Overview

Reports to: Assistant Director of ICT

Responsible for: The Head of Service will be responsible for developing and leading all aspects of the ICT Network & Infrastructure service; including the provision of vital services to services to both core EA and over 1,000 schools where required.

This service is responsible for designing, developing and maintaining the infrastructure required to deliver a reliable, quality IT service to the Education Authority’s existing users and business areas. This service is also responsible for supporting and implementing the latest cost efficient, quality technical solutions to support changes of business practice, technology advances and strategic direction taken by the Education Authority.

The Head of Service will be responsible for managing and leading all employees within the service, this will include managing employees across all EA offices.

Job Purpose

The overall purpose of the role is to lead, manage and develop the portfolio of services outlined below. The ‘Head of Service’ is accountable for ensuring that their service efficiently and effectively delivers the associated responsibilities and meets the needs and standards expected of a leading public service organisation. The ‘Head of Service’ will provide leadership to their service staff and ensure transformational changes and new structures, strategies, policies and processes for their service are implemented while ensuring it meets the high standards of the Authority and any future challenges.

Leadership and management responsibilities

The Head of Service has the following leadership responsibilities for this portfolio of services:

• Work with the Assistant Director to establish, maintain and communicate a clear and compelling strategic direction for the service.
• Contribute to the development of a strategic plan for the Assistant Directorate and lead on the development of the service-specific business plan.
• Translate the Corporate vision into service-specific direction.
• Lead the regionalisation and transformation of the service, and all related processes and procedures.
• Contribute to the development and implementation of new policies in line with strategic direction.
• Contribute to the management of the Assistant Directorate, attending Executive Team and Board meetings as required by the Assistant Director.
• Challenge conventional approaches, harness new approaches and technology and maximise efficiencies.

Managing the Organisation to Deliver

• Manage service delivery effectively to ensure that the service achieves the highest possible standards of performance and focuses on the needs of internal and external customers.
• Agree service performance targets with the Assistant Director and provide regular progress reports.
• Develop, agree and implement a robust annual operational plan for the service.
• Delegate responsibilities and deploy staff according to their skills and abilities to meet the needs of the service.
• Regularly monitor and review plans and make adjustments as required.
• Manage and continuously improve the service to ensure delivery against performance targets, and to ensure that best value for money is achieved.
• Ensure that the service contributes to overall Directorate and Corporate performance as appropriate and provide update reports as required.
• Ensure that the Assistant Director receives high quality service-specific advice.
• Apply resources effectively across the service to maximise the delivery of front-line services.
• Consider the financial implications relating to effective models of service delivery and contribute to the successful achievement of the Savings Delivery Plan.
• Ensure compliance with relevant legal, regulatory and statutory performance requirements.
• Manage the service budget in accordance with all relevant financial policy and procedures.
• Monitor the financial position of the service and report regularly to the Assistant Director.
• Follow agreed measures to deliver the service within budget, and take immediate corrective action as required.
• Contribute effectively to quality and performance management systems and ensure that the service is being managed as per the requirements of these systems.
• Ensure that employees within the service team are provided with clear structure, roles and responsibilities and are supported to work in an integrated way.
• Focus on addressing key workforce issues including recruitment, employee engagement, retention and training and development.
• Investigate all complaints and adverse incidents where outcomes are below expected standards.
• Establish effective and rigorous quality assurance systems to maintain high standards.

Leadership

• Work closely with the Assistant Director to provide the service with leadership and direction ensuring that corporate, directorate and service performance standards are achieved.
• Promote the ethos and values of the authority and ensure that the service is focused on customer needs.
• Foster a culture that supports achievement of the authority’s Strategic Plan by role modelling core values and leadership behaviours to staff in the service.
• Lead/manage and communicate change and improvement initiatives within the service.
• Lead, manage and develop staff within the service.
• Encourage staff involvement and engagement in the strategic development and operational delivery of the service.
• Actively encourage teamwork and self-development, and create opportunities to maximise individuals’ potential, stimulate innovation and connection at all levels with front line services.
• Promote a positive culture of performance management within the service through individual and small-team accountability. Foster a culture of constructive feedback and learning, and a genuine commitment to regular and effective appraisals.
• Prepare and deliver reports on behalf of the Authority as required.

Building Relationships and Working with Others

• Build and maintain effective, professional and respectful stakeholder relationships.
• Ensure efficient and effective internal communication with staff in the service.
• Work closely with partner organisations, the Assistant Director/Director and colleagues to benchmark services and lead/manage and monitor change.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships and clear lines of communication with other Heads of Service within the Directorate and in other Directorates.
• Develop and maintain clear lines of communication and effective working partnerships with relevant external stakeholders and service user groups.
• Lead on/manage engagement with staff, schools and the public on major changes in the service that may affect them.
• Work with external agencies; for example, education sector partner organisations, to identify opportunities for joint working that might bring greater consistency across the sector, and/or improve efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

Service-specific Responsibilities

• This job description is intended to provide a broad outline of responsibilities and reflects an initial assessment of the needs of the Directorate. As such, it is not intended to be exhaustive and may be subject to on-going review and refinement to ensure the Directorate’s ability to meet the evolving needs of the business. Other reasonable duties may be assigned by the Director in consultation with the Assistant Director.

Core Infrastructure & Network Operations

• Design, configure, and maintain LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi networks and supporting infrastructure.
• Manage Active Directory, remote access, file shares.
• Oversee infrastructure monitoring, performance reporting, SLAs and operating procedures.
• Support transitional strategies for legacy system decommissioning, ensuring service continuity, data integrity, and minimal disruption during infrastructure migration and modernisation.

Technical Leadership

• Lead digital transformation initiatives involving cloud migration, edge computing, and hybrid infrastructure.
• Forecast emerging technology impacts and proactively adapt infrastructure strategies.
• Champion modular and scalable architecture to support rapid growth and changing business needs.

Cloud & Hybrid Infrastructure

• Design and manage hybrid cloud environments, ensuring seamless integration between on-prem and cloud services.
• Evaluate and implement cloud-native tools for performance, cost-efficiency, and resilience.
• Ensure cloud governance and compliance across multi-cloud platforms.

Security, Resilience & Compliance

• Embed security into infrastructure design, not just as a reactive layer.
• Collaborate with ICT Assurance teams to implement zero-trust architecture and threat detection systems.
• Oversee vulnerability management tools and ensure continuous patching and risk mitigation.
• Implement IT security controls, email/web filtering, and network accreditation standards.
• Ensure resilience through backup strategies and functional disaster recovery planning.
• Develop and maintain policies to support secure and compliant operations.
• Monitor and analyse network performance using real-time analytics and dashboards.

Connectivity & Edge Readiness

• Prepare infrastructure for IoT, next generation networking and edge computing, ensuring low-latency, high-bandwidth capabilities.

Continuous Learning & Innovation

• Stay current with industry standards and certifications.
• Foster a culture of experimentation and learning within the Network and infrastructure team.
• Engage with external communities and vendors to evaluate emerging tools and best practices.
• In addition to the above, the Head of Service ICT Network & Infrastructure role will be expected to work in collaboration with other ICT Heads of Service in order to meet the objectives of the directorate.

Note, travel across EANI sites will be required in order to attend meetings, participate in projects and fulfil full range of duties and responsibility. This job description will be subject to review in light of changing circumstances and is not intended to be rigid and inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works.

Other duties of a similar nature and appropriate to the grade may be assigned from time to time. In accordance with Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act (1998), the post-holder is expected to promote good relations, equality of opportunity and pay due regard for equality legislation at all times.

To view the summary of terms and conditions for this post, do not include here.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

NOTES TO JOB APPLICANTS

1. You must clearly demonstrate on your application form under each question, how, and to what extent you meet the required criteria as failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted. You should clearly demonstrate this for both the essential and desirable criteria, where relevant.
2. You must demonstrate how you meet the criteria by the closing date for applications, unless the criteria state otherwise.
3. The stage in the process when the criteria will be measured is outlined in the table below.
4. Shortlisting will be carried out on the basis of the essential criteria set out in Section 1 below, using the information provided by you on your application form.
5. Please note that the Selection Panel reserves the right to shortlist only those applicants that it believes most strongly meet the criteria for the role.
6. In the event of an excessive number of applications, the Selection Panel also reserves the right to apply any desirable criteria as outlined in Section 3 at shortlisting, in which case these will be applied in the order listed. It is important therefore that you also clearly demonstrate on your application form on how you meet any desirable criteria.

Section 1 - Essential Criteria

The following are essential criteria which will initially be measured at the shortlisting stage and which may also be further explored during the interview/selection stage. You should therefore make it clear on your application form how, and to what extent you meet these criteria. Failure to do so may result in you not being shortlisted.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment Qualifications/Experience

Have three years demonstrable experience in leadership of Network and Infrastructure teams within a large-scale organisation, with accountability for service delivery, team performance, and strategic infrastructure initiatives.

*A large organisation is defined as one with more than 250+ employees.

Demonstrable experience in designing, implementing, and managing enterprise-scale network and infrastructure systems (LAN/WAN/Wi-Fi, hybrid cloud, Active Directory etc).

Demonstrable experience of IT security principles, including resilience, disaster recovery, email/web filtering, and vulnerability management.

Demonstrable experience in communication and stakeholder engagement skills, with experience translating technical concepts for non-technical audiences and managing vendor relationships.

Demonstrable experience in ICT architecture and policy development, with hands-on experience in SLA management, performance analytics, and ensuring compliance with recognised industry standards.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Skills/Abilities Demonstrable ability to achieve targets/objectives and to meet challenging deadlines through the engagement of teams or working groups.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Knowledge

Demonstrable understanding of the current and anticipated challenges facing the Education sector.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Other

Willingness to attend meetings outside normal working hours as and when required including some evening and weekend work.

The successful candidate will be required to have access to a suitable vehicle that will enable them to carry out mobility requirements of the post.

OR

be able to provide sufficient information on the application form that will satisfy the employer that he/she has access to an appropriate alternative form of transport that will enable them to carry out the mobility requirements of the post.

Shortlisting by Application Form

Section 2 - Essential Criteria

The following are additional essential criteria which will be measured during the interview/selection stage in line with EA’s Game Changing People Model.

Factor Essential Criteria Method of Assessment Qualifications/Experience

Leading sound and effective business planning processes

Engaging and influencing all areas of ICT at senior levels on a technical, performance and strategic basics.

Achievement against challenging targets through the engagement of teams and solving problems through informed decision making.

Interview/Presentation

Skills/Abilities

In line with EA’s Game Changing People Model we will look for evidence of:

Excellent leadership and management skills to build a high performing team.

The ability to deliver high performance whilst working under pressure.

An influential and persuasive communicator who recognises the value of working with stakeholders and can gain commitment across groups to achieve shared objectives. Able to establish credibility and presence in groups across a wide spectrum of people.

Ability to champion EA strategic priorities, support the delivery of change and drive service improvement.

Ability to challenge and stand up for opposing views to drive best outcomes.

Interview/Presentation

Values Orientation

Evidence of how your experience and approach to work reflect EA’s ethos and values. You will find information about our Values here.

Our Values: Through the selection process we will also seek evidence that the personal values of candidates align with those of the EA, including commitment to equality and excellence in service delivery.

DISCLOSURE OF CRIMINAL BACKGROUND

The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups (Northern Ireland) Order 2007 defines working directly with children or young people or in specified places as ‘regulated activity’. In the event that you are recommended for appointment to a post that involves ‘regulated activity’, the Education Authority will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure of Criminal Background. Please note that you will be expected to meet the cost of an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate.

Further information can be accessed at NI Direct or the Department of Justice.

APPLICANT GUIDANCE NOTES

To view the applicant guidance notes, please click here.

To learn about the many great benefits of joining the Education Authority, click here

The Education Authority is an Equal Opportunities Employer.