Lead Fire ICT Engineer in Suffolk

Suffolk County Council is looking to appoint a Lead Fire ICT Engineer who will provide technical leadership, support service-critical systems and help drive our ongoing digital and data transformation. Technology powers every part of Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, from how we respond to emergencies to how we manage information, resources, and operational intelligence. ICT (Information and Communication Technology) underpins the systems and services that enable us to keep the people of Suffolk safe – your leadership will ensure these technologies are robust, reliable, and ready to enable our operational and support teams to carry out their vital work every day.

Your role and responsibilities include:

• Leading ICT projects, contributing technical expertise, driving improvements and supporting the Service's digital and data transformation.
• Overseeing and maintaining critical communication systems, including radio, telephony (Integrated Communication Control System) and emergency alerting platforms essential to safe and effective operational response.
• Providing leadership for core infrastructure, networking and datacentre services, including installation, troubleshooting, configuration and proactive monitoring.
• Ensuring data security and policy compliance, safeguarding system integrity while mentoring ICT engineers through technical guidance, coaching and training.
• Managing incoming service requests via ITSM, email or phone, allocating tickets to engineers and escalating complex issues as needed.
• Participating in the on-call rota to provide out-of-hours support for essential systems.

What you will bring to the role:

• Integrity, experience and enthusiasm, along with a strong commitment to working hard and delivering high-quality results.
• The ability to lead and contribute to the engineering team, while also being able to self-start and work on your own initiative when required.
• A hands-on and flexible approach, adapting to a variety of tasks, systems and operational needs.
• A genuine passion for technology and innovation, with an interest in exploring new ideas and approaches.
• A commitment to learning and continuous development, building your skillset and applying it to meet evolving business needs.
• Transferable skills, fresh perspectives and new ideas – we welcome applicants with a range of experience who can bring different strengths to the team.

You’ll be joining a supportive, forward-thinking Fire ICT Team, playing a key role in troubleshooting, problem solving and delivering high-quality technical solutions that directly support our Service. The team is responsible for the blue-light systems essential to Fire and Rescue operations, including technology used to alert fire personnel, mobile data terminals, communication platforms such as mobile phones, Airwave radios and Wi-Fi, and systems that capture operational data used by teams across the Service.

Based at Ipswich East Fire Station at The Havens, Ransomes Europark, the team supports equipment and systems across all thirty-five fire stations in Suffolk, as well as the Service’s primary and secondary Fire Control locations.

We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation. If you need any reasonable adjustments to help you apply, please contact our Recruitment Team at recruitment@suffolk.gov.uk or 03456 014412.

Closing date: 11.30 pm, 5 May 2026.

Benefits include:

• Up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro-rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days.
• Membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).
• Travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits.
• Performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase.
• Training and encouragement to expand your knowledge.
• A variety of career development opportunities across our organisation.
• Diverse and active staff networks.
• Flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day.

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.