charles

Cybersecurity and GRC professional with deep expertise in third-party risk management, information security governance, and IT risk and compliance, underpinned by an MSc in Cyber Security & Forensic Information Technology from the University of Portsmouth and OneTrust certifications in TPRM, GRC, and Privacy. Combines hands-on UK technology operations experience with a substantial international background delivering ISO 27001, UK GDPR, and PCI-DSS-aligned programmes across regulated environments. Skilled at vendor due diligence, security documentation review (SOC 1/SOC 2, ISO 27001 certificates, SIG questionnaires), control assurance, risk-register maintenance, and remediation tracking.

Recognised for clear stakeholder communication across IT, Legal, Procurement, Data Privacy, and supplier teams, and for translating complex security requirements into pragmatic, business-aligned controls.

IT Service Desk Technician - Portsmouth City Council - Portsmouth, UK

(2024-09 - 2025-09)

Second-line IT support and secure operations across a multi-site local-authority environment serving 200,000+ residents.

• Triaged and resolved incidents and service requests across Microsoft 365 (Exchange, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive), Windows 10/11, and Active Directory in line with ITIL practices and agreed SLAs.
• Administered endpoint protection through Microsoft Defender, supporting alert triage, device-compliance reporting, and remediation of policy violations.
• Maintained the Configuration Management Database (CMDB), improving asset accuracy, software-inventory hygiene, and audit readiness for internal IT assurance reviews.
• Supported joiner/mover/leaver (JML) controls and access reviews, reinforcing least-privilege principles aligned with the council's information-governance framework.
• Assisted with the information security and infrastructure on incident reporting, phishing triage, and continuous improvement initiatives that strengthened the council's overall security posture.
• Provide clear and timely updates to internal teams and stakeholders, escalating issues where appropriate.

Operations Associate - Amazon UK - Hampshire, UK

(2023-07 - 2024-09)

Operated within a high-volume, time-critical fulfilment environment, contributing to safety, quality, and continuous-improvement KPIs.

• Participated in risk-mitigation and process-improvement initiatives, applying Lean and 5S principles, while maintaining strict compliance with health, safety, and quality standards.

Network Support Engineer (Contract) - North Middlesex University Hospital, NHS Trust - London, UK

(2023-02 - 2023-06)

Provided second- and third-line support for LAN, WAN, and VLAN infrastructure across multiple NHS sites, troubleshooting connectivity, routing, and switching issues for clinical and administrative users.

• Configured and reviewed firewall rules, VPN tunnels, intrusion detection/prevention, and content-filtering policies, contributing to secure remote access for clinical staff.
• Documented network changes and supported data-centre and network-closet asset management within an environment governed by the NHS Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT).

Regional Head – Programme Management Office (Senior Manager) - IHS Towers (IHS Nigeria) - Nigeria

(2016-11 - 2022-04)

Owned regional governance for infrastructure security, compliance, and a large-scale power-hybrid programme; reported into executive leadership.

• Led ISO 27001 and GDPR-aligned governance and compliance initiatives across regional operations, embedding security-by-design into infrastructure projects and supplier engagements.
• Owned the enterprise Security Risk Register and structured remediation programmes, demonstrably reducing open vulnerabilities and improving control maturity year on year.
• Conducted third-party risk assessments and vendor due diligence, reviewing security controls, contracts, SOC reports, and ISO certifications prior to onboarding strategic suppliers.
• Supported PCI-DSS compliance, business-continuity planning, and disaster-recovery testing across regional sites.
• Coordinated remediation, control testing, and audit responses across IT, Legal, Procurement, and supplier organisations, presenting risk and assurance reporting to executive stakeholders.

Senior Project Manager - Airtel Nigeria - Nigeria

(2011-01 - 2015-11)

Directed nationwide 3G expansion and a complex multi-vendor swap programme for one of Africa's largest mobile operators.

• Delivered 2,000+ 3G sites in a single calendar year and managed the Motorola-to-Huawei swap of 32 BSCs and 1,256 BTS, on schedule and within budget.
• Oversaw multi-vendor governance, contractual KPIs, and capital-budget tracking on programmes worth multi-million GBP equivalent, with formal CAPEX/OPEX approvals.
• Reduced Capital Work in Progress (CWIP) through tighter warehouse, logistics, and deployment controls, improving asset visibility and accelerating site activation.

Head of Operations & Maintenance / Regional Technical Officer - Zain Nigeria (formerly Celtel) - Nigeria

(2007-01 - 2010-12)

Led nationwide access, radio, and core network operations supporting 16 million subscribers across seven regions, with 24/7 escalation accountability.

• Managed operational budgets exceeding US$4M and CAPEX above US$2M, with vendor-SLA oversight and KPI-driven performance optimisation.
• Embedded structured fault, change, and configuration-management practices, contributing to measurable improvements in network availability and customer experience.

Manager, NSS Support / Switching Specialist / HLS Engineer - MTN Nigeria - Nigeria

(2001-01 - 2007-12)

Integrated and commissioned MSCs, BSCs, SCPs, HLRs, and core switching nodes (Ericsson AXE platforms); led GPRS rollout and early 3G evolution.

• Conducted network audits, performance optimisation, and fault analysis as the subscriber base scaled from initial deployment to 7M+ users.

Switch Engineer - M-Tel/NITEL - Nigeria

(1999-01 - 2001-12)

Systems Analyst - Software Technologies Ltd - Nigeria

(1999-01)

MSc - Cyber Security & Forensic Information Technology - University of Portsmouth (2023-01)

Master's - Law & Diplomacy - University of Lagos (2012-01)

MSc - Computer Science - Nnamdi Azikiwe University (2002-01)

BSc (Hons) - Computer Science - Ondo State University (1997-01)