Your new company
This multi-academy trust, based in the East Lancashire area, has commenced a period of growth which is going to continue over the coming years, and they are therefore looking to appoint to their central trust team to ensure the success of this growth. As a result of this, they are looking to appoint a newly created role - a Head of IT - reporting to the CEO and becoming an integral part of the leadership team at the trust. With a head office based in Burnley and with schools across Lancashire and West Yorkshire, this is a key appointment where the successful candidate will grow with the trust and work collaboratively to contribute to the overall development and success of the trust. The trust has an exciting vision, with strong values at the core of everything they do, delivering their objectives with the overall ambition of ensuring the excellent provision of teaching and learning across the trust.
Your new role
As Head of IT, you will be joining an established leadership team, and you will be responsible for the strategic leadership, development and management of the Trust's IT infrastructure and support service, including the establishing of a central IT team and subsequent leadership and development of the team. You will work closely with the wider leadership team to deliver the IT strategy across the trust, where you will be based both at the head office and on site in individual schools. From a strategic planning and leadership perspective, you will be responsible for developing, maintaining and delivering the IT strategy, ensuring it falls in line with the objectives of the trust. You will also be responsible for leading on information security and cyber across the trust, with this being of upmost importance due to recent attacks in other trusts so it is key that the relevant robust protection systems are in place. You will liaise with the wider trust, as well as key stakeholders from third parties, ensuring that service delivery is of the highest quality and providing updates and reports on the service. From an infrastructure perspective, you will be implementing IT processes and policies, ensuring the correct procedures are followed in terms of reporting service requests, as well as focusing on the procurement of IT to ensure best value. As a trust, there will be the requirement to procure and purchase a significant amount of both hardware and software products over the coming years, therefore developing strong relationships with suppliers will be key. As the trusts work towards centralising and therefore modernising the infrastructure, this will also involve delivering on multiple IT projects concurrently and therefore, you will be fully responsible for the delivery of these projects, ensuring they run on time and in line with budgets. As you develop an experienced IT team, you will work closely with the team to ensure the ongoing development of their skills, which will therefore involve carrying out regular performance reviews and development plans.
What you'll need to succeed
In order to be successful in securing this position, you will be an experienced IT leader with specific experience working in the education sector, ideally working in a trust across multiple schools. You will ideally have experience of centralising an IT service, or, as a minimum, being involved in a transformation journey where you have delivered on IT projects and led a team of IT specialists. A real passion for working in the education sector and overall contributing to the high quality of teaching and learning is also essential.
What you'll get in return
In return, you will be paid a competitive salary of £66,000, where this will regularly be reviewed, and you will also receive an attractive benefits package which includes a local government pension scheme. You will be joining a trust at the beginning of their growth journey, therefore opening up further career opportunities for you as they grow and allowing you to further develop your skills throughout your career. This is an exciting role with it being newly created, for an established Head of IT to make a real impact on the trust and have a real sense of ownership over achievements and success.
What you need to do now

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