Systems Analyst - Locality South West - EdIS/C2k in Omagh

The postholder is responsible for managing the ongoing technical feasibility and acceptability of a range of EdIS/C2k services being delivered in conjunction with a range of public and private sector partners. This includes the delivery of effective integration across the constituent parts of the service as well as integration with external agencies and suppliers to achieve seamless management of data. The postholder is expected to keep pace with Education Technology Services trends and developments and advise EdIS/C2k senior management through line managers on the applicability and potential for delivering enhanced service benefits. The postholder will be expected to manage and participate in the delivery of Education Technology Services support services and provide Education Technology Services consultancy to senior management, schools, educational bodies and other EdIS/C2k colleagues, both technical and non-technical.

Main Duties:

• Be responsible for the technical integrity and security of school systems.
• Supervise and contribute to the installation, technical maintenance and upgrade of LAN and WAN services within EdIS/C2k guidelines and standards.
• Supervise and contribute to the installation, technical maintenance and upgrade of business critical software within EdIS/C2k guidelines and standards.
• Deliver effective training to school and EdIS/C2k staff on technical issues within EdIS/C2k guidelines and standards.
• Provide remote and on-site support to schools, including management of technical helpdesk services and infrastructure consultancy where appropriate.
• Manage technical helpdesk calls as required by EdIS/C2k.
• Provide first line support to skilled TSOs for problem solving, diagnosis and support.
• Provide customisation of systems within guidelines established by EdIS/C2k.
• Provide technical support to EdIS/C2k colleagues as required.

Research and Development:

• Develop and manage the mechanisms for ongoing design concept testing including procurement and pre-commissioning testing.
• Develop, test and quality assure software upgrades required by EdIS/C2k.
• Research network and data faults reported by schools and deal with these appropriately.
• Develop innovative solutions to problems and provide expert help to colleagues and schools.
• Research and source software, hardware and consumables from suppliers to assist with the effective and efficient delivery of the service.
• Plan the introduction of pilot schemes and identify suitable parties to undertake such pilots.
• Liaise regularly with participants in any pilot to ensure that implementation problems and issues are reported and resolved as quickly as possible.
• Develop, implement, maintain and support EdIS/C2k administration and training systems.
• Contribute to the development and support of the Northern Ireland Wide Area Network infrastructure – linking some 380,000 users in 1100+ schools across Northern Ireland.
• Contribute to the development and support of the EdIS/C2k corporate communications infrastructure – linking all EdIS/C2k centres.
• Develop training materials as required by EdIS/C2k and schools.

Supervisory Management:

• Direct and supervise the work of technical support officers operating out of a variety of locations.
• Prioritise workloads, setting benchmarks for monitoring work in progress to meet tight deadlines as required by EdIS/C2k.
• Implement Induction plans for new colleagues and provide on-going professional evaluation and development.
• Carry out skills audit and share best practice where applicable on a regular basis.
• Assess resources required to meet agreed targets as soon as the need becomes apparent, and manage any extra staffing resources, reporting to the Support Manager and the Service Delivery Manager.
• Ensure that all technical Helpdesk calls have been assigned to the appropriate TSO and that all TSOs are aware of their responsibilities regarding urgent helpdesk calls.
• Ensure adequate and timely provision of information for the hardware and software inventory as required.

Quality Assurance:

• Monitor and provide quality assurance to ensure the effective delivery of the service provider’s installation, network security, acceptance testing and benchmarking services.
• Develop and review the relevance and appropriateness of security, anti-virus and backup policies and ensure that these are implemented in accordance with best practice.
• Ensure that the delivery of software upgrade planning, design, testing, quality assurance and implementation is progressed effectively.
• Produce and share best practice procedures ensuring a consistent approach to EdIS/C2k systems and training solutions.

Cross Project Activities:

• Liaise with external agencies and third party service providers.
• Provide technical representation on the cross project meetings.
• Provide advice and guidance to cross EdIS/C2k groups involved in the development of appropriate training materials for use in schools and for in-house EdIS/C2k training courses.

Customer Care:

• Manage technical resources to ensure that targets and quality thresholds are met, enabling the effective day-to-day running of EdIS/C2k systems within schools and maintaining a high level of satisfaction by EdIS/C2k’s customers.
• Liaise with schools, other educational bodies and third parties to ensure a high quality of support and continuity of service to schools.
• Manage any technical complaints raised by schools or TSOs. Investigate complaints and report as appropriate to the Support Manager.

Project Management:

• Develop in consultation with the Support Manager the planning, sequencing, timetabling and delivery of the EdIS/C2k service.
• Deploy technical staff in line with the EdIS/C2k high level plan.
• Co-ordinate and supervise the work of a team of multi-skilled TSOs as required.

General:

• By undertaking any other duties, which may from time to time be required by EdIS/C2k.

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.