Salary: £36,636 to £38,784 with progression to £46,049 per annum
Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.
Closing Date: 13 July 2026
The Role
As a key member of the Application Support Team, your primary role will be to act as the Linux subject matter expert. You will work with teams both inside and outside of the IT department, with varied technical skill levels and job roles, to deliver and manage applications and web hosting.
The Application Support Team consists of 10 people with a broad set of skills and diverse interests. We support roughly 60 services, made up of about 80 applications across Windows and Linux. Our support ranges from building management systems to core teaching and learning platforms.
To succeed in this role, you should have experience in the following areas
- Linux System Administration: Demonstrable experience managing applications hosted on Linux, preferably Red Hat. Understanding of other distributions is acceptable.
- Linux Web Host Administration: A strong history of hosting various websites in an enterprise setting.
- Database Administration: Practical experience deploying and managing databases, including SQL Server, MySQL and MariaDB.
- Communication & Adaptability: Ability to take ownership of tasks and adapt communication style to suit the audience. Proactive problem solving with a fluid approach to shifting priorities and willingness to help your team and the wider organisation.
About you
You will have a proven track record of delivering solutions in a complex environment and experience with effective relationship management. Influencing and organisational skills are essential. You must be able to work unsupervised and under pressure, remaining proactive and flexible while prioritising your workload effectively.
Benefits & Environment
The University is an exciting and dynamic place to work, dedicated to world‐leading education and research. Benefits include a good pension, flexible working options, 42 days holiday (including public holidays), discounted travel for the Metro and local bus services, and discounts for national retailers.
The post is full time and permanent.
Key Accountabilities
- Integrate, administrate, and manage enterprise‑level, server‑based applications.
- Manage the server landscape that supports in‑scope applications where required.
- Administrate and manage application databases to ensure continued integrity of the data and efficiency of the related systems.
- Design and develop new applications and functionality to enhance and augment existing applications using a mixture of development tools and methodologies.
- Business analysis and consultation phase prior to any tendering process or product purchase.
- Continuously update applications to include:
- Identify and fix defects.
- Maintain support for dependent software components.
- Ensure adherence to security standards and best practices.
- Ensure compatibility with underlying infrastructure provision.
- Manage small to medium sized projects, liaising with key stakeholders and colleagues and suppliers.
- Ensure any issues are escalated efficiently and management is aware of any issues and their consequences.
- Ensure system and services are documented.
- Act as an application support subject matter expert (SME) and use this knowledge to deliver excellence in operational support, project and change.
- Understand the Technology Roadmap and assist in its implementation as directed.
- Ensure that policies, standards, procedures and guidelines are followed.
- Any other reasonable duties that fall within the scope of the post, as allocated by the line manager.
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
- Experience of working in application support in a similar size and complexity organisation.
- Extensive technical background in server‑based application hosting and server management.
- Experience of delivering application support services to a dispersed customer base in multiple locations.
- Experience of working with third‑party vendors and delivering an effective service using their services.
- Interest in identifying and implementing new and innovative technologies to support customer needs, drive up quality and improve value.
- Able to demonstrate focus on customer needs.
- A working knowledge of Cybersecurity processes and practices is essential.
Attributes and Behaviour
Team Working
- Encourages and facilitates collaboration, cooperation and results.
- Inspires, motivates and guides more junior team members.
Embracing Change
- Supports organisational change agents to improve maturity and practices, in support of university goals and strategy.
- Mobilises themselves to support and enable change efforts.
Finding Solutions
- Analyses situations quickly and effectively to determine the best way to deliver the required result.
- Keeps their technical knowledge up to date and has a wider understanding of the technology landscape inside and outside their area.
Delivering Services
- Sets and accomplishes challenging goals.
- Defines standards in terms of doing what is appropriate and doing it well.
- Leads by example in delivering high quality outcomes that they take responsibility for.
Qualifications
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
- A relevant technical qualification or equivalent technical experience.
Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect. As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.
We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society. We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent. We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams.
We hold a Gold Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality, and a Race Equality Charter Bronze award for tackling race inequality in higher education. We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.
In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe.
Requisition ID: 29420
