Head of IT Services in Harlow

Salary: £88,000 - £97,000 DOE

Hours: 37.5 hours per week

Reports to: CFO

Direct reports: Team of 14 across Service Desk, IT Operations, Systems and Data and Security. Plus leading additional contract support.

Location: Harlow, Essex. Easily commutable from London Liverpool Street or Tottenham Hale Station. We offer a free minibus service to/from Harlow Town Train Station as well as free parking and EV charging on site.

Extra Information: Open to conversation on hybrid, flexible and compressed working arrangements.

Key relationships: Motability Foundation Executive Committee, Board of Governors, Heads of Departments and Managers.

About the role:

The Head of IT Services is responsible for the management of all IT services for the Motability Foundation and delivery of our digital, data and technology strategy. Working in a single site environment, with a focus on Microsoft technologies, you will ensure that our business continues to operate successfully day-to-day and continues to evolve to meet future challenges.

What you will be doing:

• Network and Systems - Oversee and direct the development of infrastructure of IT applications, networks, security and telecoms. Ensure we have a robust IT business continuity plan that forms part of the overall business continuity strategy. Oversee and direct the procurement of IT hardware, software and maintenance in line with company policy. Ensure that all other IT policies and procedures comply with statutory and regulatory requirements, are regularly reviewed and the required audits are in place to ensure compliance. Oversee all data exchange procedures with Scheme Partners and Government Agencies. Ensure compliance with all hardware and software licensing requirements. Responsible for the management of hardware and software updates ensuring that all systems remain within support and meet the ongoing requirements of the business. Ensuring that system and data security is continuously tested for new IT viruses, be alert to new security risks and have plans in place to deal with them.
• IT Strategy - Build upon and deploy the IT roadmap for all hardware and software in line with the overall Motability Foundation digital, data and technology strategy. Provide technical and professional support to the Executives in their longer-term review of IT investment strategy based on future business needs and processes. Provide leadership with regards to emerging IT opportunities and threats, providing recommendations to executives as and when required. Maintain our structured project development methodology to ensure that only relevant and supported projects are initiated. Ensure the successful delivery of approved IT projects against agreed timelines, deliverables, and budgets. Design and implement future organisational structure and roles for IT Function ensuring it is fit for purpose and cost effective.
• Partnering with the Business - Act as a partner to the business in identifying and delivering digital, data and technology solutions to support business aims. Work with Senior Management, Scheme Partners and Suppliers to propose, agree and deliver an IT service to defined Service Level Agreements. Continuously seek feedback from the business on the service provided by IT and develop action plans to put in place improvements.
• Leading the Team - Manage, develop, and motivate the thriving internal IT team of 14. Plus, leading additional contract support. Monitor performance against service level targets ensuring constructive and rapid solutions to problems. Maintain staff by recruiting, selecting, orienting, and training employees; maintaining a safe and secure work environment; developing personal growth opportunities. Empower employees to take responsibility for their jobs and goals. Delegate responsibility and expect accountability and regular feedback. Role model our values of being collaborative, respectful and evolving.
• Managing our Costs - Responsible for IT budget of c. £2million. Provide regular and ad-hoc reports to present to the Executive Team. Analyse problems, research solutions and present to the Executive Team. Raise and approve regular and ad-hoc IT purchase orders.

Your experience:

You will have excellent communication skills and a naturally collaborative approach to identifying problems, bringing together solutions, and creating a plan to deliver the changes to make a real difference to the system users. Your ‘can do’ attitude will be balanced with a pragmatic approach to problem solving and the ability manage a range of stakeholder expectations. You will be passionate about IT adding value to the business and delivering support to our busy teams. Your ability to translate technical issues into meaningful plans will greatly help colleagues who will look to you to learn about new concepts and technologies.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience, we'd still encourage you to apply.

Requirements

Must haves:

• Significant IT experience which includes a strong knowledge of Microsoft technologies (M365) and Networking (Lan/Wan Cisco technologies).
• Experience in IT infrastructure planning and development and managing significant capital projects and budgets.
• Possesses good knowledge of different software systems, client/service architectures and various compatibility requirements.
• Experience of managing suppliers and supplier relationships.
• Able to communicate and influence clearly and persuasively, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to motivate and develop a diverse team.
• Maintain a broad and long-term perspective of IT developments to influence forward planning.
• Take ownership of and analyse problems, implementing practical solutions.
• Maintain organisational effectiveness and efficiency by defining, delivering and supporting strategic plans for implementing information technologies.
• Experience working within a not for profit environment.
• Demonstrable experience of leading IT related change management initiatives.
• Able to remain resilient and focused on the future state.

Nice to haves:

• IT degree level (IT) or equivalent.
• MCSE/MCP certification.
• ITIL Foundation.
• Experience with Virtualization technologies.
• Experience of BCP/DR planning, implementation and testing.
• Experience of Cloud Computing/SaaS.
• GDPR awareness.

Benefits

Who are we? We are building a future where all disabled people have the transport options to make the journeys they choose. We fund, support, research and innovate so that all disabled people can make the journeys they choose. We oversee the Motability Scheme and provide grants to help people use it, providing access to transport to hundreds of thousands of people a year. We award grants to charities and organisations who provide different types of transport, or work towards making transport accessible. We also carry out ongoing research, in partnership with disabled people and key stakeholders in the industry, to inspire innovations that continue to champion accessible transport for all.

Why choose us? We want working for the Motability Foundation to be the best career move you’ve ever made. When you join the Motability Foundation you will join a group of people who are supportive, innovative and motivated to improve the lives of our beneficiaries. We value everyone’s unique qualities and celebrate having a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture where everyone feels safe to be their authentic selves. This is embedded into our values, Collaborative, Respectful and Evolving.

We bring our people together through our People Forum, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Forum, Social Squad and our Wellbeing Champions and our employee Spotlight Awards help us recognise the excellence and dedication of our staff.

We are proud to be recognised as Disability Confident Leader, have attained Platinum Level Award for Investors in People and are members of the Business Disability Forum. A career with Motability Foundation can offer you so much more than earning potential, we pride ourselves in offering some fantastic benefits.

• 26 days annual leave, plus the option to buy/sell up to five days.
• One wellbeing day for extra flexibility.
• Pension scheme - Up to 20%, including a 10% non-contributory contribution and matched contributions up to 5%.
• Life Assurance of four times your salary.
• Private healthcare through BUPA for you and your family, along with a Medicash Health Plan.
• Employee assistance programme: GP appointments, eye tests, flu vaccinations, sick pay and free gym and yoga sessions.
• Enhanced Parental Leave, including Adoption Pay.
• Free parking, EV charge points and a minibus service to/from the town centre and train station.
• Fresh fruit, breakfast snacks, and a Dress for Your Day dress code.
• Learning and development opportunities to help you grow.

Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, and we aim to be an employer of choice for candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Leader, we have committed to ensuring that disabled people and those with long term health conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential. We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to perform their best when interviewing and when working with us, so if you require any reasonable adjustments that would make you more comfortable, please let us know so that we can do our best to support you. To help us create an inclusive workplace we are committed to offering to interview every disabled applicant who meets the minimum criteria for the job.