Credit: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs is recruiting for two deputy director-level IT posts as it centralises its technology function.

The department “has taken the strategic decision to align all Defra group IT departments”. This includes Defra’s own IT unit, as well of those at five agencies and arm’s-length bodies: the Environment Agency; the Rural Payment Agency; Natural England; the Marine Maritime Organisation; and the Animal and Plant Health Agency. It is also “replacing two major ICT contracts worth £101m, known as the UnITy Programme”.

As part of this, Defra is hiring two new people for its senior technology team: a deputy director of service operations; and a deputy director of service infrastructure.

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The service infrastructure role “will play an important part in the implementation” of the new management structure, Defra said. The successful candidate will have responsibility for a number of different technology functions, including “tooling design and interface, application technical operations, infrastructure technical operations, [and] environment management”.

The service operations post comes with a remit to make sure that “the circa 800 live IT services, technology and applications supporting the Defra group are maintained and resilient”.

Both roles will be based in either Reading or Bristol, and come with an estimated salary of £90,000. Applications are open until 8 January.