Problem Manager

The IT Problem Manager will oversee the identification, analysis, and resolution of IT problems across the university. This role is crucial to ensuring recurring issues are addressed effectively, avoiding re-occurrence, minimising disruptions and enhancing the overall user experience for staff, faculty, and students.

Responsibilities

• Problem Management: Lead the management of IT problems across the university, ensuring alignment with ITIL and the overall service management strategy to ensure high-quality problem resolution and support for all university sectors. Ensure ownership of communication around problems.
• Incident and Problem Coordination: Collaborate with the Incident Manager to address incidents and problems university-wide, helping to coordinate and communicate, and ensure minimal disruption to university operations.
• Root Cause Analysis: Coordinate thorough root cause analysis for recurring IT issues across the university, implementing permanent solutions to prevent future occurrences.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Collaborate with stakeholders across the university to understand their IT needs and provide tailored solutions to problems.
• Performance Monitoring and Reporting: Monitor and report on the performance of problem management activities across the university, generating and presenting regular reports on trends and outcomes to senior management.
• Budget Management: Oversee the budget for problem management activities across the university, ensuring cost-effective solutions and alignment with the overall IT budget.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with IT problems to minimise impact on operations.
• Compliance: Ensure problem management activities across the university comply with university policies, industry standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Training and Development: Provide training and development opportunities for IT staff to enhance their skills and knowledge in problem management.
• Process Development and Continuous Improvement: Develop and mature processes to support the Problem Management function, ensuring continuous improvement and alignment with best practices.
• Known Error Database (KEDB): Maintain the Known Error Database (KEDB) and ensure workarounds or permanent fixes are documented and communicated effectively.

Qualifications

• Education: Degree in Information Technology, Computer Science, related field or relevant professional experience.
• Experience: Experience in IT problem management, preferably in a higher education setting.
• Skills: Strong leadership, analytical and communication skills. Proficiency in ITIL and other problem management frameworks. Experience with problem management methodologies such as Fault Tree Analysis and the 5 Whys.
• Certifications: ITIL Foundation required, further ITIL certification is highly desirable.

Personal Attributes:

• Problem-Solver: Ability to think critically and solve complex IT issues.
• Collaborative: Strong team player with excellent interpersonal skills.
• Adaptable: Ability to adapt to changing technologies and environments.
• Customer-Focused: Commitment to providing excellent service to all university stakeholders.

Salford behaviours:

• Evolving: Creates a better future through a constant focus on improvement and innovation.
• Connecting: Consciously connects with people to build trusting relationships over time and helps others to form networks that will support them in their work and learning.
• Inspiring: Communicates with clarity and behaves in a way that engages and influences people to do their best for the University and its students.
• Daring: Courageously navigates new situations and boldly decides, acts and challenges whilst supporting others to do the same.

One of our strategic ambitions, articulated in our current strategic framework, is to advance equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). This includes achieving greater diversity within our workforce and creating an inclusive working environment service wide. We will create a culture that is collaborative and innovative and that adapts to the changing needs of our clients. EDI will be fundamental to this culture. In this role, you can expect to contribute to our thinking and be challenging on how Salford can transform the way it addresses equity disparities, embraces diversity, and becomes more inclusive. The University of Salford is committed to an inclusive approach to equality and diversity. We make every effort to form shortlisting and interview panels that are diverse in terms of gender, age, ethnicity, nationality, and socio-economic background.