Remit of senior roles covers IT kit throughout the central department, the wider education sector, and the supplier landscape

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The Department for Education is offering a six-figure salary for a leader to oversee the use of technology throughout its operations and across its supply chain.

The remit for the role of director of technology includes “everything from hardware and networks through to software and cloud infrastructure”, the job advert said.

According to the DfE, the post also encompasses the “the technology we make, the technology deep within our supply chain, and technology for our staff within the education and care sectors”.

The successful candidate will manage an annual budget of £64m and the department’s relationships with core suppliers, as well as overseeing the work of about 220 staff. This will include direct management of four deputy directors covering the areas of: operational services; end-user compute services; cybersecurity; and infrastructure and platforms. 

The position, which offers an annual pay packet of £120,000, comes with a brief to create and deploy a dedicated technology strategy, which should be aligned to the department’s wider objectives for digital and data. Managing and, ultimately, migrating away from legacy IT systems will be a key objective.

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The postholder will also be tasked with “establishing a continuous improvement process for all technology and architectural activities”, as well ensuring the security of systems and data, which should be “resilient to internal and external attack”.

Applicants have until 11.55pm on 15 January to submit their CV and a statement of suitability of up to 1,000 words.

Longlisted candidates will have an “informal conversation” with one of the interview panel members shortly thereafter. Those that make it onto the shortlist will then be asked to take part in an hour-long staff-engagement exercise and a leadership assessment, to be administered by an occupational psychologist. Final interviews will take place virtually in late February, with a panel comprised of civil service commissioner Martin Spencer, and three senior DfE officials from the fields of operations and digital services: Jane Cunliffe; Charlotte Briscall; Shafiqa Gunton.

“We are looking for someone who wants to transform organisations, because we know there is still a lot to change about our culture, processes, and practices to make technology work more effectively for education and care,” the advert said. “There are ambitious areas to this role – such as influencing policy making to ensure it is informed by technology expertise – where this is not currently a routine way of working. This role will be key to defining and delivering our digital, data and technology strategy – working with other senior leadership team members to drive forward successful implementation and technology-enabled transformations.”