Head of IT

HOW TO APPLY

You must complete our official application form. In line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) and our safeguarding procedures, we are unable to accept CVs in place of a completed application form. Applications submitted without a fully completed application form will not be considered for the role.

ABOUT THE OUTDOORS GROUP

The Outdoors Group is a ten-year strong, pioneering, ‘for purpose’ organisation primarily based in the county of Devon, providing opportunities for children, young people, and adults to access education, training, and fun experiences in outdoor settings. We are all about creating a fun and fantastic place to work with a strong emphasis on work-life balance as part of a community of like-minded people, focusing on providing excellent development opportunities for all our learners and staff. Leading in our market, we have heaps of knowledge, enthusiasm, and a strong vision about who we are and where we’re going…. come and join us on the journey!

The Outdoors Group Ltd is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and those involved in our activities to share this commitment.

All appointments are subject to appropriate pre-employment and safer recruitment checks, including satisfactory references and, where applicable, an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Please read the following policies as part of your application:

• Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy
• Recruitment Policy

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Outdoors Group is growing, with new schools, services and subsidiaries joining, as Head of IT you will own IT across the whole group. You will lead the IT team, run a secure, well-governed and reliable IT service, and make sure subsidiaries get the support they need, including on our own systems, Canopy and SHINE. You will report to the CIO and sit on the Senior Leadership Team. IT is part of Core Services, alongside Finance, Marketing, HR, Health and Safety, and Operations, supporting every part of the group.

Key responsibilities

Leadership and team

• Own IT across the group and represent it on SLT, bringing an IT view to wider business decisions.
• Lead the IT Technician and Business Systems Co-ordinators: set priorities, hold regular one-to-ones and develop the team.
• Set clear standards for support, documentation, communication and escalation.
• Get stuck in when needed, particularly during incidents, changes and busy periods.
• Plan the team's growth from late 2027 and lead the recruitment.
  
  

IT Governance and Security

• Own IT policies and procedures and make sure they are current and followed.
• Own the IT risk register, with a clear owner and action for every risk.
• Own access control: joiners, movers, leavers and regular permission reviews.
• Put in place proportionate change control for systems, integrations and infrastructure.
• Own IT security and work towards Cyber Essentials.
• Work with the Data Protection Officer on data protection, and the Designated Safeguarding Lead on web filtering and monitoring.
• Keep records that show we meet our legal, regulatory and group requirements.
• Report significant risks, incidents and overdue actions to the CIO, SLT and board.

  
  

Service and User Support

• Own the support model for devices, Microsoft 365, Canopy, SHINE and future systems.
• Make sure all staff and schools have one clear route for help, with agreed response times.
• Track demand, response times, repeat issues and unresolved problems, and fix the root causes.
• Keep user guides, training and operational documents up to date.
  

Providers and Budget

• Own our systems once live (support, access, documentation and training), agree clear responsibilities and escalation routes where needed.
• Make sure business needs are clear before development starts, and coordinate users, the team and Anthill during changes and releases.
• Manage all other IT providers: performance, cost, risk, contracts and delivery against what was agreed.
• Own the IT budget, licences and contracts, and make sure we get value for money.
  

Business continuity

• Own the IT business continuity and disaster recovery plans.
• Identify critical systems, dependencies, recovery priorities and fallback arrangements.
• Test the plans, record the results and follow up actions from tests and incidents.
• Record lessons learned after incidents and service failures, and make sure they are acted on.
• Make sure essential operations keep running if a key system or provider goes down.

New subsidiaries and service levels

• Complete IT due diligence on new subsidiaries: systems, devices, connectivity, suppliers, contracts, security, data, licences and risks.
• Produce and deliver an IT integration plan, managing immediate risks during handover.
• In consultation with Director of Core Services, agree the IT services and SLAs for each subsidiary, report performance and resolve issues with subsidiary leaders.

  
  

IT Roadmap

• Own and deliver the infrastructure, support and security parts of the IT roadmap.
• Feed user needs and operational impact into the CIO's roadmap for Canopy, SHINE and future systems.
• Make sure no new system goes live without a business owner, support route, access model and documentation.
• Give the CIO and SLT clear advice on IT priorities, risks, costs, suppliers and capacity.
  

Who you will work with

The CIO, SLT and Core Services leads, the IT team, school leaders and staff, the Anthill Group and other IT providers, subsidiary leaders, and colleagues in safeguarding and data protection.

Person specification

Essential

Desirable

Leading IT in a multi-site organisation of a similar size Senior team experience, contributing to decisions beyond IT Hands-on technical background: devices, networks and Microsoft 365 IT governance, security, risk and business continuity Managing IT suppliers, contracts and budgets Working alongside a software development partner Leading and growing a small team Turning business needs into clear IT requirements and priorities Juggling several priorities while keeping risks visible Explaining tech plainly to non-technical people Calm under pressure, and willing to challenge poor processes

Education, SEND or alternative provision settings Education platforms such as MIS or learner management systems Bringing new organisations onto group IT after an acquisition Setting up or managing SLAs Safeguarding tech controls (filtering and monitoring) Cyber Essentials or similar Azure administration Relevant IT leadership or security qualification

The Outdoors Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. This post is subject to safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS. The postholder may be asked to carry out other reasonable duties that fit the level of the role.