IT Director

Your new company
This multi-academy trust, based in the Cheshire area, consists of 1 college and 3 secondary schools and as they continue to grow, they are looking to centralise a number of services, one of which being IT. Due to the plans to grow and centralise services, they have approached Hays seeking to appoint a Director of IT who can lead them during their journey of transformation. As a MAT, their current strategy is to increase pupil numbers and ensure that the level of service they provide remains high, continuously focussing on the improvement of services and improvement of quality of education. Having met with leaders at the MAT, I was impressed by the drive they possess and the pure passion for working in the world of education.
Your new role
Reporting to the CFO, the Director of IT will be responsible for effectively leading the IT team, driving process improvement, suggesting changes to technological services and infrastructure and taking full responsibility for the IT strategy for the organisation. From a leadership perspective, this will involve overseeing the whole IT infrastructure including networks, servers, hardware, software and cloud-based services, reviewing and researching IT requirements for the organisation and proposing new services, ensuring the wider IT team is providing the highest level of service and ensuring that excellence is maintained throughout the whole team. From a strategic perspective, you will be liaising with both internal and external stakeholders to ensure that the technologies present are fit for purpose and enable effective teaching and learning. You will also be responsible for developing and introducing SLA's from a technology perspective to ensure that the needs of the organisation are met, and subsequently produce reports for senior leadership to demonstrate this. As IT Director, you will have full budget responsibility, negotiating with partners and third parties around IT services to ensure they are the best value, working closely with external stakeholders around cost saving. In addition to the above, you will also have responsibility for data across the organisation, overseeing the data management strategy and integrating the relevant services and platforms, also overseeing risk management and ensuring that the cybersecurity measures are in line with the current world of technology. As IT Director, you will form an integral part of the leadership team and contribute to the overall strategy and success of the MAT as it continues to grow.
What you'll need to succeed
To be successful in securing this position, you must have a strong background in IT leadership, ideally working in the education sector, whether this be for a school, college or multi-academy trust. You will have a passion for working in the world of education and providing an exceptionally high level of service, with a real drive for continuous improvement and leading an IT team to success. Working in IT in this growing MAT, systems and infrastructure will continuously evolve, and it is therefore important that you are keen to keep abreast of the ever evolving world of EdTech and suggest the relevant changes and enhancements with confidence and expertise. As you will be liaising with senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, excellent communication skills and strong rapport-building skills are also essential. Experience working in the education sector would be advantageous, whether you are currently working as a Director of IT, or are an experienced IT Manager in this sector looking for your next role.
What you'll get in return
In return, you will be working for an organisation which is passionate about the world of education and has the ambition to grow, therefore a very forward thinking organisation which will allow you to continually evolve your skills and knowledge. You will receive a competitive salary of between £60,000 and £66,000 dependent on experience, which will be reviewed annually, and you will also receive an attractive benefits package. This package will include holidays of 30 days plus bank holidays, a local government pension scheme and access to the online benefits portal where you can receive retail discounts etc.
What you need to do now

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