IT Operations Team Leader

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

Play a lead specialist technical role in the provision of effective, efficient and fully integrated IT operational services that maximise their availability and integrity for end-users and optimise the value gained by the Trust from its investment in IT. This will be achieved by:

Delivering new and modified IT systems that address IT security, performance and availability requirements;

Supporting software and hardware installations, specifications, testing and service transition;

Supporting the Trust in meeting business objectives by contributing to assessment of potential technology innovations and, where approved, assisting their implementation;

Supporting the departments ITIL processes, providing professional guidance in and execution of Incident, Request Fulfilment, Change, Release, Configuration, Problem, Performance, and Availability Management;

Applying operating procedures for all systems hosted within the Trust Data Centres so they are operating at their optimum performance, availability to IT users and integrity of their data;

Providing specialist and professional support to the IT Operational Management team across the three primary functions within IT Operations. Primary functions being, Operations Centre, Service Operation and Infrastructure Services.

Deputise for IT Operations Manager in his absence

Contribute to Technical / Team Management decisions within the IT Operations team.

Key Dimensions

a. Budgets No budget responsibilities

b. Staff No direct reports

c. Technical and Staffing Deputy to IT Operations Manager.

Specific Core Functions

Team Management

1. Deputise for the IT Operations Manager as required, acting as an escalation point,

2. In the absence of IT Operations Manager, ensure tasks are appropriately prioritised and scheduled, skills appropriately utilised, procedures documented and followed, adequate coverage for absence and Out-of-Hours support is in place, and consistent, up-to-date documentation is established and maintained.

3. Monitor performance standards for the IT Operational team, monitoring achievement against these, and devising improved ways of working, working with the IT Operations Manager.

4. As a team leader, take a lead role in the daily scrum held within the team

5. Play a leading role in contributing to the IT Operations Team working processes and operating procedures.

6. Facilitate Triage of incoming workloads and allocation of work throughout the team as required.

7. Ensure that IT Operational staff and external contractors work in a responsible and safe manner and have due regard for health and safety regulations.

System Design & Hosting

1. Working alone on ICT systems and modifications to existing ICT systems, or with partners, vendors or colleagues on more complex systems. Specifies user/system technical requirements, including the overall management of the system implementation and transition into both the Operational Service and Centre.

2. Executes test plans, to verify correct operation of completed system implementations.

3. Documents all work using required standards, methods and tools, including internal tools where appropriate.

4. Prepares and maintains operational documentation for relevant system software within the Trust Data Centre. Advises other ICT staff on the correct and effect use of system software.

5. Collects performance data to monitor system efficiencies against either published service level agreements or vender best practice thresholds. Monitors both resource usage and failure rates of installed systems and provides feedback to ICT Operations Management Team.

6. Gathers performance statistics from the hosted ICT Systems to enable recommendations for the tuning of System Infrastructure. Initiate system software parameters to maximize throughput and efficiencies.

Software and Hardware Installation

7. Enables the software builds ready for loading onto the target hardware. Held within a standard configuration arrangement, conducts a series of tests and records the details of any failures.

8. Enables test specifications as required for testers to follow, carries out fault diagnosis relating to extreme complex problems as part of installations, reporting the results of the diagnosis in a clear and concise manner.

9. Installs or removes hardware and/or software, using installation instructions and tools, follows agreed standards. Adheres to the ICT Change and Release Management Process for all software and hardware changes.

10. Reports details of all hardware/software items that have been installed and removed so that configuration management records can be updated.

11. Contributes, as required, to the development of installation procedures and standards.

Infrastructure Developments/Innovation

12. Contribute specialist expertise to the development and innovation of ICT technical strategies and wider ICT strategies as appropriate.

13. Manage the successful implementation of visible end-user elements within approved ICT development projects to meet project timescale and budgetary targets.

14. Keep abreast of ICT developments and technologies in order to effectively carry out the duties of the post and make recommendations for bringing benefits to our customers and improving service delivery.

Business Analysis

15. Works with colleagues and IT users to investigate ICT operational requirements functions that contribute to improvements in the application of ICT and the development of new or changed processes/procedures and ICT Infrastructure.

16. Takes part in customer meetings and assists in presenting issues and solutions both orally and in writing.

17. Documents work using the required standards, methods and tools within the Trust Project Management Policy.

18. Assists colleagues and customers in defining acceptance tests for new and existing ICT system developments.

19. Assists in defining, planning and justifying in business terms projects to develop/implement for new or existing ICT systems.

22. Enable the preparation of software and hardware implementation procedures with test plans, fall back contingency plans.

23. Installs and tests new versions of system software.

Problem Management

24.Diagnosis of complex and recurring ICT incidents in order to reduce the number of IT service failures and improve the IT user experience.

25.Conduct trend analysis resulting in the identification of reoccurring faults within the IT Infrastructure, create workarounds and implement a permanent fix to the root cause.

26.Support major problem reviews with the intention of identifying what went wrong, right and what can be done to improve the response in the future. Outcome of the review should also identify how to prevent the reoccurrence of the major problem.

27.Support the ICT Problem Management Information database, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the process, impact of the problem resolution, outstanding known errors, workaround, and contribution to the annual service improvement programme.

28.Advise and train other ICT operational staff on the best available workaround for incident resolution to known errors.

Incident Management

29.Following agreed procedures, provide advice on systems, and ICT services as part of the incident resolution.

30.Provide an effective interface between IT Users and service providers, including external commercial suppliers where applicable.

31.Ensures Incidents resolution are documented, external commercial supplier progress checking, and ensuring all relevant diagnosis information is provided to external commercial suppliers for error resolution and incident analysis.

32.Enables the ICT Operations Department in meeting the performance management programme by influencing the delivery model for meeting KPIs for incident management.

33.Provides information on updates and known errors to colleagues within ICT Operations. Interprets complex technical or procedure manuals on behalf of non technical IT Users and colleagues within ICT Operations.

34.Provides routine training for colleagues within ICT Operations in incident diagnosis, resolution, known solutions and changes in availability.

Availability & Performance Management

35.Monitors network management systems software and appropriate analysis equipment to collect routine network load statistics, model performance, and create reports as required.

36.Applies proactive maintenance plans for routine collection of IT System and Network information ensuring performance against agreed service level agreements.

37.Applies network management tools to investigate, diagnose and resolve network problems within service level agreement tolerance, working with IT Users and external suppliers as required.

38.Carries out routine configuration/installation and reconfiguration of hardware and software.

39.Ensures standard procedures and tools are used, carries out defined tasks associated with the planning, installation, upgrading of ICT Systems within the Network Operations Centre.

40.Using standard procedures and tools, carries out defined backup of data, verification of data and restoration of data and ICT Systems.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree level qualification or equivalent in computing or related field
• Technical Accreditation in one or more of the following:
• Microsoft MCP/MCSA/MCSE.
• Cisco CCNA.
• Citrix CCA.
• VMware VCP.
• Evidence of continuing professional development .

Desirable

• Qualification/Accreditation in at least two of the following, ideally with accreditation to support:
• VMware vSphere.
• Citrix XenApp 6.5 or above.
• Microsoft Exchange 2010 or above.
• Microsoft SQL Server (querying and/or administration).
• ITIL v4 Intermediate Service Operation / Continual Service Improvement.

Experience

Essential

• Proven effective team leadership, professional experience of staff management
• Advanced theoretical and specialist knowledge across one or more information technology platforms; Server Virtualisation, Desktop Virtualisation, Data & Voice Networking, Messaging, Storage Area Networks, Security, Mobility, Server & Peripheral Hardware.
• Significant experience of IT Service Management, Incident Management, Problem Management, Change Management, Performance Management & Availability Management.
• Significant experience in leading technical problems to resolution, including team management and external suppliers.
• Significant experience in project delivery of technical projects.
• Experience in assisting with report writing, being operating procedures, options appraisals, risk analysis, user guides.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal and explanatory skills in dealing with a wide range of information technology users from skilled to ICT-illiterate.
• Excellent verbal/written communication skills, with the ability to present within a group.
• Good team-player, highly motivated individual to support the delivery of an efficient, effective customer-focused support service.
• Good presentation and negotiation skills to produce and present formal proposals and get proposals accepted.
• Excellent planning and time-management skills.
• Good negotiating and relationship-building skills to gain maximum benefit for customers from software suppliers and internal ICT providers.
• Able to set clear and appropriate priorities, with the ability to deal with conflicting demands, unpredictable work patterns, and multiple deadlines.
• Good technical knowledge to understand and resolve technical problems.
• Good knowledge of data protection and information security/governance issues. Good knowledge of providing proactive IT System/Network performance monitoring .

Desirable

• Passion, infectious enthusiasm & charisma
• Emotional intelligence
• Excellent communication skills
• Service-orientated, customer-focused
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and confident
• Methodical, logical and numerate with an eye for detail
• Good presentation and negotiation skills to produce and present formal proposals
• Valid Driving License (essential) and access to a vehicle .

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust

Address

Queen Alexandra Hospital

Southwick Hill Road

Cosham

Portsmouth

PO6 3LY

Employer's website

https://www.porthosp.nhs.uk/work-for-us/ (Opens in a new tab)